Overtraining = more is not more

Admission: I was guilty of this for many years and I know that it is NOT easy to change your approach and your beliefs around fitness and what it takes to get the results you want, but if you think you might be overdoing your training, little changes are going to have big benefits on your physical and overall health.

I just read an article in Oxygen magazine with pro body sculpting models and personal trainers - question of the month was How much time do you spend training? and all of them said one hour, maximum except for one who spent an hour and 45 minutes only during competition period.

If you have a "more is more" approach to fitness, how about being smarter and taking a "quality over quantity" approach? I commonly see people grinding out long sessions of cardio machines in the belief this is the ideal weight-loss recipe. What is more effective and smarter and more fun is variety, planning your workout in advance, alternating high, moderate and low intensity intervals and plenty of resistance training (ideally with heavy weights). Muscle burns calories and it keeps churning up fuel long after your workout is over.

Trainer can give you tailored advice

If you are regularly working out for over and hour, see a personal trainer for a few sessions and ask them how you can get the results you want using your gym time efficiently. If you want a trainer recommendation, contact me. I would love to train you or recommend someone who can.

Overtraining sucks

• Training = Workout + Recovery
• Overtraining = increased back, knee, ankle and hip vulnerability to injuries
• Overtraining = imbalance in hormonal levels with increased cortisol (stress hormone) and adrenal gland fatigue (tiredness, poor sleep, moodiness)
• Overtraining = emotional vulnerability and heightened anxiety