Exercise Burn Out?

It really depends. I've recently gotten burned out on exercise after two months of pretty much having the same routine day after day. I've recently switched it up and have been re-motivated again. If you're planning on doing two workouts a day, make them moderate workouts...don't go all out on either of them and make sure you're eating enough to maintain your body and energy levels. What she said is true, once you become more fit, you'll burn less calories doing the same workout and you'll have to work even harder to see the same results. So switch it up and add more weights. It really is trial and error though!

My new routine:

Run: 3x a week (30-45 minutes with cool down)
Irish dance: 1x a week (1 hour)
Ab class: 1x a week (30 minutes) - don't count calories burned
Gym workouts: 2x a week (45-60 minutes cardio; 30-45 minutes weights)

I don't think it's overkill at all. My "leader" on my food plan says to get in at least an hour of working out 6 days a week. I do about 40 minutes on the treadmill everyday. Yes, your body can get used to the same exercise over and over again so you should change it up. I throw in some strength training a few times a week as well. i tried the elliptical yesterday thinking I would switch off and do that for the next 2 months and then switch back to the treadmill but my knee really didn't like the elliptical. So I'm now just trying to up the speed on the treadmill. I think basically that whatever you are doing on a daily basis MUST be better than do NOTHING.

Short answer, the Curves girl is nuts. Yes, you can overtrain. And yes, you should ramp up your exercise gradually. No offense allisleft, but you will NOT burn less calories the fitter you get - quite the opposite is true.

In regard to the "burn less calories the fitter you are" thought. Think of your lean body mass as an engine...the more lean body mass you have (which will increase with strength training and a small caloric deficit), the larger the engine. It needs more calories when doing anything the more lean mass you have (i.e. your BMR will increase.) (If allisfit was referring to muscle confusion concepts - your body will adapt to workout, and each successive workout of the same methods / intensity will have less effect, I agree. This is why switching up and/or periodization training is effective.)

Next on the over training. Don't worry about it right now. The human body (as long as you're overall generally healthy) can take a lot. Once you are becoming an avid fitness junkie, yes, you will have to manage your workout levels to make sure you have enough recovery. Allisleft is correct on the caloric intake and rest. You have to eat for those workouts to be effective and build the muscle you want. A slightly negative caloric balance will allow you to lose weight slowly, and keep your muscle mass increasing. It's a balancing act, but you can do it. Beyond that, make sure you have rest days built in, especially if you're lifting weights. Your body needs time to recover.

In short, 99% of people who are new to working out are not overtraining. Put it this way, I'd love to see you overtrain for a month and then get the balance right, rather than half-*kitten* it at the gym and not see any results, and bail on the program. Undertraining is a MUCH bigger risk than overtraining. Do, it gradually, but do it intensely. Beyond this, I'd recommend getting and reading books on the subjects of fitness - MFP is useful to get a start, but you need to educate and arm yourself with the facts.

And she went on to tell me that the days I worked out at Curves, I shouldn't do my walking routine or exercise dvds. She said my body would get so used to a lot of exercise that it would become ineffective and I would have a hard time upping the workout enough to lose weight.

By that logic, you should not try to lose any weight.

Because, if you lose too much weight, you will get so used to being thin that you will have a hard time losing any more weight.