You are sweating it out at your favorite 45 minute high intensity group fitness class. And as soon as it’s over, you are going to another class, just as difficult. So many women are in this same boat, however, it might not be the best thing to do for weight loss and overall health. Find out my reasons why.
WHY YOU SHOULD RETHINK DOING FITNESS CLASS DOUBLE HEADERS
Disclaimer: This post is not meant to come across as condemning or accusatory. I am not trying to single out a particular individual. Just sharing my opinion based on experience.
On Saturday, I taught my weekly BodyWorks + Abs class. Because of the positive feedback, my Saturday class goes through Jillian Michael’s BodyShred format – 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of core. There is no rest in that 6 minute circuit. We usually do a warm-up, 4 circuits, with 30 sec – 2 min rest in between circuits, as I explain the next one, and a ‘burner’ portion at the end, where we do the strength, cardio and core moves back to back. The ‘burner’ ends up being at least a 9 minute circuit, sometimes a few more minutes, with only 1 minute of rest. At the end of the workout, I am usually dripping in sweat.
In every class, I usually have one, if not a handful of ladies, that decide they didn’t get enough of a workout, and rather than rest or stretch, will do more abs, usually in the form of some type of crunch. With some classes I teach, I notice participants staying to go through the next class, which can be as intense, if not more, than my class.
When I see either scenario, I often grumble to myself about how ridiculous it is to do a 45-50 minute high intensity class, and ‘recover’ by doing even more! On Saturday, I had a participant doing weighted donkey kicks in between my explanation and during the stretching portion of the workout, at the end, and…
I LOST IT.
Now, I did not approach this participant or say anything to the class – I knew I couldn’t express my views in an eloquent way, at the time. But it did push me to write this post, something I hadn’t planned on sharing today.
Ladies, please rest. Please see the value letting your body rest. Understand that you body needs to rest, in order for you to see results. Your body needs to heal and repair from all that is done during your workouts. Please realize that you are stressing your body, by performing high intensity workouts for hours of your day. Do not be afraid to eat, post workout. Replenish energy stores that are shot after working out. Please realize that doing an extra set of weighted donkey kicks will not necessarily get you a perky booty. And sets of crunches will not take away belly fat.
Learning to love your body will take you so much farther + make you feel more amazing than extra… Click To TweetLadies, I implore you to learn to appreciate your body. This will take you so much farther and make you feel more amazing than those extra crunches, donkey kicks, and double header fitness classes, ever will. And here is why:
Did you know that our body cannot differentiate between ‘good stress’ and ‘bad stress’? Working out is a stress on the body. Depriving yourself of calories, thinking that skipping a meal will help with weight loss, is stress on the body. Having consistently negative thoughts about your appearance is stress on the body. Spending hours in the gym (on those blasted cardio machines) trying to ‘blast the fat’ is stress on your body.
Stress is stress is stress. If you are in a constant state of stress, you are not going to see the positive changes you want. It’s not going to set you on a trajectory towards a healthy lifestyle. Did you know that us females tend to show stress in our mid-section? If only crunches would crunch away the stress. When I exercise too much, like last week when I taught 7-45 minute high intensity classes, along with a few 20 minute workouts on my own, my face breaks out. I notice more belly bloat. My muscles ache for days. And I’m just tired. Excessive exercise is stress on the body and excessive stress does not to anything positive.
Ladies, did you know that you can see significantly more benefits in weight loss and reduction in waist circumference by doing shorter, high intensity interval workouts? That class of mine that you attend is designed to help you get maximum benefit in the time allotted. Which means, if you participate in my class, by challenging yourself and using the recommended weight (NOT 2.5# DUMBBELLS!!!! A topic for another day), you will have received your workout for the day. Meaning, unless you have a specific fitness goal you are working on with a trainer, there isn’t really a need to do an additional workout after my class.
Ladies, please eat. Do not be afraid to eat a post-workout snack or meal because you think it will negate everything you just did at the gym. Please do not skip meals because you believe it will help you lose weight. Do you realize that after you do a workout where you have challenged yourself at a high intensity, that your energy stores are lowered? That after doing strength training, your muscles are torn? If you want to see results or even gains, you. must. eat. Food is fuel for your body. Eat. Whole, nutrient dense foods.
