Can you work out "Too Much"?

DAM5412

In Febrary, I joined a gym that specializes in athletic conditioning. I am by NO MEANS an athlete, but I love their workouts. They combine Cardio (mostly running, but some bikes and jumping) with strength training. We use a mix of weights, resistance bands, partner exercises, etc. etc. Every class is different, but we do a lot of core work, as well as squats, lunges and jumps.

When I first started, it took me 3 days to recover after a class. But I have built up to the point where I am there 5-6 times a week. I LOVE it. It pumps me up for the day, and every class still kicks my *kitten*, but every week I accomplish something new (either longer planks or runs, more push ups, more toe touches, something). I work hard, and each class pushes me almost to exhaustion. Most days, something is sore after class, but not the way it was in the beginning.

My boyfriend tells me I should only take this class every other day. That I need to give my body time to rest. Some days (like today) I struggle through part of the class (I just couldn't do all the plate pushes). But I think he is wrong. He works out, but does weight training, and he rotates his focus between his muscle groups so that he's not working the same muscles on consecutive days. I don't agree with him, but thought Iwould put it out here and see what the wise MFP community thinks....So, tell me, is he right? Do I need to work in more than 1 or 2 down days a week?

minnesota_deere

In Febrary, I joined a gym that specializes in athletic conditioning. I am by NO MEANS an athlete, but I love their workouts. They combine Cardio (mostly running, but some bikes and jumping) with strength training. We use a mix of weights, resistance bands, partner exercises, etc. etc. Every class is different, but we do a lot of core work, as well as squats, lunges and jumps.

When I first started, it took me 3 days to recover after a class. But I have built up to the point where I am there 5-6 times a week. I LOVE it. It pumps me up for the day, and every class still kicks my *kitten*, but every week I accomplish something new (either longer planks or runs, more push ups, more toe touches, something). I work hard, and each class pushes me almost to exhaustion. Most days, something is sore after class, but not the way it was in the beginning.

My boyfriend tells me I should only take this class every other day. That I need to give my body time to rest. Some days (like today) I struggle through part of the class (I just couldn't do all the plate pushes). But I think he is wrong. He works out, but does weight training, and he rotates his focus between his muscle groups so that he's not working the same muscles on consecutive days. I don't agree with him, but thought Iwould put it out here and see what the wise MFP community thinks....So, tell me, is he right? Do I need to work in more than 1 or 2 down days a week?

do what you want, when your tired....... rest.

jsapninz

Yes, I have heard you are supposed to let your body recover from heavy weight lifting for a couple days.

But I think more importantly, think about your goals: if you are doing it because it is FUN and good for you, then of course do it as much as you want!! (Your BF is probably trying to build muscle, so he has different goals than you anyway.)

I don't think you can work out "too much" until it because a negative impact on the rest of your life, which this sounds like it has the opposite effect, so carry on.:flowerforyou:

Shelbert79

I'm curious about the answers you get because I've heard that I should give myself time off too but I ENJOY the work out so much that I miss it...weird I know!

Kristy_Elizabeth

Just lurking waiting for replies to your question. I've can definitely cross the line to overdoing some times, so just wondering too....

kelif5959

I'm curious too! I do a similar circuit workout with JNL Fusion M-F.

GeoJenna223

Ask the teachers of the class. If they have designed the class such that someone could take the class 5-6 days a week, then they probably have it built in to target different muscle groups each day. As others have said, if you are having fun, you don't feel like you are hurting yourself and you stop when you can't go anymore, I think you are fine.

rmhand

"Too much" would be an injury. I have torchanteric bursitis and the only cause I can find for it is similar to a repetitive stress injury. I workout when I can and rest when I need to. I warm up well and stretch.

moepwr

You need to give your muscles time to recover and repair so that they are stronger. That is why you take time off. It can be as little as one day a week. If you keep ripping your muscles and not letting them heal then you get run down and get sick more often. You also can't preform the way that you want too so you lose motivation. You can also get injured a lot easier. I am getting this from my husband who is a gym teacher and also has a silver medal for rowing. He has been an athlete all of his life and use to be a trainer.

Stinalynn121

I asked this same question a while back and was blasted away as having a "disorder" I think it should be looked at more on an individual basis, provided you are eating enough carbs to give you the energy to handle the workouts, and enough protein to aid in muscle healing and are not physically hurting yourself and it feels good/makes you happy, I personally don't see anything wrong with it. :flowerforyou:

lisapr123

Ask the teachers of the class. If they have designed the class such that someone could take the class 5-6 days a week, then they probably have it built in to target different muscle groups each day. As others have said, if you are having fun, you don't feel like you are hurting yourself and you stop when you can't go anymore, I think you are fine.

