How Do You Know If You're Overtraining?

actuallythoughthistime
actuallythoughthistime Posts: 2 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Recently I've been working out 6 days a week, with one rest day (Saturday). I mostly try to work out twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. My schedule usually goes as follows-

Monday: 5 mile run and 60 min power yoga (w/weights)
Tuesday: 45 min spin class and 60 min hot yoga
Wednesday: 50 min hard strength training (at solidcore, for those of you who don't know it, it's the best workout in the world!!)
Thursday: 45 min spin class and 60 min barre class
Friday: 60 min kickboxing class and 60 min power yoga (w/ weights)
Saturday: REST DAY
Sunday: 50 min solidcore and 60 min yoga

Usually I budget around 1400-1800 calories, and on my rest day, I eat as much as I want. I'd ideally like to lose around 10 pounds, but more importantly, I'd like to tone up and build muscle- scales don't really matter to me. The reason I exercise every day isn't to work off calories (I've been down that road before...), but is rather a result of my endless love for fitness. Whenever and wherever I'm physically pushing myself, I'm in my happy place.

I guess my general question is- is this too much exercise? And am I eating enough? I'm currently 5'2" and 115 pounds. If I do build muscle and/or gain weight, I'd like to do it as healthy and safe as possible.

Thanks!

Replies

  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Signs of overtraining: elevated resting heart rate, restless or difficult sleep, increase in irritability, decreased or stale exercise performance--you plateau or actually start to regress in your workloads. You can also get to a point where you can tolerate the workouts but progress and even weight loss stop because your body never fully recovers. You just keep going around in circles.

    On paper, you are pushing the edge. I don't automatically judge someone as "overtraining " because they work out a lot. It may be that you can tolerate this just fine--esp at your age. However, you will always be on the threshold of overtraining and you need to be aware of that and be ok with taking breaks if you get to that point.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,466 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    Signs of overtraining: elevated resting heart rate, restless or difficult sleep, increase in irritability, decreased or stale exercise performance--you plateau or actually start to regress in your workloads. You can also get to a point where you can tolerate the workouts but progress and even weight loss stop because your body never fully recovers. You just keep going around in circles.

    This ^^

    And also ...
    -- recovery takes longer
    -- you're tired
    -- ongoing muscle soreness
    -- coming down with colds and flus

    I exercise quite a bit, but try to vary what I do, the length, and the intensity. I also try to include rest days the day after a really big day.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    and also, also, it depends if you're fueling it properly... 1400 cals per day sounds way too low, 1800 sounds more realistic
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    I'm interested in the answers here. I work out 6 days a week--45-50 minutes during the week, about 1.5 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I too do it because I love it. When I go to bed at night I can't wait to get up in the morning and get to the gym. But I told myself if that feeling ever went away or I was getting burnt out that I would drop down to 5, and maybe even, 4 days a week.

    I don't see this schedule as sustainable for long term for me but thought I would ride the wave while I could.

    Thank you for all of your answers. It was enlightening.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,915 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    Signs of overtraining: elevated resting heart rate, restless or difficult sleep, increase in irritability, decreased or stale exercise performance--you plateau or actually start to regress in your workloads. You can also get to a point where you can tolerate the workouts but progress and even weight loss stop because your body never fully recovers. You just keep going around in circles.

