Not Seeing Results From Your Workout? You Might Be Overtraining
Crush a workout, conquer the world—right? There’s no denying that a good sweat makes us feel all the things: unstoppable, accomplished, sexy, strong. But, as with everything from juicy Netflix dramas to fiber-filled veggies, “too much of a good thing” definitely applies to your exercise routine—and overtraining is very much a real thing. So what exactly are the signs of overtraining? Let's get into it.
This murky territory is essentially when you start to see a decrease in exercise performance or health because you’re working out too much and not recovering enough. “Training stresses the body and breaks down muscle. It’s actually in recovery that we grow stronger and become fitter as our body repairs and rebuilds our muscles,” says Rachel Cosgrove, CSCS, co-owner of Results Fitness in California. “So if you break your body down and it starts to rebuild, but you train hard again right away, you never get to the point where you’re fully recovering and gaining strength.”
You see, though we associate it with feel-good endorphins, exercise—especially high-intensity exercise—really triggers a stress response in our body, spiking stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, explains Stacy Sims, PhD, WH advisor and author of ROAR. This stress is totally okay (in fact, it’s what signals your bod to get stronger or faster)—unless, of course, your body doesn’t have a chance to recover from it before your next effort.
Here's what you need to know about overtraining, its symptoms, how to bounce back, and how to burnout-proof your workout routine.
10 Signs You're Overtraining
Burnout is a spectrum, according to trainer and nutritional therapy practitioner Emily Schromm, CPT. At first, you churn out too much stress hormone at the wrong times—or all the time. “It’s this mode of wanting to be unstoppable, never recovering enough, and just pushing and pushing,” she says. Then you hit a brick wall, at which point you feel like a zombie all day and may even experience other hormonal issues, like changes in your cycle, Schromm adds.
Wherever you fall on the burnout spectrum, to keep your fitness on the up-and-up, you first have to sharpen your overdrive detector. Any of the following warning signs mean it’s time to slow down.
1. You no longer feel motivated to get moving
Perhaps the first big tip-off that you’re pushing past your edge? Feeling more dread than excitement about moving your body, Sims says. When exercise stops feeling fun, consider it a cue from your body to cut back.
2. You’ve hit a plateau or are getting weaker
If you feel like you’ve been putting in a ton of work but have stopped progressing (or never progressed at all), it could be a sign of overtraining, says Cosgrove. Ask yourself: Are you able to lift any heavier or move weight for longer? Have your stamina and endurance improved? If not, slow it down.
3. Your heart rate is off
When you work out in a state of overtraining, you’ll notice that in addition to struggling to push at your usual intensity, your heart rate won't drop between rounds of HIIT intervals or effort. “This indicates that heart-rate variability is low, which is a sign that your body isn’t resilient to stress,” explains Sims.
4. Your mood is all over the place
Feeling super stressed, overwhelmed, moody, sad, depressed, or anxious? All common overtraining symptoms. Since your body is essentially breaking down, your hormone balance and mental health often start to take a hit, notes Cosgrove.
Go ahead and blame that off-kilter cortisol. “Small things really start to get under your skin,” Sims adds. “You get annoyed and frustrated but don’t even really know why.”
5. You’re more sore than usual or an old injury is flaring up
Exercise causes inflammation, and when there’s no recovery period to reduce that inflammation, aches, dull pain, and injury are much more likely, says Cosgrove.
6. Your sleep is wonky
Hormone changes coupled with extreme soreness can make it hard to get the solid seven-plus hours of Zzz's you need to properly recover from exercise, says Cosgrove. High levels of cortisol can also contribute to fatigue, which is another common side effect.
7. You’re catching every cold
Overtraining often compromises your immune system, making it more likely that you’ll get sick every time you encounter a virus, says Cosgrove. Training through these illnesses can make things even worse.
8. You start having period issues
The hormonal changes caused by overtraining can halt your menstrual cycle, which is a key sign you need to ease up, Cosgrove says.
9. You’re losing muscle mass
Check with your gym to see if you can monitor your body composition to see whether you’re losing fat or muscle. If it’s muscle mass, you’re probably overtraining and not giving yourself enough fuel to recover after workouts, says Cosgrove.
“For me, the first sign of my hyper-cortisol state was that no matter how much I lifted, I could not see muscle definition,” Schromm says. “I felt like I was doing all the right things, but my body composition was almost regressing.” She’s not the only one: A 2015 study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism links high cortisol levels with increased body fat.
