When is it too much exercising?

skinnybitchbarbie27
skinnybitchbarbie27 Posts: 306 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I know this is a silly question but is there a way to "overload" your body? Here is my workout schedule;

Monday- 3 mile bike ride, 55 minutes of lifting, 55 minutes of dance
Tuesday- 3 mile bike ride and it is either an additional 6 mile (round trip) bike ride to the gym for zumba or drive for spinning class
Wednesday- 3 mile bike ride, 55 minutes of spinning, 55 minutes of dance
Thursday- 3 mile bike ride, 55 minutes of Yoga
Friday- 3 Mile Bike Ride
Saturday- 55 minutes of kickboxing, 55 minutes of lifting, 55 minutes of dance. (sometimes 6 mile bike ride if I do not drive)
Sunday-off

My husband sat me down last night and told me I either need to eat more or I need to exercise less. From my continuing education I was trained that if you eat enough you can exercise as much as you want. Here is the catch 22. I am only netting 300-500 calories after exercise. I am eating 2,000+ so I am completely lost. Should I be eating more? Should I exercise less?

Any help or suggestions appreciated.

Replies

  • ktaqt3399
    ktaqt3399 Posts: 141 Member
    girl i wish i had your determination ........but you might not be netting enough calories. Are you having any exhaustion symptoms? I have been trying to make sure i net ateast 7-800 .....just becareful about it.
  • cloe31
    cloe31 Posts: 75 Member
    From my experience yes if you are not giving your body the proper nutrients and rest it deserves.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    Yes, you can. There is a such thing as "overtraining," where your central nervous system becomes fatigued because of weeks and months of not giving yourself enough time to recover. On the bright side, most people that work out too much never reach this point, because they end up sick or injured and are forced to take a break (how's that for a "bright side?").

    Also, your body is going to shut down calories burned from non-exercise activity to save calories from all of this exercise you're throwing at it, so you're going to end up burning fewer calories than you think you are. Think about this from a practical standpoint: what are you going to do when you hit a plateau? exercise even more? eat even less?

    Neither weight loss nor good health requires this much activity, and you're probably doing a disservice to both in the long run.
  • TylerJ76
    TylerJ76 Posts: 4,375 Member
    Eat more.

    Think of your body like a car, you have to add fuel, in order for it to run.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    Well there is no benefit from exercising more than an hour a day. Also you will not see gains if you continuously work the same muscle fibers out. So yea, you are probably overtraining. You should limit cardio and weight training on the same days.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,412 Member
    Yes, you may need a bit more....are you tired? Has your weight loss stalled?

    Your husband is obviously worried about you. You have lost a lot of weight, so is it possible you have picked up exercise obsession as a replacement for food? It sounds like this is your husband's worry - that you are going in a dangerous direction. Eat some more. Get your Net up to what the recommended calories are. With 30ish pounds left to lose, set your goal here to "Lose 1/2 pound per week". Then eat that amount and when you exercise add in those calories.
  • Melo1966
    Melo1966 Posts: 881 Member
    ALWAYS eat more than 2,000 even on Sunday and change Tuesday to drive to just yoga. You need to learn to breathe. I know you want to do this as fast as you can and you are young but if you injure yourself it could set you back.:flowerforyou:
  • skinnybitchbarbie27
    skinnybitchbarbie27 Posts: 306 Member
    The argument I was making for myself last night was now that I have Upped my calories to 2000+ I do not feel b*tchy or tired. I feel great! I just don't want to be going in the opposite direction. I actually have 58lbs to go but I set "mini" goals on my ticker on the way. What I am going to do is just start adding those really calorie dense foods into my diary (like more avocado) and see a dietitian. I do feel like I am doing too much but I get such a "high" from it I don't want to stop. I just really don't want to also get out of control.

    I am getting a bodymedia fit for christmas (thanks mom) and will be able to see what my real calorie burn is but for now I think I need to calm it down. See, even just thinking that I am not going to zumba tonight makes me feel uneven. Who would have thought haha.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    In the academic halls, there is evidence, I think, or I've read, that says any more than about 1 hour and you are not getting as much bang for your buck after that first hour. It doesn't mean that there is zero benefit. But, after the one hour, the benefits drop at an increasing rate as time goes on. So, it's not wasted effort, but it's also not optimal.

    So, I would chill out a little bit. Rest is equally important.
  • spoons81
    spoons81 Posts: 51 Member
    girl i wish i had your determination ........but you might not be netting enough calories. Are you having any exhaustion symptoms? I have been trying to make sure i net ateast 7-800 .....just becareful about it.

    700-800 calories is too low! You need to net at least 1200, and for a lot of people that's still too low.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Here's a good article on over-training & under-eating: http://www.shapefit.com/overtraining-exercising-too-much.html

    As far as what you net - I make it a practice to never net below my BMR, which usually is not an issue unless I've had a long run for a big calorie burn, and that only happens once every week or two.

