It's January, and lots of us are thinking about taking up a new exercise regime or increasing the time we spend in the gym. But it's important not to do too much too soon, despite your best intentions. BBC Newsbeat contacted our executive personal trainer Chris Hall to talk about how much exercise is too much, and how to spot the signs of over-training. You can read his full comments below.
Q1: How much exercise is too much?
The definition of “too much” exercise will vary from person to person. If you’ve not exercised for a few months and set out to run a marathon, it’s very likely that’ll be too much, but for a seasoned marathon veteran, it’d be a normal day’s training.
If you’re new to exercise or have taken a break, try training twice per week, for an hour at a time and then build up from there.
Q2: How do you know if you’re doing too much exercise?
Things to look out for include your ability to fall asleep, and your ability to stay asleep. If you struggle to fall asleep more than normal, it could be a sign that you’re spending too much time training and/or not taking enough rest days. If you’re struggling to stay asleep, it could suggest that you’re training too aggressively and may need to back off slightly from the weights you are lifting.
Another simple thing to measure is your morning heart rate. Most phones and fit-bits now are equipped with heart-rate monitors. Once you’ve established a baseline you’ll be able to see if your morning heart rate is raised. If it is, this could suggest that you’re overtraining. If you’re training too hard, your body will be working overtime to help you recover and to meet the new demands you’re placing on it, causing your heart rate to elevate. Try backing off or resting up until for a day of so until it’s gone back to its baseline.
Another sign to look out for would be overall performance. If you’re suddenly surprised to find yourself having to drop the weights that you would usually lift or, unable to keep your regular pace during those HIIT sessions then this sudden, unexplained drop in performance could be the body’s way of telling you “I’m out of gas and need some rest.”
Q3: What damage can you do by exercising too much?
The most obvious risk of over-training is injury. If you’re overreaching then you’re far more likely to be triggering old injuries to reoccur, or even gathering new ones. You’re also at greater risk of becoming ill if you’ve worked your body into an over-trained state, as your immune system won’t be working as effectively as normal.
There can also be dangers to your mental health. A lack of sleep can lead to depression and mood changes, which can then be aggravated by feelings of failure or low-self esteem if you’re not managing the workouts that were easy for you a couple of weeks ago. Exercise should be a positive experience, so if it’s something you once enjoyed and you’re now dreading it, that’s a good sign you need to take a break. Try taking a full week off, and then slowly increasing your workouts again after that.
Q4: Why is rest important?
When you ask people why they are exercising, it’s usually because they want to be healthier. It’s not uncommon to hear that people are going to go from nothing to hitting the gym or pounding the pavements five-to-seven times per week. However, rest is a crucial tool in the journey for health and its vastly underestimated. Rest is important for recovery and repair. When you’re working out, you’re actually breaking down muscle tissues, not growing them. It’s the rest time in-between workouts which allows the muscles to repair and grow. If you over-train then you hamper the body’s ability to recover, leading to the symptoms listed above.
You can read Chris's comments and BBC Newsbeat's full article on January health fads here.