One of the most common misconceptions I see is that “more is better” when it comes to exercise.
Especially for women.
Especially for women who are already dealing with gut issues, poor quality sleep, stressful jobs, a global pandemic…you get the point.
More exercise is, in fact, not always better, and usually a detriment to our health.
I used to train for marathons, I know how this goes!
I loved it, and it was FUN for a while (and might be in the future!).
But it also trashed my sleep, my period, and my energy (by mid-day, once the endorphins had worn off).
You also don't have to be training for a full blown marathon to be suffering from the effects of too much exercise.
Movement & exercise is GOOD. I am not arguing with that.
Adequate movement offers a boatload of benefits for:
Mental health
Metabolic health & insulin sensitivity
Cardiovascular system
Brain health
Longevity and anti-inflammation
The list goes on!
But there's a sweet spot, and for a lot of women caught up in diet culture, more focused on how our bodies look than how they feel & function, we overshoot it!
If you're exercising hard, 4 or more days a week, these might be some signs that your exercise routine is working against you:
1. You're not sleeping well
You have a tough time getting to sleep, or waking up in the night (to pee, hungry, or just with a wandering mind). This is because your system is revved-up, and hasn't had a chance to decompress & replenish between workouts.
More specifically, all those hard workouts, without enough recovery time & fuel, might be throwing your cortisol rhythm out of whack. Your adrenals are responsible for producing cortisol, which dictates our energy levels and sleep quality. Cortisol should be highest in the morning, and decline throughout the day, staying low as we go to sleep.
A revved and stressed system often gets those queues wrong, overproducing cortisol at night and maybe leaving you feeling flat & exhausted during the day.
One of the best things I've done for my sleep? Exercise less & eat more.
I'm telling you, 9 uninterrupted hours is glorious!
2. Your periods are missing, irregular, or very light
Your menstrual cycle is a vital sign!
Changes to your period are often a sign that your body is under too much stress. Very often those stressors are things like: diet, exercise, mental & emotional stress, or environmental factors.
So exercise is one part of that list, but if you're overdoing it in the gym and struggling with hormonal imbalances, that is one of the quickest stressors we can remove from your body.
Just as excess cortisol is disruptive to sleep cycles, it can also disrupt the way our brain communicates with our ovaries, thyroid and other key hormone glands.
3. You're exhausted all the time, except for during & just after a workout
You wake up tired, and rely on a hard workout to “feel awake” and function for the day. But just like relying on coffee for that jolt - it's unsustainable and hard on your system.
Our energy levels are controlled, in part, by our brain communicating with our adrenals, which produce cortisol. When our perceived stress is high, like during a hard workout, our adrenals do a hell of a job to keep us alert and moving, and it feels GOOD.
But soon after the hard workout, you feel completely flattened again, because the adrenals are depleted or dysregulated (creating that sleepless night and exhausted mornings phenomenon).
In a way we're squeezing all the juice from our adrenals for our workout, and it takes us longer and longer to recover between sessions, and declining hormones, sleep quality and mood.
4. Your appetite is low
Cortisol dysregulation also messes with our appetite and hunger hormones. (Truly, nothing is left untouched!)
This low appetite is a sign that metabolism is slowing down in response to the stressors (like not enough recovery and fuel). Our body is trying to conserve resources by lowering appetite, overall metabolic rate, body temperature (maybe why you're feeling so cold?), fatigue and slow digestion or constipation.
It’s also important to understand that not ALL of these things have to be true for your body to benefit from slowing down on the Crossfit, Peloton, or running routine. If one or two of these sounds like you, and you’re a cardio junkie, it’s definitely something to consider.
Examining our relationship to exercise is scary, I totally get it. And I'm not expecting one blog post to change your whole routine, but hopefully I'm planting a seed; encouraging you to listen to your body if you're dreading the workout, or needing a sleep-in instead.
So if you're feeling seen (or even attacked) here's some suggestions for restorative ways to move your body:
Focus on walking, getting 2x 30 min blocks every day
Add in some weight lifting, 2-3x a week
Break up your day (and long sedentary blocks) with “movement snacks” - aka short bursts of movement, like up and down the stairs 2x, counter push-ups while your lunch heats up, or air squats while you brush your teeth
I'm not a trainer, but I talk about movement, exercise & other lifestyle habits here because it's all connected.
Stress, gut health, nutrition, digestion, hormones - they cannot be separated. They're inherently linked, so we've got to find a solution that links them as well.
Movement is an essential piece of the wellness puzzle, but it's not all upside. Let's find the balance.