Is it possible to bite off too much, too soon?

Calliope610
Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been logging my food for about 5 weeks now and have seen positive results. I added light exercise (20-30 min walks with a new puppy) about 2 weeks ago. Two days ago, I joined Anytime Fitness and have used the treadmill daily since then, 35 mins @ 3.5mph, 2 miles each day. (see http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/915503-my-first-day-at-the-gym). I want to start strength training with Stronglifts 5x5 on Monday 03/11/13. I need the weekend to read all the information about SL 5x5 to make sure I do it correctly.

My question is this: Am I trying too much, too soon? Am I in danger of harming or injuring myself by adding so much physical activity all at once?

I'm just really motivated to make some changes.

Thanks

Replies

  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    It is possible to do too much too soon. It's a trap many of us have fallen into. Gung-ho, balls to the wall from day one only to end up burnt out in 2 weeks time. Don't be afraid to start slow. If you need an extra day off, take it. It's awesome you're into it, and I highly encourage you to strength train, but if you need extra recovery TAKE IT! That does not = failure, it equals you starting slowly to insure you stick with your program and make it a habit! Start now, see how you feel. If you need to do less reps, do it, if you need to ease off the cardio, do it. If you need to stay on week 1 for 3 weeks, do it. Right now, making it a habit is priority 1. Get your form down, and soon you will be working out as it's just part of life now, and it will be great!
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
    NO NO and definitely NO. It is never too soon to start lifting. LOL :drinker:

    Hey, but you already know I'm obsessed with it Just make sure you study good form and be careful out there.
  • DostThouEven
    DostThouEven Posts: 148
    sounds reasonable to me. if anything do the lifting is most important, but doing some walking along with it will only help.
  • Sqeekyjojo
    Sqeekyjojo Posts: 704 Member
    Take it easy on the dog as well. A puppy can easily 'overtrain' and get injured long before you do. A minute a week of its life is safer for its joints.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    @Sqeekyjojo,

    Walks with the puppy mean we walk for about 20 yards, she stops, sniffs around, chases a bug, then we walk again, lather, rinse, repeat. Then she really gets tired, and I carry her.
  • minizebu
    minizebu Posts: 2,716 Member
    @Calliope610, I am sorry if my response offended you. Believe me, I was not trying to be hurtful, only realistic.

    A good friend doesn't just tell you what you want to hear.

    I wish you all the luck in your weight loss journey. Try to be steady and consistent like the tortoise. The hare lost the race. (That is not a perfect analogy, because the hare lost the race because of his overconfidence, not because of taking on too much too soon.)

    I believe that you can succeed. However, I would not like to see you give up later because, as someone else put it, you've gone "balls to the wall" and burnt yourself out.

    I wish you well, my former MFP pal. I'm sorry that you no longer wish to be my friend.
  • debbieled32
    debbieled32 Posts: 57
    for me it is
    i trying jumping right into things and over doing it and just burned myself out
    i find that if i pick something and stick to it and do good, i can move on to the next thing i want to do
  • da_bears10089
    da_bears10089 Posts: 1,791 Member
    my opinion. If you are starting with stronglifts, you may want to drop the cardio down to 2 times a week. Right away, stronglifts might not seem that difficult, but once you start adding a significant amount of weight to the bar, you will need rest time to let your body recover. squatting heavy 3 times a week does a lot to the legs.
  • andreagreen1974
    andreagreen1974 Posts: 64 Member
    My thinking is this. Start slow. In time you need to increase speed, duration, reps,, etc in order to continue. If you start off with A LOT, there's no room to grow! Take it slow and steady. There are less injuries that way. But push yourself every day to break personal bests. Most importantly, listen to your body. Don't take ibuprophen to help with muscle soreness. There's a reason you are hurting! Figure out what's good hurt and injury hurt! You'll be fine if you follow those tips!! :0
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
    yes and no... there is always the risk of burning out-with pretty much anything..

    But if you're starting all these new things but keeping your mind more open instead of ridged then it allows some flexibility to figure out how it works for you, without having the all or nothing mentality that can lead to quitting everything because you feel like you're failing at one thing.
    And don't be afraid to take an extra rest day if you need it, or to take it easy instead of going full force if you're hurting. or cut your treadmill time. It's hard to find the line between obsession with exercise and laziness for me, but it's a fun one to dance around :)
  • changingstephanie
    changingstephanie Posts: 5 Member
    If you feel like you can do more, do more! Your body will tell you when you're doing too much and you can cut back at that point. Good luck!
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    One of the most important things when weight training is giving your muscles time to recover - 48 hours is what I have seen as recommended and what I do - so I lift 3x per week and run for warmups each time and maybe add that 4th day of a long run outside.

