Wonder if I work out too much
HilTri
Posts: 378 Member
I am medically retired from the USMC. I am a 48 yo female, 136 lbs, 5'6". I love working out. I get to the gym or step off on a run and I am so fired up about my work out I go all out. I spin 3 days a week, lift approx 75 min on spin days. Two days a week I run ( yesterday was 11 miles) or spin without lifting. I also hike with my dog daily ( not too long maybe a 1-4 miles). I eat about 1800-2000 cals per day and don't eat back exercise calories. Because I am retired I can lay around a bit and rest in the day which I realize is a real luxury for me. I am still tired but I love working out and hitting it hard. I am grateful that I have so much time to dedicate to fitness/recovery but feel tired a lot and when I make my bed in the AM, I always look forward to getting back in it at night. I sleep 7-8 hours per night. My weight is steady at 136.
Do you recommend any supplements or should I peel back on exercise a bit? Thank you.
Do you recommend any supplements or should I peel back on exercise a bit? Thank you.
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Replies
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Maybe you should focus on a new fitness goal. Everything you do sounds marvelous but what is the purpose? Have you thought of joining a triathlon? Or take up a martial art? Or focus on travel and walking destinations?
The fatigue you are experiencing is telling.8 -
Since you have more time available, have you tried increasing your sleep? It sounds like you are working out on more of an athlete level, and athletes tend to need more sleep than most people, at least if they want to perform their best. (https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/34/7/943/2596050)
Rather than reducing the workouts you seem to greatly enjoy, I'd suggest trying to aim more for 9-10 hours of sleep and see how you feel after a few weeks first.7 -
Thank you. I have often wondered what my goal is but haven’t taken the time to figure a new one out. Thank you for your insight.0
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I don't think there is anything in your post that throws up immediate red flags. IME, fatigue and feeling tired is hard to diagnose, and could be caused by a number of things (training, diet, age, etc).
Rest is not the same as recovery. Everyone needs sufficient recovery, not everyone needs rest. Intensity of your workouts will also matter, and dictate how much recovery/rest you need. So as with most things, there are a lot of variables that impact your question/situation... variables that are hard for random interneters to evaluate.
I'd start by making sure your diet is good. If you're maintaining your weight, then calories are probably fine. But what about nutrition? Fatigue can be impacted by certain nutrients. Depending on how worried about it you are, you could have a full blood panel done to see if anything was off.
Also, think about how long you've been feeling this way compared to how long you've been eating/training this way. Is there a correlation?
Lastly, while I do believe that age is just a number, I also believe that time is undefeated. At some point, you/we do start slowing down. Our bodies don't respond like they used to, and we don't recover like we used to. Keep that in mind as you evaluate things.7 -
If your fitness is not high enough that you are having trouble recovering from fatigue, yes I would recommend peeling back some of the spin and/or running until it reaches a level you can recover adequately. Eventually you will find a level of proper recovery and you can build up your fitness at a slow pace with a plan or goal in mind that incorporates all the activity.
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I would look at nutrition and rest days as a starting point to address the fatigue. Also, allergies or anything that might be affecting the quality of your sleep.2
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Usually if someone thinks they might be exercising too much they are. Hmmm.
What does MFP say your calories should be? Why aren’t you eating your exercise Cals since you don’t need to lose?5 -
your calories sound low, i have similar stats and maintain on net 1900 cals.
how long have you been training like this?3 -
I had a bout of burn out earlier this year. I had fatique, mine was accompanied with lower pressure than normal, overall feeling tired and worn down. My workout performance was suffering weeks prior that I ignored. I ended up taking three weeks with very modified/decrease in exercise. I was not dieting at the time so a calorie deficit was not the cause.
I am now integrating deload weeks every so often as to not have my body operating long periods at high intensities without a small break. This is just me as getting older my body is a little demanding for rest/recovery (i'll be 50 in a few months).
Have you ever tried to push your TDEE calorie intake out a little. Our TDEE is subject to change, for example if we increase exercise or add exercise, activity level our TDEE will change, but our body can get good at adapting. That said your intake does sound low. I am 49, 5'3.75" and maintain on 2100 (I run and lift weights).
Depending on the severity of yours decide what you want to do. Try to increase your cal intake, modify exercise, etc.8 -
Stop for a couple of weeks and just walk, breath look at the beauty around as you wonder the trails with you dog notice, stop and smell the roses then gradually build back your exercise, pay attention to how you feel as you add more back. The purpose of exercise is to feel good, alive, fit and vital not whacked out, leave that to the 20 somethings you have nothing to prove.7
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Sounds like you're wearing yourself out a bit. Take an extra rest day, but on weeks you don't feel you need it, don't. It's completely up to you. It depends really on your stamina. Coming from another 48 year old I can say there are weeks I feel a heavy workout schedule more than others. On those weeks I allow myself an extra rest day and it helps. If your goals are to become stronger, build muscle, etc. you may want to reduce the cardio a bit, but otherwise if you're just enjoying it and want to keep up your stamina I'd say do what feels right to you. Just remember to cut yourself some slack now and again.2
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Since you are retired, you can always take a nap if sleeping more at night doesn't appeal to you. When I'm off work and do significantly more exercise(like 2 T25 workouts plus a 45 min treadmill walk, and then off to swim 30min laps) I'll come home, eat a big salad for lunch and then crash on the couch for 45min-1 hr. If you enjoy the exercise, why not?2
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I'm 60 yrs old and very active. Based on your post, it certainly seems like you have a great fitness base. Without knowing any more, your current schedule doesn't seem unreasonable, so my 2 cents would be: 1) Perhaps you could consider fewer "high intensity" days,( Spin & 75 minute lift sounds like a significant load that day) and spread them out a bit, to be separated by "recovery paced" efforts to allow your body more time to recover. 2) Over the longer term, if you were training for an endurance event (marathon, triathlon, etc.) you would probably employ the concept of "periodization", separating your training into blocks (e.g. 4 weeks) and making one of the weeks a "Recovery Week" where you cut back volume and/or intensity. Mimicking this approach might help keep you refreshed for your normal weeks.
