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53. Are you working out too much? · The Kathie Owen Perspective Podcast

• 0:00
  Today's episode is titled, are you working out too much?
• 0:04
  Yeah, you would think I would be talking about the opposite of not working out enough, but here lately I have found a lot of my friends and clients and colleagues are working out too much.
• 0:17
  And a lot of my questions I've been asked lately have to do with exercise and what's happening and why they're not getting results.
• 0:27
  And a lot of it is because they are working out too much.
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  So let's get into the episode.
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  You're listening to the Stop the Mind Screw Podcast.
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  I'm your host, Kathie Owen Certified Fitness Trainer and Life Coach since 2002.
• 0:43
  Teaching Stop the Mind Screw Process On this channel we talk about fitness, wellness, mindset, habits, and a little of Reality Transurfing.
• 0:55
  But today we're talking about, are you working out too much?
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  Okay.
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  There are signs that you may be working out too much.
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  What are those?
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  Exhaustion, constant fatigue, irritability, prolonged muscle soreness and fitness plateaus.
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  And I would say that fitness plateaus is the biggest sign and we will discuss it in detail in just a minute.
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  I was chatting with a friend in the gym the other morning, and I told him that I had been on rest days for the last three days.
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  And he looked at me funny and said,"oh no, I'm afraid I'll lose momentum." Actually, this is a common thought process and is nothing new, but this thought can really change your body.
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  And your gains.
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  Challenging yourself in a workout is one thing.
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  Ramping up training too much, too hard, too quickly, however can pose serious health risks.
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  I see so many who work out every single day, thinking that if they take a day off of rest or that they rest, they will be taking it easy.
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  When in fact it's the other way around.
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  another thing I see is they think because they work at a desk job that is their rest.
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  Uh, oh, this is a big, no, no.Over exercising can have significant effects on mood and energy levels.
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  According to NASM.
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  According to NASM the fatigue and low energy associated with over exercising can cause irritation, anger problems with sleep problems, with productivity and lack of enjoyment of your typical interests and hobbies.
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  Oh no.
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  one of the biggest red flags that you are doing too much, too fast is an elevated resting heart rate loss or change in appetite or mood changes and sleep disturbances can also occur.
• 3:15
  You can also increase the risk of injuries, and I've seen this so many times, like stress fractures, muscle strains, runners, knee, joint pain, tendonitis, and brusitis I've seen this too shoulder impingement, anyone?
• 3:31
  Still exercising?
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  Rest is imperative.
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  The reason I mentioned shoulder impingement is because that is one of the most common injuries I see.
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  And even today I have friends who have shoulder impingement, and yet are still in the gym.
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  Daily.
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  Here are 10 signs of over training.
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  Number one decreased performance, a drop in your workout performance is one of the earliest signs of overload.
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  Altered performance levels are often more apparent in endurance activities, such as running, swimming, and cycling.
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  So in my episode last week, I talked about aging and hormones.
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  And what happens with that?
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  And I had gotten into a disagreement with a girl in the menopause group about, headaches and exercise.
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  I.
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  And she told me that she was doing cardio exercise.
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  She was running every day.
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  However, she was overdoing it.
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  She was definitely probably over training.
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  And number two, she was releasing more cortisol by just doing a slow and steady state run.
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  There were no, most likely there were no spikes in her heart rate on her.
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  Number two is disinterest in exercise.
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  A significant decrease in motivation or enjoyment of the activity can be a major sign of burnout.
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  This more often occurs in weightlifters, sprinters or soccer players who are driven by speed and power.
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  So when I was talking to my friend in the gym the other day, when I told him I was taking a rest day, he looked at me in shock and he was like, oh, I never thought of that.
• 5:21
  But then he further alluded to another gal in the gym.
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  He talked to that experienced burnout and she got to where she burned out.
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  She still in the gym every single day, but she wasn't most likely what happens is they don't even realize this is the case that they're over.
