How much is “too much”?

For many people, the past several years has been an absolute rollercoaster. One of the few positives of to come out of the 2020+ shenanigans was a huge uptick in people taking up fitness related hobbies. So many people decided to get up and get into shape. This has been largely positive, and I am so glad that out of all the insane goings-on these past several years, so many people made the decision to take control of their health. That being said, just like every other hobby out there, there is such a thing as “too much.” And in fitness, sometimes too much can be just as detrimental as not enough.

Consider all the benefits of regular exercise. Increased cardiovascular health, improved mental health, improved strength and bone density, improved metabolic efficiency, and so much more can be gained by being active. But what if I told you that too much volume and/or intensity can negatively impact the very things you sought to improve through exercise? It is absolutely true, and here are some of the effects of overtraining:

Anxiety

Depression

Loss of Motivation

Brain Fog

Sleep Issues

Overall Increased Sensitivity to Stress

Appetite issues

“So how can this happen? I thought exercise was supposed to help improve all of these areas?”

Exercise absolutely helps… provided your recovery is adequate. You may hear some people say, “There is no such thing as overtraining, only under-recovering.” Those people are obnoxious as hell, but also right. See, when you engage in exercise, especially vigorous exercise like lifting heavy or high intensity cardio, your body needs more time to recover than it would from a brisk walk or a gentle resistance training session. In simple terms, more effort = more recovery. Keep in mind, your nervous system needs to recover as well, not just the muscles. For many people, overtraining won’t be an issue. But, for those people who do too much, ESPECIALLY if they suffer from certain mental health conditions, overtraining can be reached very quickly. Once this happens, it can feel like your symptoms get kicked into overdrive.

You have heard the phrase “There is no one size that fits all,” and in the fitness realm, it is SO true. For people who tend to handle stress very well, recovery may be a fast process. They can sleep well, are able to process day to day life better, and generally are pretty relaxed. For people who are prone to anxiety, recovery may be much slower. Meaning they will need more time to recover from a bout of exercise. For these reasons, good programming is CRUCIAL to maintaining a healthy active lifestyle.

Even though you may want to lift weights 5 days per week, you may find that recovery is far superior with only 3 days. Those same people with slower recovery may also benefit from lower volume training. Remember the signs all mechanics used to have hanging in their garage?

“You can have it done fast, cheap, or well; pick two.”

The same thing applies to exercise. You can train hard, often, or a lot(volume); pick two.

Keep that in mind when you get wrapped up in the whole, “ThE GyM iS mY tHeRaPy” bullshit.

Stay healthy.