Experts explain why working out intensely every day isn’t a great idea
Sometimes mustering up the motivation to work out is a challenge. But other times, like when we’re really determined to reach a goal or we feel like we need to make up for lost time, the opposite is true.
Sometimes we take on that frantic “must work out every day” mindset and completely forget that one of the most important parts of exercising effectively is giving our bodies time to recover.
“We have become an all or nothing society,” says Russell Wynter a NASM certified master trainer and co-owner of MadSweat. “People don’t know how to exercise properly. If you follow what everyone else is doing or the latest fad program, more often than not it will do more harm than good.”
He said that many programs incorporate prolonged bouts of stress or intolerable amounts of stress that can lead to exhaustion.
“When the stress is too much physiologically for the system to handle, it can and will lead to overuse injuries, such as stress fractures, muscle strains, and joint pain,” he said.
So often we hear about the important health benefits of exercise and the negative side effects of inactivity, but it’s not as common to hear about why we also need to allow our bodies some time to rest.
Yes, it’s important to incorporate small bouts of movement throughout every day, but intense workouts definitely shouldn’t be a daily occurrence.
“Inadequate rest may lead to over-training syndrome which commonly occurs in fitness enthusiasts that train beyond their body’s ability to recover, says Crystal Reeves, also a NASM certified master trainer and a co-owner of MadSweat. “When you perform excessive amounts of exercise without proper rest and recovery you may experience some harmful side effects including decreased performance, fatigue, altered hormonal states, poor sleeping patterns, reproductive disorders, decreased immunity, loss of appetite, and mood swings.”
So what amount of exercise is the ideal amount?