    On paper, you are pushing the edge. I don't automatically judge someone as "overtraining " because they work out a lot. It may be that you can tolerate this just fine--esp at your age. However, you will always be on the threshold of overtraining and you need to be aware of that and be ok with taking breaks if you get to that point.
    THIS.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • ChelzFit
    ChelzFit Posts: 292 Member
    I dug myself into overtraining this past December, I ignored the signs and I am finally just getting back into the swing of things.
    My symptoms:
    Insomnia-I would fall asleep and then wake up two hours later with a racing heart and not able to fall back asleep
    Very moody and emotional, I would lose my patience very easily and cry over everything
    My period cycles were crazy
    Fatigue after workouts and throughout the day
    Elevated resting heart rate
    Loss of sex drive
    Low blood pressure (I normally have low, but it was getting to the point where I would get dizzy during workouts when going from a sitting to standing position.)
    Reactive hypoglycemia (I would be shaking two hours after eating)
    I ended up going to the doctor, and the only thing that showed up was a very low level of testosterone and my doctor said I was suffering from anxiety (which I do have). I don't know if I really believe in adrenal fatigue syndrome, but I am pretty sure my adrenals were depleted and I really messed with my hormones.
    Even though I continued to push through my workouts, I really started to dread them. I was working out 6 days a week 40 minutes of cardio and half hour weights. Probably doesn't seem like much, but I am learning what works for others might not work for me. I was eating around 2,300 a day which I always thought was enough, but I also have two toddlers at home so maybe it wasn't. I was maintaining my weight so I wasn't losing any weight.
    If you "think" you might be overtraining there is no harm in taking a week off to just relax and eat well. I really wished I would have listened. I love exercising and it is hard for me to take time off, but I have learned for me it can do more harm if I don't listen to my body. Most of these symptoms subsided after time off thankfully and I am slowly getting back into workouts.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    in addition to what has been said, i think it also depends on your goals and your current physical shape. There are people that do hard physical labor for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for a living, are they "over training" or are their bodies just simply trained to do what they need to do. What about pro athletes that can train all day . A daily 60 minute run to them is just their warm up. So You have to take into account your current physical shape, if you are in super top shape and healthy, exercising 60 minutes every day of the week isn't gonna be as much on your body as if you are out of shape and just starting out.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I am curious as to why the 2 a days?

  • richln
    richln Posts: 809 Member
    I don't agree with a lot of stuff that Ben Greenfield writes, but I found this particular article pretty insightful:
    https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/06/how-to-know-with-laser-like-accuracy-if-your-body-is-truly-recovered-and-ready-to-train/

    For me personally, the first things I notice are chronic fatigue, sore joints that don't seem to recover, and a psychological aversion to training.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    I think you have gotten great answers here.
    But I tend to be a little dense and I ignore the signs. What really kind of clues me in to the fact that I need more rest is when I go off to exercise -- out the door for a run, off to the gym -- and I realize I am dreading it.
    I should be looking forward to working out. When I don't, I know I need a rest.
  • alexlr05
    alexlr05 Posts: 4 Member
    A word of caution: I messed myself up training like you are now. I did crossfit 6x/week PLUS trained for a long distance trail races at the same time, which meant long runs, intense spin classes, etc on top of a very busy career. I was doing 2x/day multiple times per week. I didn't eat enough to sustain it all either. The stress messed with my hormones and thyroid, and my body fat actually INCREASED. So I started eating less and less (like 1200 cals max/day), which just made things way worse. I stopped getting my period, felt awful, couldn't sleep, etc. I had to see an endocrinologist in the end. So, now I'm in a very long process of getting things back to normal. I did some serious damage. I'm also working with a PhD nutritionist, and our goal is to get me up to 2100+ cals a day, and he wants me doing crossfit 4x/week and nothing else. I'm eating a lot of protein (1 g per pound of my body weight), a lot of fat for my hormones, and less carbs. I'm not much bigger than you, and you can see that he thinks 2100 cals is the right amount for 4x/week workouts. (And I know he knows what he's doing... I've seen the results in many others!)

    Also- WHY are you doing that? Is it control? Are you bored? Exercise bulimia? Maybe time to step back and do a hard self-assessment.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    If you feel like you might be overtraining, you probably are. Try taking one more rest day in the middle of your workout week. You can still walk or do short, light cardio, like 20 minutes at a lighter intensity. You don't have to be a couch potato!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    actuallythoughthistime wrote: »
    Recently I've been working out 6 days a week, with one rest day (Saturday). I mostly try to work out twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. My schedule usually goes as follows-

    Monday: 5 mile run and 60 min power yoga (w/weights)
    Tuesday: 45 min spin class and 60 min hot yoga
    Wednesday: 50 min hard strength training (at solidcore, for those of you who don't know it, it's the best workout in the world!!)
    Thursday: 45 min spin class and 60 min barre class
    Friday: 60 min kickboxing class and 60 min power yoga (w/ weights)
    Saturday: REST DAY
    Sunday: 50 min solidcore and 60 min yoga

    Usually I budget around 1400-1800 calories, and on my rest day, I eat as much as I want. I'd ideally like to lose around 10 pounds, but more importantly, I'd like to tone up and build muscle- scales don't really matter to me. The reason I exercise every day isn't to work off calories (I've been down that road before...), but is rather a result of my endless love for fitness. Whenever and wherever I'm physically pushing myself, I'm in my happy place.

