Too much exercise

Ang8178

Is there such a thing? A person on here mentioned you can plateau easy if you workout too much. I'm starting to go to the gym everyday now. Working on building muscle and only doing 30 mins of cardio instead of the hour and a half of cardio I was doing. Am I setting my self up to not hit my weight goals?

Also, I have shifted my focus from losing weight to getting fit. I think if I exercise and add more weights I will have a toned body, and weight loss will just be a side effect

lemonllama

I also noticed as soon as i finally started getting serious about exercise the weight stopped coming off as fast, i used to go down a little everyday it seemed and now ive went up, and then finally back to where i was over a week ago, it kinda sucks sometimes but at the same time, I noticed my jeans were loser, and as im getting closer to goal i also realize its not really a number im looking for its more of a toning i need, sooo im trying to just be happy with that!! You seem to be getting to a pretty low weight as well, so maybe try to go by how your clothes fit!! Im trying to keep that in mind yet i just feel like my hard work SHOWS (to me) when the little numbers go down. hehe

RhaRha

Go to: http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightloss/a/weightplateaus.htm

there's a lot of good information on there!

scubatahiti

You have the right Idea there being fit is more important than weight because having more muscle will help in your fitness this weighing more than if it was fat and just weight loss. Plus you will feel a lot better.

RentThisSpace

Yes, you can exercise too much. You need to make sure that you allow your body to heal after workouts with proper rest and nutrition. Normally, this is accomplished by switching which muscle groups you are targeting. For example, by focusing on arms on one day and legs the next, you effectively give the arms a day to recover. If you constantly worked on your arms, then yes, they can get so worn down that it would painful for the muscles to recover (this has happened to me before). However, there is no set limit how to how much exercise is too much. Its through trial and error that you discover what your body is capable of and then begin to push its limits to increase strength, stamina, etc. My suggestion is to take is slowly but steadily to find what is comfortable, yet still challenging, for you.

Keep in mind that with steady exercise, you will body will begin to shed unnecessary fat and replace it with muscle. I' betting in your case that it is lean muscle. Over a long enough timeline, you will stop shedding fat and build more muscle, will can actually increase your weight. However, you will definitely be able to fit into those jeans easier as your body shape will continue to improve with eating well and exercise.

samseed101

Is there such a thing? A person on here mentioned you can plateau easy if you workout too much. I'm starting to go to the gym everyday now. Working on building muscle and only doing 30 mins of cardio instead of the hour and a half of cardio I was doing. Am I setting my self up to not hit my weight goals?

Also, I have shifted my focus from losing weight to getting fit. I think if I exercise and add more weights I will have a toned body, and weight loss will just be a side effect

You are absolutely right. If you exercise and add more weight, you will burn more calories overall. Although it differs from person to person, on average you will burn an extra 13 calories per day for every 1lb of lean muscle mass you add. It may not seem like much but it adds up fast.

As far as working out too much, yes it can happen. it's called over-training. Your body needs time to recover. Remember, muscles grow when you're resting. they get broken down when you're working out. So workout, then give them time to recover. Also, and probably most importantly, you want to avoid CNS overload. Your central nervous system can get overloaded form working out too hard and too often. When that happens, you do more damage than good when working out. Rest is extremely important.

Shifting goals seems like a good idea too. more often than not, people are worried about "losing weight" when they should be worried about "losing fat." Sure, it's great if you can lose 10 lbs. But what good does it do if you lose 10lbs of muscle and no fat? Sure, you are lighter, but you are in worse shape than you were before! Instead, focus on getting "fit" and worry about bodyfat percentage.

It looks like you are on the right track and have the right goals set. You should be seeing results in no time!

thica03

Go to: http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightloss/a/weightplateaus.htm

there's a lot of good information on there!

thanks for the website, good info....

I think I may be having that problem, too much exercise! I work out 5xweek 2hrs a day....I may have to eat more calories to help the metabolism! It's a bit frustrating when you work, work, work and the results are very small..........

I live in a country where nutrition labels are not always on the package, so I tend to be overly cautious.

I'm glad I'm not the only one experiencing this

mayhem1969

The question I always ask myself is; "Will I always exercise so much for the rest of my life?" If not, then I anticipate my weight will slowly creep up once I start exercising less. I think 30 minutes of intense physical activity with weight training a couple times a week is fantastic. Not only will you reach your goals of being physically fit (instead of just losing weight), it's a schedule that is easier to maintain over time. I also agree that your clothes are the best indicators that you body is changing, not the scale.

Ang8178

Go to: http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightloss/a/weightplateaus.htm

there's a lot of good information on there!

I love this site, I even saved it under my favs, so I can look at it as a reminder. I really really want a HRM to make sure I'm eatting enough calories. I don't know if I'm eatting enough for all my exercise. Thanks everyone for your responces and support.