Everything in moderation…including exercise!

Everything in moderation…including exercise!

by FitAmbitiousBlonde

Ok so I’ve talked about consistency, accountability, patience & persistence and how each have played major roles in my own health and wellness journey.  I thought it was also important to talk about another piece of the puzzle which is moderation.  At this point in my journey, almost exactly a year in, moderation is proving to be a lot harder than I ever could have imagined in the beginning!  I have fallen in love with this lifestyle, with lifting, with getting stronger and I am now at a point where I have to actually tell myself “you need to take a day off” even though most weeks I don’t want to! I know, who woulda thought?!?!  I went from barely exercising at all to being a fitness addict in a very short amount of time!

I realize I probably sound like a bit of a weirdo for what I am about to say, but I truly look forward to my workouts each day.  They are a time for me to shut off the rest of the world.  To ignore emails. Hold off on responding to texts.  Disconnect basically from the overly connected world we live in and just focus on my own mental and physical health.  I have come to be fiercely protective of that time I spend on myself even if it is just 30 or 40 minutes a day. It’s me time.  It’s time that allows me to clear my head and recharge.  It gives me an outlet for the stresses an anxieties we all face during a typical day.  Instead of struggling to fit in my workouts, I now plan my days and weeks around them.  Being healthy and staying in shape has now become a top priority to me and instead of having to force myself to workout I now have to force myself to stop working out!!

So here’s where the thought behind this post comes in…I think I am getting to the point of possibly being so into my workouts I am bordering on overtraining.  Hence why I have to remind myself that moderation is also very important when it comes to all things fitness.  I am good in the area my eating habits now. I build in cheat days each week that I stick to and thoroughly enjoy!  I don’t restrict myself if I want to have dessert or some chips or a bowl of rice whenever the mood strikes.  Moderation in that area for me is under control.  But these days I soooo enjoy working out that I when it comes to my built-in rest days I find myself not wanting to rest!

More is not always better.  And in the case of fitness more can lead to negative consequences.  As I have mentioned before, I am a firm believer in planning your workouts out ahead or time and also scheduling in your rest days in the same manner. Luckily for me, the programs I have been following (I am on day 76 of 80 of my latest one!) tell me exactly when to workout and when to rest.  But I have found myself cheating and working out when I should be taking a rest day.  I know, bad Beth.  I’ve started to notice though that I am sore a lot and some of my muscles feel pained during the course of my workouts.  I also have had two illnesses in the last couple months (bronchitis and a sinus infection) which is only unusual because I had been perfectly heathy for almost a full year beforehand.  These are all signs of overtraining.

Some of the biggest signs you are overtraining are:

  • Muscle Soreness
  • Pain when working out
  • Decreased Immunity (More colds/viruses than normal)
  • Injuries
  • Trouble Sleeping
  • Decrease in your ability to workout as hard/intensely as you were before
  • Feeling like you constantly have to be working out/putting in long hours working out
  • Eventually it can lead to burn out and giving up on your fitness goals

If you are just staring on your workout journey getting your sweat on 3-4 times a week is a good rule of thumb.  For more advanced fitness junkies working out 4-5 times a week is usually the standard.  Bascially though you want to plan in at least 2 rest days a week to your routine.   What I had been doing before I got a little carried away was having one fuil rest day where I didn’t do anything physical and one active rest day where I would either do some light hiking or pilates or something that got my heart rate up a bit but wasn’t strenous or taxing to my muscles.  That was working very well for me and is something I need to get back to ASAP.

The moral of this story, don’t be like me!! Let your body rest and recover between workouts. Luckily I have wised up in time to prevent an injury or anything really serious from happening.  I am actually taking a rest day today…I promise!  I will not lie, I have a little bit of anxiety thinking about not working out but I know it is the right thing to do for my body.  I also logically know that I will not lose any ground or muscle or motivation from one or two days off a week.  Moderation is key when it comes to working out, nutrition, and well just about everything in life.  Having a healthy balance of days you push your body and days you let it rest is so important to staying on track and making those gains.  So here’s to not being such a nut job and starting to take my own advice!

Xoxoxo,

Beth

64 thoughts on “Everything in moderation…including exercise!”

  2. I totally get it! Even one full rest day a week is hard for me to stick to. I mainly run, but I put usually put in 25-35 miles a week. I have friends that are doubling my total. I don’t know how they don’t feel all of the overtraining signs.