    I guess my general question is- is this too much exercise? And am I eating enough? I'm currently 5'2" and 115 pounds. If I do build muscle and/or gain weight, I'd like to do it as healthy and safe as possible.

    Thanks!

    Why are you doing two-a-days every day? I personally think it's a bit much. I do two-a-days, but I keep it to 2 or 3 times per week...and i don't do intense + intense...my two-a-days are usually an easy ride in the AM and my lifting session (more intense) in the PM. My other training days also vary in intensity...like the day after I do my sprint intervals, I do an easier endurance paced ride the next day on flats, etc, etc, etc.

    Personally, I think what you're doing is a good way to ultimately over-train...it happens over time and usually people completely ignore the symptoms. Proper rest is pretty important to recovery...and by rest I don't mean doing nothing, just varying the intensity of what you're doing. I also think you're doing too much to really build any meaningful muscle mass. I'd also say 1400 calories is likely underfeeding that activity.

    That said, I don't know what your current fitness level is or how vigorous you're actually working in your training bouts.
  • actuallythoughthistime
    actuallythoughthistime Posts: 2 Member
    These replies have been really helpful! I think I definitely am exercising too much, but my workouts are honestly just so much fun! I want to do them all over again once I've finished. But, like everything else, moderation is key :).
  • ronocnikral
    ronocnikral Posts: 176 Member
    actuallythoughthistime wrote: »
    These replies have been really helpful! I think I definitely am exercising too much, but my workouts are honestly just so much fun! I want to do them all over again once I've finished. But, like everything else, moderation is key :).

    You call that obsession. And it's not healthy.

  • ChelzFit
    ChelzFit Posts: 292 Member
    alexlr05 wrote: »
    A word of caution: I messed myself up training like you are now. I did crossfit 6x/week PLUS trained for a long distance trail races at the same time, which meant long runs, intense spin classes, etc on top of a very busy career. I was doing 2x/day multiple times per week. I didn't eat enough to sustain it all either. The stress messed with my hormones and thyroid, and my body fat actually INCREASED. So I started eating less and less (like 1200 cals max/day), which just made things way worse. I stopped getting my period, felt awful, couldn't sleep, etc. I had to see an endocrinologist in the end. So, now I'm in a very long process of getting things back to normal. I did some serious damage. I'm also working with a PhD nutritionist, and our goal is to get me up to 2100+ cals a day, and he wants me doing crossfit 4x/week and nothing else. I'm eating a lot of protein (1 g per pound of my body weight), a lot of fat for my hormones, and less carbs. I'm not much bigger than you, and you can see that he thinks 2100 cals is the right amount for 4x/week workouts. (And I know he knows what he's doing... I've seen the results in many others!)

    Also- WHY are you doing that? Is it control? Are you bored? Exercise bulimia? Maybe time to step back and do a hard self-assessment.

    Your experience sounds just like what I have/still am going through. I have thought about going to an endo but unsure if it would be worth my time. Did they find an actual problem with your thyroid? I am slowly getting back into working out four days a week for an hour at a time but I am still having issues with some fatigue and sleeplessness. I am making sure I eat around 2,400 cals (5'7 135pounds). Did your endo mention anything about your adrenals?
  • bowsontoes
    bowsontoes Posts: 44 Member
    actuallythoughthistime wrote: »
    I think I definitely am exercising too much, but my workouts are honestly just so much fun! I want to do them all over again once I've finished. But, like everything else, moderation is key :).

    I tend to do all or nothing, but when I do all, I used to really go for it like you (1,200 calories, 2+ hours in the gym days a week and 4 to 5 hour hikes after 2 spin classes on the weekends. I ended up reinjuring my knee from the stress, so now I take a more balanced approach. Each week, I take 4 Solidcore classes, 1 spin class, and do a 30-minute HIIT session. When I have extra energy or get amped up when I've already worked out that day, I take a long walk instead (3 miles usually, now with my 1 year old golden!). Instead of doing 2 high-intensity workouts, think of it as doing 1 and having an active recovery after. If you do Solidcore, I am guessing you live in DC, which is such a scenic place to walk, whether you walk Rock Creek Parkway or around in the city. I've sustained this exercise pattern for about 2 months now, and I'm hoping it won't lead to burnout or injury - so far it hasn't!

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