It is no secret training makes us feel good and has many health benefits, but it is very easy to fall into the common trap thinking more is better.
More is better in terms of green leafy vegetables but when it comes to exercise more can have harmful effects and disrupt your progress.
We become over-trained when we fail to practice adequate recovery periods within our training program or consume too little or insufficient nutrition. Unfortunately, this is usually only identified when progress has stalled, or you seek advice (usually too late) from a professional who will then explain you are overtraining.
Far too often I hear females planning their new lifestyle change starting with the gym 6-7 x per week. This is unnecessary when your training program is effective and you plan your diet towards your goals.
Do not put all your eggs in one basket. For fat loss, you want to start doing as little as possible whilst losing body fat. This way there is lots of room and factors to change over time to ensure you carry on showing progress. Do not start with anything that is not realistic to your lifestyle and not something you can sustain long term.
Overtraining will place stress on your body which is not desirable for fat loss or hypertrophy (muscle building) goals. Overtraining could be the main reason you are not seeing results.
The stress hormone cortisol is increased in females when overtraining and/or under-eating. Studies have found overtraining in females results in “prolonged fatigue, muscle and joint injuries, poor sleep quality, loss of motivation, irritability, altered hormonal function, reduced appetite, and decreased bone density”. Long term elevated cortisol breaks down muscle, an undesirable consequence for a lean and strong physique, suppresses your immune system and causes infertility.
Paying close attention to your training routine, rest/ sleep time and nutrition will prevent overtraining and most importantly get you results, without feeling you have to hit the gym 6+ hours per week.
Read my post below which highlights different training frequencies and so you can identify which training frequency is best for you 🙂