10. Sweat is your only stress-relief method
Even if you’re not quite feeling burnt-out yet, if don’t have a go-to way to chillax that doesn’t involve pushing your body hard, you’re pretty much destined for eventual exhaustion, Schromm says. So, though this one may not be an overtraining symptom in itself, it's a sure sign that you're setting yourself up for trouble.
How To Bounce Back From A Period Of Overtraining
Here’s some tough love for all you high-performers out there (we’re right there with ya): If you’re totally wiped and noticing the opposite of the results you’re after in the gym and in the mirror, it’s going to take more than a couple of days of changing your workout ways to bounce back. “We’re looking at up to 90 days,” Sims says.
Exactly how you tweak your routine during that time depends on where on the overtraining spectrum you fall, your personal fitness goals, and just how willing to shift gears you are—but adjusting your fitness framework is a must if you want to rebound.
Turn Down The Intensity
First things first, press pause on the HIIT, hardcore cardio, and CrossFit-style workouts, all of which trigger a major stress response, according to Schromm. “You have to give yourself permission to knock it down from 100 percent to 60 percent,” she says. This way, you can shift the scales from a state of breakdown to a state of rebuilding.
If you still want to hit up your favorite studio class or see your gym friends, find creative ways to lower the heat. “It can be as simple as adding an extra minute of rest or swapping burpees for something like glute bridges to slow your heart rate down,” Schromm says.
Pro tip: When sweating in a group setting, let the coach know that your win for the day is just walking through the door—and that you don’t want that extra push mid-workout, recommends Schromm.
Set Your Sights On Strength
When your cortisol is on the fritz, just three 30- to 45-minute strength-training sessions a week can be the sweet spot for giving your bod enough stimulus and recovery to get your results back on track, Schromm says.
If you want to sweat, get outside—sans smartwatch or fitness tracker. “You’re hiking, you’re swimming, you’re in nature,” says Schromm. “You can run up and walk down hills a couple of times, for example, but don’t document or track it.” Shift the focus off of your stats and onto fun.
Get Your Fuel Right
In addition to your actual exercise, your nutrition plays a major role in whether you get fitter or fall flat. “You really want to focus on fueling for your activity,” Sims says. “That means that if you’re doing a 6:00 a.m. workout, you’re eating beforehand—even if it’s just a banana.” Going into a workout with something in your system means your body doesn’t have to release as much cortisol to get you through.
Then, to kickstart recovery, get a protein-carb combo—like yogurt or a shake with banana and protein powder—in within 30 minutes of calling it quits, recommends Sims.
Chill Out
Remember that whole spiel about exercise inevitably leading to exhaustion if it's your only outlet after a rough day? That means it’s time to find ways to find peace that don’t leave you dripping with sweat. “It can still involve moving your body, but it’s not a formal workout or intense,” suggests Schromm. Some of her personal go-to’s: hiking, breathwork, yoga, and journaling.
“Anything that’s going to lower your cortisol levels is going to be good for you and your body,” Cosgrove adds. So yes, vegging out and watching Netflix can totally be a helpful part of your routine.
How To Prevent Overtraining Altogether
Once you start sleeping better, feel less trigger-happy throughout the day, and start seeing results (like visible muscle tone) again, congrats! You’re back in balance. That doesn’t mean you should jump right back into HIIT-it-or-quit-it mode, though. “If you jump right back into what you were doing before, you’re going to get the same result,” Cosgrove says.
These guardrails will keep your routine just stressful enough to keep your body on its toes, without running it into the ground.
Limit Your High-Intensity Days
No matter how badass you feel, stick to three or four high-intensity training days per week, max, Sims says. On those days, push at 90 to 100 percent during your work intervals. Then, on the other days of the week, keep your effort level below 50 percent. “Go on an embarrassingly slow jog and know that the goal is simply to circulate your blood,” suggests Sims.
This approach, called “polarization,” ensures you get enough stimulus on your hard days and enough rest on your easy days to keep going strong.
Work In Blocks
Another important tactic with a cool name that’ll burnout-proof your routine: periodization. This basically means that, like an athlete, you cycle your training between blocks of pushing hard and blocks of easing up. How it might work: “For two weeks, you focus on those high-intensity sessions—and then, for a week, you focus on recovery or technique,” Sims explains.
Try this active recovery routine to give your muscles some R&R:
During this planned recovery period, called a “de-loading phase,” you'll lift half what you normally do or slow your pace and lower your typical mileage significantly, says Cosgrove. These de-loading phases serve as active recovery weeks in your overall training, she explains.
The bottom line: If you experience any overtraining symptoms, know that it’s okay to take time off from working out.
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