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It’s quite often that exercise is part of the conversation when discussing healthy weight loss. After all, it’s one of the only surefire ways to burn calories, can help to improve muscle strength, boost your metabolism, and even elongate your life span. But what is less often discussed is what happens when you push your body to the brink and over-exercise.
It may seem contradictory to say that there are potential downsides to such a traditionally healthy activity, and as a whole working out is a positive addition to your daily routine, especially when it comes to losing weight. However, it’s true that there can come a point where your exercising habits become unhealthy. Before you throw yourself into working out for hours every day of the week to burn the maximum amount of calories, it’s important to become aware of the potential side effects of over-exercising which may actually be stalling your wellness progress in the long term.
Over-exercising can come when you push your body past its natural limits, ignoring signs of exhaustion and forcing yourself to exercise purely for the sake of burning calories, even when you may be better served to rest. While on the surface this may not seem overtly damaging to the body, exercising while fatigued can increase your risk of injury and lower the quality of your workout, even further exacerbating the issue of exhaustion.
“When we exercise, our muscle tissue gets broken down by microtears and gets built up stronger when we recover. If the muscles do not have time to recover properly then the chances of an injury like a muscle strain increases significantly,” explains certified USA Weightlifting L1 and CrossFit L1 Trainer, Kate Meier. Rest days are actually just as important to your wellness journey as the actual workout itself, and failing to take adequate rest days will not allow the muscles enough time to recover from the strain you’re putting them under.
Not only can over-exercising increase your risk of injury and set back your progress in the gym, but it can also have a negative impact on your sleep when you’re continuously ignoring your exhaustion cues and forcing your body into overdrive. “Over-exercising also means the body is in a state of stress. This increased stress can affect sleep which then makes it even harder to recover from workouts,” warns Meier. “Less sleep also means less energy during the day which can then affect moods and performance in other areas.”
By simply listening to your body, you should be able to tell if you’re approaching exhaustion, so it’s important to abide by these cues instead of pushing through to hit your workout goals for the week. “Pay attention if your body starts to feel more tired or sore than usual from workouts or if your sleep is getting worse. Another thing to lookout for is decreased performance during workouts such as not being able to lift as heavy or exercise as long without being fatigued,” explains Meier.
If you’ve been training for something in particular or having been pushing exceptionally hard in the gym and are noticing a decline in progress despite your hard work, this may be a telltale sign that your body is actually craving a rest day, rather than another workout. Pushing your body to the brink of exhaustion may be praised in today’s society with an overwhelming conversation surrounding hard work and being the smallest version of ourselves we can be, but the reality is that balance is one of the essential pillars of healthy weight loss, and that includes a balance between rest and work.
Another unexpected downside from over-exercising is actually a stalling of weight loss progress. This is because when your body is in distress it will hold onto fat in order to protect itself from potential danger or starvation. “The increased levels of stress from over-exercising can cause the body to hold onto weight by increasing blood sugar and reducing metabolism. In addition to this, if you begin to over eat at this point as a way to comfort and ease stress, then it will only be worse,” notes Meier.
Instead of forcing your body to workout everyday, she suggests integrating at least three days of 45-60 minutes of activity into your weekly routine. This will provide ample opportunity to build up your muscles while you workout, with space for them to repair themselves during the rest period. If you’ve been working out for longer, Meier notes that you can increase to four or five sessions a week, but it’s always important to prioritize days of recovery, even if that means simply going for a walk or doing some light yoga or stretching.
By listening to your body and allowing for ample time to recover from the tough workouts you’re putting your body through, you should be able to see the best results for weight loss without needlessly exhausting yourself.
