Over-Exercising
Exercise is amazing, right? The benefits of getting a sweat on are endless! It fills us with energy, lifts our moods, and prevents diseases. Too much of a good thing can cause problems down the road. Below are a few ways you could be ruining your body by over exercising.
Strenuous exercise can raise cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone that regulates a wide range of processes throughout the body including metabolism and the immune system. For some, strenuous exercise could be 5 hours per week and for other people it could be a few hours more than that.
How can you tell if you are over-exercising? If your legs feel heavy or you are often sick, even though you are living a healthy lifestyle. Most sicknesses would be similar to cold or flu symptoms. If you feel sore daily from your previous workouts, that is a bad sign. You should take a couple days off per week to recover. If the current workout that you are doing makes you feel tired and not energized, this could be a sign that you’re spending too much time engaging in strenuous exercise and not enough time in recovery.
Most people believe that if they increase their workouts and cut out a significant amount of food, they will ultimately reach their fitness or weight loss goals. Over-exercising can actually work against this thought process and cause you to put on weight. A perfect amount of exercise would be about 45 minutes per day 5 days per week. The workout should be challenging but not too strenuous all 5 days of the week. If you have questions, feel free to contact one our personal trainers for more information on this subject. Work smarter, not harder!