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  So the third sign of overtraining is fat gain.
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  If you've lost weight, but notice an increase in body fat, you could be in the later stages of exercise overload, the body responds to prolonged stress by elevating levels of stress hormones, including cortisol.
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  And I talk about cortisol all the time.
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  Over time this will lead to increased storage of fatty tissue as well as inhibit steroid like hormones that normally help increase.
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  A decrease in muscle mass can cause you to shed a few pounds, but this isn't necessarily a good thing since it means your body is less efficient at burning fat.
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  Number four, sign of over-training is mood changes.
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  It.
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  You suffer from depression, anger, confusion, anxiety, and irritability are common when your body is over stressed, physically, those same stress hormones you release when you're emotionally stressed are also released when you're physically overloaded.
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  And number five sign of over training is delayed recovery time.
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  You have persistent muscle soreness that last for hours or days after your workout is a sure sign.
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  You need more rest.
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  Number six is elevated resting heart rate.
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  When you put more stress on the heart, it has to work a lot harder, an increase in your normal resting rate.
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  Say from 50 beats a minute to 65 beats a minute could indicate that you're placing excessive stress on your body.
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  If you have a smart watch, I advise you to monitor this on a regular basis.
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  Sure.
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  Number seven sign of overtraining is fatigue, mental or physical grogginess is a hallmark sign of overtraining.
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  The knee-jerk reaction to sluggishness is to exercise for an energy boost, but it's a catch 22.
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  Another workout might wake you up short term, but you'll be worse off later.
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  Number eight insomnia being in the state of overload often comes with disturbed sleep patterns.
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  So instead of getting that much needed rest, you become restless and can't fall asleep..
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  Number nine, diminished appetite, a decrease in appetite can occur in the middle to later stages of overtraining and goes hand in hand with feelings of fatigue and lack of motivation by slowing down bodily processes like metabolism, the body attempts to force reduction in its workload.
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  So you start togain.
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  Number 10, a weakened immune system.
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  Don't try to push through that exercise funk or you'll keep sliding down to a weakened immune system, inflammation and outright injury.
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  Remember my friend with the shoulder impingement?
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  Yeah, that was me at one time, but I did rest.
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  I took my time off.
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  So my injury recovered in three months instead of six months, you have to rest.
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  You know, it's not a good thing.
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  Prolonged over-training can take weeks, even months to recover from and can put your health at risk.
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  Chronic inflammation, for example, has been linked to diabetes, heart disease and cancer bottom line, nurture your body and give it a much deserved break when it needs rest.
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  After that tough workout.
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  When the body doesn't have time to heal, you risk getting overuse injuries, like tendonitis, fatigue, or tendon tears.
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  Um, hello, shoulder impingement.
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  And it increases the risk of future injuries too.
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  So what are some solutions to overtraining Kathie?
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  I'm so glad you asked.
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  While over exercising can be problematic.
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  The good news is that you can reverse the effects of over exercising.
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  The first thing you can and should do is rest.
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  I told my friend that he needed to take a day off and the look on his face was of shock and fear.
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  He even told me a few of his friends in the same gym have burnout because they work out daily.
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  Honestly, my friend needs to take at least two weeks off, but I didn't tell him that cuz that would've scared him to death, but I am sure he won't hear of it anyways, unless he happens to listen to this episode and knows that I'm talking about him.
• 10:31
  By the way there is more than one"him" in quotes that I am friends with in that gym who overtrain.
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  So a solution overtraining is to take one or two weeks off of training completely, which may be long enough for mood and energy levels and motivation to return to typical levels.
• 10:52
  If you're still experiencing symptoms of overtraining after taking that much time off, it's a good idea to check in with your doctor, to see if you need to take more time off, or if there's an underlying problem that needs to be addressed after you've taken this time off.
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  And as you return to training, make sure you're taking steps to not jump right back into an exercising over exercising routine.
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  You wanna focus on the following things.
