I am sure that we have all heard of burnout. It is usually how you describe an employee who is working too many hours and is not properly caring for their wellbeing. Are you aware that you can experience burnout in fitness as well? You may think that in order to experience burnout you need to be an athlete working out several hours a day at high intensities. However, burnout is much more common than you think. And it can happen to anyone, regardless of the frequency and intensity of their workout.
Burnout is defined as a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive or prolonged stress. Your bodies experience burnout when more stress is placed on them than they can handle and they are not able to adapt, recover and repair.
This should not be confused with the principal of overload which is a very important component when trying to make changes to your physical body. The principal of overload states that “a physiological system subjected to above-normal stress will respond by increasing in strength or function accordingly” (ACE, Personal Trainer Manual 5th edition). Increasing your strength and function is the goal of most people when it comes to exercise. However, this principle often fails when the body is not able to adapt, recover and repair before stress is placed on it again.
Burnout is also known as overtraining syndrome and is often seen in many athletes preparing for a big game or competition. However, it is much more common in beginners and average people who have just decided that they need to start improving their health and fitness.
Signs of Burnout
There are some key signs of burnout that you should watch out for. They include…
A decrease in motivation to exercise.
If you are normally never motivated to workout than this sign does not apply to you. However, if you used to love your workouts and looked forward to them before but have no desire to exercise today then you may be experiencing burnout.
You are exhausted and even more tired after your workout.
Chronic fatigue may be a symptom of many different illness. However, it can be a sign that you are experiencing burnout as well. Most of the time we experience an increase in energy after a workout. It is one of the benefits of exercise that keeps most of us coming back for more. However, when you are experiencing burnout a workout can feel like torture and leave you feeling defeated instead of energized.
You are constantly sore, injured or sick.
Post exercise soreness is a normal and often welcome feeling. That “good sore” you feel after completing a challenging workout lets you know that you are strengthening your muscles. However, you should feel back to normal after a few days. If you continue to feel sore or have pain then you may have an injury or you may be experiencing exercise burnout.
One of the many benefits of exercise is that it increases our immune system. This should prevent you from catching many viruses and colds. However, when you are experiencing burnout your immune system becomes weakened and this leads you to becoming sick more often.
Your weight loss has stalled or you have started gaining weight
Have you hit a weight loss plateau or even started gaining weight lately? Sometimes, burnout can cause us to stop losing weight because our metabolism decreases. Our body begins to store extra calories because it thinks it needs them to handle the added stress we are placing on our body. Sometimes the opposite occurs as well. If you have seen a sudden weight loss and you have not changed your diet or exercise routine this may be a symptom of burnout as well.
Your resting heart rate has increased.
The more active you are, the lower your resting heart rate should be. As you being a new exercise routine you will often see your resting heart rate begin to decrease. Your resting heart hate is your heart rate at rest. The best time to get this number is while you are sleeping or when you first wake up before you begin any type of movement. Our resting heart rate often begins to increase when we are experiencing burnout. This is because chronic stress triggers the “fight” or “flight” response in your body. This causes your body to release more hormones such as adrenaline which elevates your heart rate.
Sleeping has become difficult
This increase in hormones also can greatly affect your sleep cycle. Adrenaline can make it more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Hormones also affects the quality of your sleep. You may see a decrease in the amount of deep sleep your body is getting when you are experiencing burnout.
You have become moody and irritable.
Again, these hormones often play a role in your mood. You may be more moody and irritable. People often notice that they are more short-tempered and have less patience. Exercise may have been your best way to manage stress before burnout and now it seems to leave you feeling more stressed then you were before your workout.
How to combat burnout and get your grove back.
Burnout can be a significant setback to your training. Often when people begin to experience burnout they just completely give up and quit their exercise routine completely. However, burnout can be managed and reversed. The sooner you do something about it, the sooner you’ll be back to normal and ready to crush it in the gym. Here’s what you need to do:
Take a break
If your body is telling you that it really needs a day off then listen to it. Sometimes it is important to push though and keep your momentum but sometimes your body really needs a rest day. Start with one full day off. Rest and try to limit all physical activity. If you notice your body feels better the next day you may return to your routine and see if the day off helped. Sometimes your body needs a few days off to recover. If you do not feel any improvement after the first day off take a few more days off and then gradually return to your old routine.
Plan active recovery days
To help prevent burnout your workout routine should always include at least one active recovery day per week. On this day you will switch up your exercise routine to something a little more gentle. However, recovery isn’t just lying on the couch all day. You want to continue moving gently. This helps move blood flow to your stressed muscles which helps them recover and get stronger. Instead of working out one day, take a walk or practice some yoga instead of doing that intense strength training workout. I can help you create an amazing workout routine that includes active recovery days. Schedule your free consultation with me to learn more on how I can help you today.
Make sure you are properly fueling your body
You need to make sure your body is getting all of the nutrition it needs. Ensure you’re eating enough calories, carbs for energy, protein for muscle repair and fats for brain fuel. Make sure the foods you are eating contain enough nutrients to support your daily needs and try to eat whole, unprocessed foods as much as you can. If you would like help in this area I would love to assist with with developing an eating plan to support your lifestyle. Send me an email today so we can get started.
Evaluate your sleep
Make sure you are getting enough quality sleep. Research has found that our muscles do most of their repair while you are sleeping. A lack of sleep may shift the hormonal balance in your body away from repairing and building muscle tissue to breaking down muscle for energy. Most people need between 7 and 9 hours of quality sleep per day. If you are not meeting your needs begin to add more sleep and explore how you can improve the quality of your sleep. Please see my post on sleep for more information on how to improve your sleep cycle.
Don’t give up! Take care of your body and begin again.
The most important message in this post is that burnout often is a common experience that most of us will go though in our fitness journey. However, it can be managed and reversed. The first step it recognizing it. If you suspect that burnout may be disrupting your success then begin to combat it using the strategies I provided above.
If you would like more information on this topic please send me an email. I wish you the best of luck with achieving your fitness, health and wellness goals and I am here to support you in any way that I can.