    This topic might be helpful in setting your calorie goal & activity level as well: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    And just reading your workout schedule makes me tired. :tongue: If you love it and enjoy it, that's great, but you do need it to balance out with your calories & nutrition. But I and many others here work out for 60 minutes or less per day, 5 or 6 days a week, eating well and having great results with fat loss and keeping/building in lean body mass.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    If you eat enough to keep up with that burn and fuel your machine nothing is "too much"

    Also, read 'Born to Run' it's a great book.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    I know this is a silly question but is there a way to "overload" your body? Here is my workout schedule;

    Monday- 3 mile bike ride, 55 minutes of lifting, 55 minutes of dance
    Tuesday- 3 mile bike ride and it is either an additional 6 mile (round trip) bike ride to the gym for zumba or drive for spinning class
    Wednesday- 3 mile bike ride, 55 minutes of spinning, 55 minutes of dance
    Thursday- 3 mile bike ride, 55 minutes of Yoga
    Friday- 3 Mile Bike Ride
    Saturday- 55 minutes of kickboxing, 55 minutes of lifting, 55 minutes of dance. (sometimes 6 mile bike ride if I do not drive)
    Sunday-off

    My husband sat me down last night and told me I either need to eat more or I need to exercise less. From my continuing education I was trained that if you eat enough you can exercise as much as you want. Here is the catch 22. I am only netting 300-500 calories after exercise. I am eating 2,000+ so I am completely lost. Should I be eating more? Should I exercise less?

    Any help or suggestions appreciated.

    Oh yeah, good point on your hubby. You need to eat more. Keep up that routine though and throw in another rest day. :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    Keep in mind that resting is where you make you gains. If you continuously break down the muscle fibers, they wont repair to get stronger. This is why over training leads to injuries. Max out at 1 hour a day. Lift heavy (failing at 10 or less reps) and push yarder during cardio. You will see improvements.
  • tubaman58
    tubaman58 Posts: 151
    For what it's worh (and there are as many opnions as there are stars in the sky)
    If I were you I would cut back on the amount of exercise and try to ramp up the intensity of it....
    Throw an extra rest day in now and then.....
    Make sure you are eating enough carbs (yes - for exercise like that you need carbs, not all carbs are high fructose corn syrup)
  • jennfranklin
    jennfranklin Posts: 434 Member
    60 minutes of cardio, or interval training. With weight lifting every other day, has worked wonders for me! Sometimes I get a little more if I include my outdoor activities! But very rare!
  • lenniebus
    lenniebus Posts: 321 Member
    First of all--YAY YOU!! What a fantastic job you've done/are doing--totally impressed am I! Your workout diary would rival an Olympic athlete's schedule I think. I would say for a short period of time a schedule like that might be ok, but I'd worry about the long term effects. You've come so far that you wouldn't want to get injured or sick now!!! It totally sounds like you've got it going on though--seeing experts (like a nutritionist) is a GREAT idea--she can let you know what you need to eat to sustain workouts like that--PHEW!
  • footiechick82
    footiechick82 Posts: 1,203 Member
    I never want to tell people "you work out too much" but in this case, from experience, You're working out too much.

    I've worked wiht personal trainers and I use to work out up to 3 hours, sometimes in a row, sometimes up to 3 times a day because I was so pissed off I had gained weight.

    When I started working with a trainer, he told me "Anymore exercise then an hour and 15 minutes, your body just stores. It doesn't like much after that." I'm obviously talking high level intensity - which it looks like you're doing.

    Also, you're bound to hit a plateau sooner rather then later repeating the same movements every week for 6 days in a row. Eventually, you're body will say (this just happened to me) "Oh, I know this routine!" and stop giving you results.

    Stick to 3 days of lifting, a bit of cardio (not 55 mins, max 1/2 hour) and on cardio days, do your 3-6 miles on a bike. If you don't stop killing yourself now, you're going to be exhausted, pissed off and not want to work as hard. OR, you will work harder and hit another plateau.

    In this case, for you with your workouts, less is more. Switch it up and do it for less time. You will start to see change and be able to spend more time with your hubby :)
  • alyssa92982
    alyssa92982 Posts: 1,093 Member
    Wow! Give me some of your energy! That's a lot of stamina for all u do-good for u!
  • stingrayinfl
    stingrayinfl Posts: 284 Member
    This one is very simple..too much exercising is when your white blood cell count is very low.
  • wibutterflymagic
    wibutterflymagic Posts: 788 Member
    Good lord, yes. You're making it much harder on yourself then it needs to be to lose weight. I have nothing else to say because all the others have hit the points I was going to make.

    Edit: After reading your bio, it makes more sense. If you were doing all of this just for the sake of losing some weight what I said above stands but if you're truly training then I see where you're coming from. I think your husband may be right though about needing to eat more. If you are training then you need more fuel and protein to build your muscles.
  • slwells1983
    slwells1983 Posts: 31 Member
    I think you are doing great as long as you have a rest day!
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    Yes, you can. There is a such thing as "overtraining," where your central nervous system becomes fatigued because of weeks and months of not giving yourself enough time to recover. On the bright side, most people that work out too much never reach this point, because they end up sick or injured and are forced to take a break (how's that for a "bright side?").

    Also, your body is going to shut down calories burned from non-exercise activity to save calories from all of this exercise you're throwing at it, so you're going to end up burning fewer calories than you think you are. Think about this from a practical standpoint: what are you going to do when you hit a plateau? exercise even more? eat even less?

    Neither weight loss nor good health requires this much activity, and you're probably doing a disservice to both in the long run.

    This.
  • NikoM5
    NikoM5 Posts: 488 Member
    How do you feel? If you feel fine then continue. There's way too much talk of over training these days. Almost no one is at risk of that. As long as your rest and nutrition is adequate then "over training" will not be part of your vocabulary.
  • T1mH
    T1mH Posts: 568 Member
    Only one person mentioned intensity and suggested upping it. But you didn't mention what you think your intensity is. Your also guessing at your calories burned which almost always people over estimate. If your taking a leisurely 3 mile bike ride this isn't very much or very far. If your cranking to exhaustion and can barely walk when you are done that is a lot. Same goes for the other exercises. I can spend an hour in the gym every day at a leisurely pace or an hour 3 days a week lifting to failure. The 3 days a week is going to be more intense over all.

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