Others responders have offered some good suggestions around nutrition, sleep, etcetera.
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Thanks for alllllll of your insight. I just got a bib for the Marine Corps Marathon! Yay! A new goal! I have wanted to get back into triathalons too. The pool opens this month so I can incorporate swimming to mix it up a bit. I will allow myself to take a nap if I feel tired. I will also up my calories just a bit. Out bodies are so amazing to enable us to do all the things that we can. I am grateful that I got the fitness gene.
Ps can anyone tell me how to reply to an individual post?4 -
Thanks for alllllll of your insight. I just got a bib for the Marine Corps Marathon! Yay! A new goal! I have wanted to get back into triathalons too. The pool opens this month so I can incorporate swimming to mix it up a bit. I will allow myself to take a nap if I feel tired. I will also up my calories just a bit. Out bodies are so amazing to enable us to do all the things that we can. I am grateful that I got the fitness gene.
Ps can anyone tell me how to reply to an individual post?
Click "quote" at the bottom of their post.2 -
Thanks for alllllll of your insight. I just got a bib for the Marine Corps Marathon! Yay! A new goal! I have wanted to get back into triathalons too. The pool opens this month so I can incorporate swimming to mix it up a bit. I will allow myself to take a nap if I feel tired. I will also up my calories just a bit. Out bodies are so amazing to enable us to do all the things that we can. I am grateful that I got the fitness gene.
Ps can anyone tell me how to reply to an individual post?
Click "quote" at the bottom of their post.
Well then, I am not too old to learn new tricks! Thanks2 -
Thanks again all. My macros today are 30c, 30p, 40 fat. My calorie goal is 2020, I burned 1194 from exercise. When it is all said and done for the day I will have eaten 2058 calories. I had to guesstimate dinner because I picked up a Greek salad w chicken. I don't eat more calories back from exercise because I don't want to gain. I have never used the TDEE approach but will check it out.0
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Normally when I see a question like your heading, my snarky instinct comes out and says "probably not.." But then I read your story and well. Good for you! you're pretty damn impressive and more power to you. Keep it trucking. The one thing I will say is you may want to reconsider the not eating your calories back thing. At least on the high intensity day. Other than that keep trucking that's Badass!4
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mutantspicy wrote: »Normally when I see a question like your heading, my snarky instinct comes out and says "probably not.." But then I read your story and well. Good for you! you're pretty damn impressive and more power to you. Keep it trucking. The one thing I will say is you may want to reconsider the not eating your calories back thing. At least on the high intensity day. Other than that keep trucking that's Badass!
You are awesome A) because you are and because you suggest eating more! I like my groceries!0 -
Thanks again all. My macros today are 30c, 30p, 40 fat. My calorie goal is 2020, I burned 1194 from exercise. When it is all said and done for the day I will have eaten 2058 calories. I had to guesstimate dinner because I picked up a Greek salad w chicken. I don't eat more calories back from exercise because I don't want to gain. I have never used the TDEE approach but will check it out.
If those calorie burn figures are in the ballpark, you're netting less than 900 calories per day. That's not enough calories to fuel that kind of workout regimen, and is probably a significant part of your fatigue issue.11 -
Eating too little, not recovering enough rather than exercising too much would be my guess.
(Note - recovery isn't just "lay around a bit" after exercise.)
You could do two (separate) experiments and see how you respond.
#1 Eat a little bit more for a month. (Ignore short term weight spikes in that time.)
#2 Have an easy / deload / low intensity week.
If #1 leads to no weight gain then repeat the increase. You could be suppressing your NEAT by under eating, hence perhaps the need to lay around.
If #2 leads to less fatigue, better recovery and perhaps a weight loss then it's a pretty clear sign of over training / under recovering. Stress, cortisol, water retention etc.... You would then have to consider either making it a regular part of your schedule or a reactive measure when/if fatigue increases.8 -
I will up my calories for a month and not pay attention to any short term gains for a month and see if that helps with the fatigue. Thanks for your replies.2
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OP - is your weight steady now? If not, what's it doing, and at what rate?2
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OP - is your weight steady now? If not, what's it doing, and at what rate?
I was going to ask that question also. In the OP she said her weight was "steady at 136", but she didn't say how long she'd been maintaining at that weight, and/or if she'd been doing this same level of activity throughout maintenance.3 -
I was 133 when I wasn't eating enough (1500) and when I stresses a great deal about the number on the scale. I upped my calories to 1800-2000 started eating more protein gained muscle, lost fat and have been able to work out at a higher level of intensity, lift heavier weight and for longer duration. I feel a whole lot better aside from feeling tired when I am not working out. I am now 136lbs.0
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Sorry I forgot to say that I have been on increased calories for about 1-2 months.0
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