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  5. Good post, but I don’t think you’re a weirdo 😉 I train 5-6 days a week myself people fail to listen to their bodies. Rest is essential for recovery and growth but can be active low intensity, yoga, walking, jogging, it doesn’t need to be balls to the wall all out HIIT of heavy set weights, balance in all things. Enjoying your blog btw x

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  11. Great post! I went through an overtraining phase in my early twenties. I appeared happy, but I was MISERABLE! Working out was ALL I would think about. It’s an addictive lifestyle for sure. Moderation is something that we always need to be reminding ourselves of to stay healthy, happy and prevent injuries 🙂

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    1. Hi Alina…thanks for stopping by! That is exactly what I saw happening to me and wanted to avoid. I love to workout but I don’t want it to becoem an obsession at the expense of my health or my other intersets in life. Thanks again for stopping by and reading!! 🙂

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  12. Great blog. Do you practise yoga? The blog I am currently writing speaks about 2 major parts of yoga: moderation and truthfulness, which is exactly what you are talking about. Being honest in your exercise routine and knowing where you are at.
    Thumbs up.

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  14. Thanks for motivating me to get back to the gym – scheduled my weight lifting and yoga for tonight after 4 weeks off! Love your blog! What I love about fitness is how the people you work out with become your family 🙂 Everyone there is pumped, and that in itself is motivating. Keep up the great work — I’d love to have abs like yours 🙂

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  15. As you said Beth it’s all about moderation and sometimes we have to train ourselves mentally to be moderate in everything in life really. I was like you hardcore with workouts and although I did take one full rest day a week I still burnt out and having hashimoto’s, that sent me backwards big time. I’ve recently just started lifting again and love it but I’ve pulled the romboid muscle in my shoulder blade so I’m leaving lifting till that’s healed and I’ve gone back to yoga to help build strength and flexibility.
    P.S thanks for stopping by my blog 😁

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    1. Oh wow….hope your shoulder recovery is going well! Yoga is definitley a great way to build strength without the impact, I try to do it at least once a week myself! Thanks so much for stoppiung by and reading!! 🙂

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      1. Hi Beth….yes the shoulder is healing nicely thank goodness as it was really driving me crazy. I always feel so motivated and invigorated after yoga. Looking forward to your next post. Where are yo based? 🙂

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  19. Nice blog! I absolutely get it; I took up kickboxing 9 months ago and have recently graded for my third belt. However, within the last month I finally recognised that I was over-training, and had reached burnout, feeling exhausted, heavy and impatient. Apart from 3/4 nights a week at kickboxing, I was also doing circuit training, sometimes three sessions one after the other. I decided that kickboxing was important to me, and since I have quit the circuit training I am finding that my fitness levels have actually improved… I was even awarded an extra point for my front kick! So, everything you said makes absolute sense!

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    1. Oh i have wanted to try kickboxing and regular boxing for some time now. I will have to definitley put that on my to-do list for this month! Thanks for stopping by and reading and congrats on that front kick!! 🙂

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    1. I am a bit weird probably that I really enjoy it now…but it really helps to find the kind of exercise you enjoy. For me, I found easy to follow programs that I can fit in to my daily schedule with no problem. That helps a lot!!!

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  21. I’ve fallen into the trap of overexercising too. I started working out at 5 am because I wanted to apply Robin Sharma’s 5 am concept but I tried too hard and it caused some side effects….

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  24. Great advice. I find as I’ve gotten older I need to increase my recovery time. I can still exercise as hard but not as often. Recovery is an important part of the program. That can include an easy day or day off, or just ensuring you get enough sleep. Thanks for the article.

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    1. Oh man yes! I definitely can’t recover as quickly these days but I make sure I take at least one rest day a week and stick to a pretty set sleeping schedule even on the weekends. It makes a huge difference! Thank you for stopping by and reading! 🙂

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  29. I don’t find you weird for looking forward to it…quite the opposite!

    I find it neurologically strange when people don’t.

    We are supposed to move…in many different ways…as you know…for many different reasons.

    I’m glad you have such passion towards it all…and set a positive…realistic standard.

    I think you make a great point in this post…one that is very refreshing to see.

    A message I echo in my clinic on a daily basis to those who exercise.

    A message…not enough promote.

    Just wanted to say…it shows the pureness of your intentions and is a much higher level than typically found on the majority of blog posts these days.

    It’s nice to see somebody helping affect and change lives.

    Really enjoy your posts and your journey.

    keep doing you 👊👍✌️❤️

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