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  One of the first things you wanna focus on is eating well.
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  You'll wanna nurse your body with the calories you need for how active you are.
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  Make sure you are eating a balanced, nutritious diet.
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  What does that mean, Kathie?
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  Well, I like to say eat a high protein, high quality, lean protein, high complex carbohydrates.
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  And.
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  Low healthy fat diet that is high protein.
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  Make sure the protein is lean, eat complex carbohydrates for energy, and then also eat a healthy fats.
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  Include healthy fats in your diet.
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  Your body needs those three substances or those three components for a healthy diet.
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  Hydration is important for many key bodily process and you need extra hydration when you exercise, staying hydrated can also help you ease muscle strain and pain.
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  Getting plenty of sleep.
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  Getting plenty of sleep at night helps ensure your body has the energy.
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  It needs to get enough through the workout you wanna.
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  The National Sleep Foundation recommends getting seven to nine hours of sleep every night.
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  One thing I'm really good at is sleeping.
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  I can tell you that right now, the second, my head hits the pillow.
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  I'm out.
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  And part of the reason is because I do rest my body and give it time to recuperate.
• 13:00
  I'm really, really good at listening to what my body needs.
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  For example, when my friend asked me where I was, I had taken three days off of rest, so I got a tooth infection and I got put on antibiotics.
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  What does that have to do with working out Kathie?
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  Well, I knew that there was something in my body that wasn't right.
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  I was in major pain.
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  if I'm on antibiotics, that's already a cue.
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  Hello, you need to rest.
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  So I just took three days off, but then it turned out I had something else come up in my health that needed more rest.
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  So I ended up taking an entire week off.
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  What did I do during that week?
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  I rested.
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  I rested.
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  I did not push myself in any way, shape or form.
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  And actually I got mad at my watch for telling me, Hey, you didn't close all three rings yesterday.
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  You need to get up and do that today.
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  No, my watch.
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  Is wrong because I know my body and I know it needs to rest to heal that tooth infection.
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  And the other thing is going on in my body.
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  I was in a lot of pain, so hello.
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  That's a cue to rest and I slept sometimes I would sleep 10 hours a night.
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  Yeah.
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  Don't let that scare.
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  You.
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  It really helps a lot quickly.
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  I got over the tooth infection and quickly I got over the other issue and I'm still not going back to work out until I am a hundred percent, which leads me to the next point, leaving time for rest and recovery.
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  I highly recommend scheduling your workouts for the week on your calendar.
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  And scheduling your rest days, too.
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  If you have a pattern of over training, I recommend resting at least two to three days a week, and even leave a complete week of rest every six to eight weeks.
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  Why six to eight weeks?
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  Our body gets used to what is going on.
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  If we've been doing the same thing for six weeks.
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  You switch up your training program every six to eight weeks.
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  Are you doing that?
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  Maybe you need to speak with me and help you identify where you need to train in at different ways in different times.
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  And I'm gonna talk about this a little bit more in a minute.
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  But recording those rest days gives you time off to just rest.
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  Don't listen to your watch telling you to get up and move, cuz you know, your body better than your watch does.
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  And take that time off just to rest and relax and two to three days a week and then take a whole week off every six to eight weeks because that's when a plateau hits and that's what we're talking about next.
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  Avoid plateaus.
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  Typically your body will hit a plateau in fitness every six to eight weeks.
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  As I said before, a workout plateau is a stage of progress that happens when your body gets used to the demands of your current fitness routine, which causes your progress to level out.
• 16:08
  If you reach a fitness plateau, you may not see the results, even though you're maintaining your workout.
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  This is exactly why it is so important to number one, change your workout routines every six to eight weeks.
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  And number two rest after you've rested for one to two weeks.
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  And I know that's probably scary for some of you start back with something totally.
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  Go from the gym to a Pilates or yoga class, which are both great by the way, especially if you've been in the gym all this time or change your workout split.
