Is your exercise routine burning you out?

When exercise stops being good for you

Hello!

How has your week been? I’ve had lots of different things going on - coaching sessions, a bit more GP work than normal to cover some summer hols, beavering away at my research project and helping my sister move into a new flat (which involved carrying a lot of boxes up and down a LOT of stairs!) So I’m looking forward to some chatty runs with friends and catching up with things this weekend.

I listened to this podcast last weekend, where Rangan Chatterjee interviewed Professor Stephen Steiler, an exercise and sports scientist. They talked about the negative impact of doing lots of high intensity exercise and the link with stress, which I don’t think is talked about enough. High intensity cardio work outs are often promoted as the ultimate workout - but they aren’t necessarily the best thing for all of us all of the time, and often can maintain the cycle of stress, achievement and being unable to switch off, which is the opposite of what lots of us are trying to achieve. It can put people off exercise entirely, or mean that they don’t do it as often as they’d want to, simply because they don’t necessarily always have the energy or motivation to ‘go hard or ‘go home.’

Exercise and burnout

Listening to this podcast reminded me of my own experiences of exercising and burnout. I’ve run for years for enjoyment, never very fast, but as a means of clearing my head, working through problems, and keeping my energy topped up. I’m fortunate in that I enjoy exercise, probably because I rely on it for the above reasons.

A few years ago, when I was under lots of pressure at work, running and the gym became my escape. Which can be a positive thing - but in this case it wasn’t all good news. I trained and ran several marathons in a relatively short space of time, often getting up at 5am, or sometimes earlier, to train before a 12 hour shift at work. This was my escape - and my way of being in control of something, when I couldn’t take control of my boundaries.

But ultimately I believe it also contributed towards my burnout. I was physically and mentally exhausted from both the exercise and the early mornings and my body constantly ached - although from the outside it seemed as though I must have loads of energy!

Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash

Of course, it’s undisputed that exercise is good for us - and it usually feels amazing, because of the endorphin rush and also dopamine release we get from conquering something challenging.

But more intense exercise, like a pacy run, a HIIT class or spin isn’t something we’re meant to be doing ALL the time. When we take a HIIT class or head out for a fast 5k, our bodies recognise this as a source of physical stress - and we produce adrenaline to cope with the increased demand on the muscles and cardiovascular system. Over time and with adequate recovery, our bodies adapt to be able to handle greater intensity.

But what if you aren’t able to get adequate recovery?

What if you’re heading to a stressful day at work after a hardcore workout - or heading home after a long day to sort out the kids and spend a few hours before bed getting through your emails, then tossing and turning all night with broken sleep? Doing this once a week is unlikely to cause any problems, but what happens when it’s regularly 3-4 times a week, or perhaps even more often, and you’re persistently under lots of stress in other areas of your life as well?

This is where the pressure and physical stress really starts to mount up - and if you’re under lots of mental or emotional stress at work as well - your adrenaline and cortisol levels are going to be far more raised than you’d ideally want them to be - which can have a huge host of negative implications on your body from a physical perspective: increased susceptibility to illness, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, changes to your female hormone cycle, skin changes, tiredness, weight changes - the list goes on! This can also impact your mental health as well - increased and persistent physical stress can cause symptoms of anxiety and low mood.

The Recovery Paradox

So, something that we think is helpful when we’re under stress, isn’t always helpful if we do it too often. I’ve lost count of the number of clients in my coaching practice and patients I’ve seen when I’m working as a GP who are experiencing the negative effects of high intensity exercise multiple times a week, on top of a very pressurised and busy life. This is often particularly true in relation to certain times of the menstrual cycle and during perimenopause.

I also know how hard it can be sometimes to change this - for me I was often so exhausted a lot of the time, that intense exercise seemed to be the only thing that would give me a buzz.

On the podcast, Stephen Steiler suggests that by using the 80/20 rule to balance intense exercise with more gentle/moderate exercise, we can feel healthier and more energised, and give our bodies (and minds!) more opportunity for recovery.

And if you’re someone who’s experienced severe burnout that’s left you so fatigued that exercise is entirely out of the question (or you’re someone who finds it hard to build the exercise habit - then his recommendations for building up exercise slowly over time are really practical and very do-able, once you’re ready to get back to it)

My personal experiences were that I carried on running and gymming but I was forced to pare back the intense exercise and faster running without choice - not only was I exhausted, but I’d also developed a back injury - and my body was giving me very clear signals that it couldn’t cope. Instead I did a lot more running at a chatty pace, walking and gentle yoga. The gentle yoga ended up becoming my lifeline, both physically and mentally, for making the career pivot that I needed to prevent me burning out again. And I loved being able to enjoy a good chat while running - which I never could when I was always doing focused and intense sessions.

It’s actually only in the past few months (4-5 years or so later!) that I’ve felt ready to regularly introduce faster and harder workouts on a regular basis - but this time once or twice a week, rather than every 1-2 days - and I’ve been feeling really good with it - in a way that I never did before.

So on Wednesday, I did something I never normally do on my morning run - I stopped and walked for a couple of minutes partway through - I’d felt the intensity ramping up and decided I’d be better off with a more gentle pace, as I’d planned - so that’s what I did. And it felt really good.

What’s your thoughts?

If you’re curious about how your exercise is supporting you, you might find these reflection prompts helpful:

• What do you enjoy about exercise / movement?

• How do you like to feel during and after exercise? What about the day after?

• Do you have any beliefs or feelings towards gentle/moderate exercise that might stop you from prioritising this? If so, how might you decide to embrace gentle/moderate exercise and enjoy the benefits it offers?

• What would you like to Reduce, Start and Continue doing when it comes to your exercise routine?

I’d love to hear your thoughts about your relationship to intense exercise and how this might (or might not have) impacted your stress levels or wellbeing - positively or negatively - do share in the comments below!

What’s coming up?

I’m going to have a slightly more relaxed schedule to writing here over the summer. As much as I genuinely enjoy writing every week, my schedule is starting to fill up, (plus I’ve got my research project write up to do!) So rather than try and commit to my weekly schedule, no-matter-what, I’m doing some radical prioritisation so I can make sure that I can keep on top of what I need to, and protect my free time - so I’ll be back in your inbox in a couple of weeks :)

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PS. If you’re interested in 1-1 coaching with me, I’m booking clients for a September start for my 3 month Shine Bright 1-1 Coaching programme. This is for you if you know that you need to make some decisions to protect your wellbeing and avoid burnout before it’s too late, and without giving up the career you’ve worked so hard for. Find out more here or complete the enquiry form and we can arrange a time to have a chat. If you’re interested in positive psychology focused career coaching, you can also use the enquiry form and I’ll be in touch.

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It takes 3 minutes (or just under) and you will also get sent a link to a workbook afterwards that helps you to understand how to nurture and grow your score.

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