^^I agree with this.

My sis-in-law teaches a boot camp class 6 days a week and it is structured so Mon & Thurs are Upper Body....Tues & Fri Lower Body...Wed and Sat are Core conditioning. Yes, they "hit" everything every day but that is where the focus is. It was designed this way so people that want to go every day can, but if you go Mon, Wed, Fri or Tues, Thurs, Sat you get a very effective full body workout.

ExcelWithMel

If you like it...DO IT! I go to a crossfit gym twice a week and it kicks my butt and sometime takes me 2-3 days to stop feeling sore. But I run 3 other days per week 45-90 minutes and take 1-2 rest days per week. There are a lot of folks at my crossfit gym who do it 5, 6, 7 days a week and they love it. If you enjoy it as much as it sounds like you do, keep going, and take that 1-2 days off per week when you feel you need it. You know every day is a different workout so you'll rarely work the exact same muscle the exact same way two days in a row. I'm happy for you to have found something you enjoy that is so good for you.

So many people think exercise is a chore and they don't find something that makes them happy. Running makes me happy, but I want muscle definition too, so that's why I also do crossfit, and I do enjoy how it kicks my *kitten*. It has helped my running performance too. Let your BF do what works for him, and he will learn that this makes you happy and works for you.

George1567

My normal gym time includes weight lifting and cardio. I average some gym time 9 out of 10 days. Since Nov 2011 I have lost weight, made big gains in my bicep, leg and back strength, lost some strength in my tricep, chest and shoulders, and raised my Vo2max from 35 to 46. I use a Polar FT80 with every workout and upload this data to the Polar personal trainer website. This site caculates a "load" rateing for each workout and plots a graph that determines my readiness for my next workout. The graph has green yellow and red zones. I think that my gym effort is good, but I never break out of the green unless I log a 20+ mile bike ride in addition to my gym. As my conditioning has improved, my heart rate is lower for the same activity making it even harder to "over train".

Everyone is different, so no one set program can be a "fits all". There have been a few days where I just knew a day off was a good idea, other times life gets in the way and I just couldn't fit in a workout. I find my gym time is where I go to mentaly refresh, close out the rest of the world and enjoy the moment. If you are looking forward to it, enjoying it even if it is difficult at times......can't see how you are going wrong.

tigersword

Yes, you can work out too much. It's called overtraining.

workout_junkee

Yes you can and it will leave you prone to injury. My guess, the class is set up to work different muscles on different days to keep the program safe. Do listen to you body and rest if you need it. One day off is better than weeks because of an injury.

Seanb_us

It's not only the muscles you have to worry about. Yes, eat protein, work out, build bigger, more durable muscles ... but your tendons and ligaments don't really bulk up so much. My personal thought is take time just to let hardworking parts rest and recover, to avoid a sprain or tear. But, it's obviously your call...listen to your body.

Cheers,

Sean

suzikay12

My opinion, I'm not a doctor or fitness expert so it is opinion only.

I think there is a HUGE difference between heavy lifting and working out. Heavy lifting until muscle fatigue should be followed by some rest for that muscle group. A work out which contains some strength training does not have the same effect on muscles and doesn't necessarily need to be followed by a day of rest, even though your muscles may feel tired after the work out. Do you see the difference?

I work out. All of my work outs contain some strength training. I work out 6 days per week and take 1 day off. I do not think the day off is a necessity for recovery but it is my reward for a weeks work.

Nikki_42

I say go for it. You'll know when your body tells you to stop or slow down, just don't ignore the signs. Your might be telling you that already since you couldn't keep up the last time.

I like working out every day, but then my knees started to hurt and I was seriously dragging *kitten* tired in the morning at work, so I slowed down. Don't get to that stage.

DAM5412

Thanks EVERYONE for your answers and advice.

I really do enjoy the classes, and love getting up at 5:30 am to work out before heading into an office job all day. I have taken days off when I've been tired, and there are days when I'm too tired during the class to do the full routines.

Thanks for reiterating/reinforcing for me the obvious: Listen to my body and feed myself well so I have the right fuel to work out

But, most important, I am going to ASK the trainers if I should be taking days off.

Thanks all!