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  So you hit all the muscle groups in a different way.
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  Your body will not only thank you, but reward you with much love and the results you're looking for.
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  I promise.
• 17:01
  Don't overdo it, avoid exercising in extreme heat or cold.
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  And if you live in Texas, like I do, we've had a hundred degree temperatures several days in a row.
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  Be very careful and drink extra water.
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  But when you exercise in extreme heat or even extreme cold, it's more taxing to the body and cut back on exercise.
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  When you're coping with a lot of other stressors in your life.
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  Yeah, I can't stress that enough.
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  Replenish your body with fluids, drink lots and lots of fluids, including fluids with electrolytes and potassium, water, coconut water, cherry juice, and electrolyte enhanced sports drinks are all good choices.
• 17:51
  If it's hot out or you're sweating more than normal, you'll need even more fluid.
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  The electrolytes are important.
• 18:00
  I actually take a drink with me to the gym that includes electrolytes, and I'll include a link in the show notes and the description on that, but that helps me get those electrolytes replaced in my body that I have drank.
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  And.
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  I also, drink that sometimes like when it is really hot and I sweated a lot or I just feel tired and I just need a little extra boost.
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  This drink does not have caffeine in it.
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  It just has extra electrolytes.
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  It has, BCAAs in it and it also has potassium.
• 18:33
  And prioritize recovery while it's important to work hard while training is equally as important to let your body properly recover.
• 18:43
  If I haven't said that enough, take care of sore muscles with muscle recovery methods that actually work and make sure you foam rolling and stretching on a regular basis.
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  Sore muscles.
• 18:57
  I absolutely love Epson salt.
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  Now, maybe, perhaps you can't soak in Epson salt.
• 19:02
  So make sure that that's okay for your body.
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  Cuz I know some people with diabetes are not supposed to use Epson salt, but.
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  Epson salt bath soaks are wonderful because the Epson salt, I don't know what it is.
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  It pulls the toxins from your body like lactic acid and things like that.
• 19:22
  And my son was an athlete in high school and he used to come to my house and just put the EPON salt baths and soak in'em and it would help his muscles recover quickly.
• 19:33
  So he could go back to the sport the next day, without any complications.
• 19:38
  Also make sure that you're foam rolling at the end of your workout, or if you have extra sore muscles foam, roll the crap out of them and then stretch on a regular basis.
• 19:49
  When should you stretch?
• 19:50
  You should stretch after your workout.
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  Not before, because you'll put your muscle in a way.
• 19:56
  It doesn't work as often.
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  It doesn't work.
• 20:01
  It does once it's stretched, stretching also helps prevent soreness.
• 20:06
  So we do it at the end and hold your stretches for 30 seconds, maybe 15, if you're really quick, like my client, he likes to just quickly go through the stretching, but you can also stretch once you get home.
• 20:20
  And you can stretch later in the day.
• 20:22
  I heard it said that David Goggins stretches for two hours a night.
• 20:26
  It's a little overdoing it, but yeah, it's very important to make sure you stretch.
• 20:31
  That's why yoga and Pilates are great addition to your gym workouts.
• 20:40
  So how will you rest and recover?
• 20:44
  You know, I hope this episode hit home in a good way.
• 20:48
  And let you know that it is not only okay to rest, even if you have a desk job, but it is imperative.
• 20:58
  Yeah.
• 20:59
  Please take a break, please take some time off and enjoy yourself.
• 21:05
  And it's also a method of self care, which is super important.
• 21:11
  I can't wait to see what you do with it.
• 21:15
  All right.
• 21:16
  That's my episode for today.
• 21:18
  Thank you for spending some time with me today, and I hope you enjoyed this episode.
• 21:25
  If you know somebody who can benefit from this, or, you know, somebody who's in the gym too, too much, and maybe needs to take a break, please share this episode with them.
• 21:35
  And until next time, I'll see you next time Peace Out and Namaste