    If you do not allow your muscles to recover, you are asking for injury.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    I plan to start the strength training next week, and will do light to moderate cardio on the off days. Thanks for the input.
  • upgetupgetup
    upgetupgetup Posts: 749 Member
    It depends on what you've done before, how old you are, your biomechanics, whether you've been injured before, and how much and what you're eating now.

    Would say to stick with *very light* cardio on off days from strength training - nothing too intense or impactful. Also would switch treadmill up with other machines, or swimming. (As in - the point of the cardio, in this instance, isn't so much to burn calories as to increase blood flow to muscles to support recovery from the strength training, and to keep cardiovascular health up - it should feel good and relaxing, not challenging. It will take a while for your structures to adjust to the new stressors you've giving them, anyway.)
  • Lt_Starbuck
    Lt_Starbuck Posts: 576 Member
    Nope, not even close. just make sure that your schedule is flexible enough to allow rest days and trading out time that you need for other things. if you overplan, you are setting yourself up to not be able to meet those goals and disappoint yourself. that is a killer for momentum. dont do that.
  • _FATNSASSY
    _FATNSASSY Posts: 107 Member
    Why not take ibrophen?
  • BonaFideUK
    BonaFideUK Posts: 313 Member
    The only way you'd injure yourself with your routine is if you dont warm up beforehand. So no, I dont think you're over-training. Just remember to warm up first before doing heavy lifts.
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
    Why not take ibrophen?

    Not sure what the poster of this meant, but presume that you need to listen to your own body to know your limits so as not to overdo the weight added to the lift. Ibrophen could mask this. Muscle soreness from lifting is not debilitating, you just know you've worked those muscles and in actual fact is a really nice feeling once you get used to it.
  • _FATNSASSY
    _FATNSASSY Posts: 107 Member
    Why not take ibrophen?

    Not sure what the poster of this meant, but presume that you need to listen to your own body to know your limits so as not to overdo the weight added to the lift. Ibrophen could mask this. Muscle soreness from lifting is not debilitating, you just know you've worked those muscles and in actual fact is a really nice feeling once you get used to it.

    Andreagreen said: Don't take ibuprophen to help with muscle soreness. There's a reason you are hurting! Figure out what's good hurt and injury hurt! You'll be fine if you follow those tips!!

    I would just think you would want to take the ibuprophen and continue on your work out the next day... but I also understand Sandradev56.
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
    Why not take ibrophen?

    Not sure what the poster of this meant, but presume that you need to listen to your own body to know your limits so as not to overdo the weight added to the lift. Ibrophen could mask this. Muscle soreness from lifting is not debilitating, you just know you've worked those muscles and in actual fact is a really nice feeling once you get used to it.

    Andreagreen said: Don't take ibuprophen to help with muscle soreness. There's a reason you are hurting! Figure out what's good hurt and injury hurt! You'll be fine if you follow those tips!!

    I would just think you would want to take the ibuprophen and continue on your work out the next day... but I also understand Sandradev56.

    I think that *ideally* the muscles that have been stressed should be fully allowed to rest for at least a day and therefore we should try and not put further stress on them. I find that feeling the soreness in my muscles stops me from over working them on non lifting days. Everyone should do what works for them. If I were to take painkillers then I feel I may work harder on the treadmill for instance if I was feeling particularly good.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    You can add a lifting program, but not something like a 5x5 routine. You are several months away from that. The body has to adapt to any new routine and you also need to learn proper form, get control over movements, etc, etc.
  • Sqeekyjojo
    Sqeekyjojo Posts: 704 Member
    @Sqeekyjojo,

    Walks with the puppy mean we walk for about 20 yards, she stops, sniffs around, chases a bug, then we walk again, lather, rinse, repeat. Then she really gets tired, and I carry her.



    That's good to hear. I've seen people cause their pups a load of problems in the future by exercising them too hard, too soon.

    And look on it positively, every time you carry her, that's a little bit of weight training right there. Although this may become a problem if you've got yourself a Newfoundland.

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