And make sure you are consuming an adequate amount of calories, so that your body can function at it’s optimal level. Going for a 1,200 calorie or lower diet is not likely enough to carry about basic body functions, let alone support intense activity level.
Why You Should Rethink That Fitness Class Double Header #sweatpink @fitapproach Click To Tweet…
Ladies, please understand I am so passionate because I’ve been in your shoes, at some point in my life. Overstressed, working out as much as I possibly could, and not fueling my body in the proper way.
Rather than continue to keep up with that lifestyle, I stepped out of that ‘comfort zone’ and learned how to make smart choices that had a positive effect on my fitness and nutrition, by cutting down on my workouts, working on stress management techniques, and eating to fuel my body, while enjoying certain foods in moderation. All this had lead to more body confidence and appreciation.
It’s easy to stick with the same routine, I know. But just think what would happen if you changed things up, saw results you are striving for, while learning to appreciate your body at the same time. If you’ve been struggling with finding the right balance in your nutrition and workouts, let’s talk. I am currently taking on new 1-on-1 nutrition coaching clients and would love to help you reach your goals. You can email me right here or leave your email in the comments.
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Whew, that was a tough one to write. It’s something I get really worked up about and I had to figure out a way to be passionate, without coming across as a crazy woman. Hopefully I did that effectively. For more on this topic, check out this awesome article from Girls Gone Strong.
How was your weekend, friends? I had quite a few consults with ladies that will be joining my 6 week online bootcamp starting Nov. 2nd. So pumped! I also made a few changes on the website. If you found this post via direct link, go ahead and hit the HOME button and the ABOUT button to check out some fun new updates!
I have a much lighter week, just teaching my normal classes. I finally get to see The Hubs play a volleyball game, have a few fun blog/business meetings, and get to volunteer for our town Halloween festival (sense my sarcasm on that last one).
How do you feel about overexercising? Tell me about your weekend!
XOXO,
Jen
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My ED was exercise addiction and if you know anything about me, you might sometimes think I am not fully recovered. Of course now I eat too instead of just working out at all times to burn off every calories consumed, but I just really really love to workout. However, I do know when my body needs rest.
It took me a while of being always sore, always tired, and always spent to realize that working out that much wasn’t helping me to achieve anything but break my body down. I recently tried a double workout actually when my friend asked me to do sprints with her. I was mid way through my gym session and figured “why not?” but all it took was 1 sprint and I could feel my legs saying “NOPE!” Its just not good for our bodies!
As always, great post!
So glad to hear you are recovered, Kat. I love working out too and I can sometimes slip back into that mindset of always wanting to do something. But, you are right, it is so important to listen to our body!
Hi Jen! WOW! Saw this headline and had to click over. So first of all — full disclosure, I’m a group fitness instructor who has often taught BACK-to-BACK high-intensity classes regularly. However, over the past few months, I’ve been dropping down to one class at a time. It feels much better. That being said, I always try to tell my members to fuel up before and after class. I also let them know that ONE class is plenty. And I encourage foam rolling and rest days. I’m always shocked at how people really do think MORE is always better and eating LESS is always better. Bravo to you for the points you’ve stressed above. Thanks for these reminders and tips!
I’ve definitely been in the same boat of teaching classes back to back. I think it’s so great what you share with your members, especially tips for off days. It’s so important to provide them with solid information like that on a consistent basis!
Standing applause. I work at a gym and have taught high intensity classes where people do exactly this. it’s so hard on the body. I’m all about a good 15-20 minute high intensity interval and then ALL THE REST in the world! I can say from personal experience after teaching high intensity exercise days in a row without properly fueling to recover, that the longer you do this the harder it is for the body to recover. Exercise burnout is not fun!
Oh man, so true, Sam. I’m getting to be the same way. And fueling properly is so important for short workouts and especially for long ones!
I’m going to disagree with you here. Gasp! I miss my back to back classes ALOT. I know stress is stress but for me I feel like sometimes I can’t get enough out of a 45 minute workout. Especially if one class is more weight based and another is cardio based. I used to love going from Cycling to Yoga it was the perfect 2 hour block that left me feeling amazing. But the BEST was P90X then my pool class. I’m all for resting but when I was in better shape I seriously needed the 2 workouts back to back to feel like I was actually working out it was the only way I felt like I had actually challenged my body. I’ve taught and taken back to back classes for years. I don’t know maybe I’m just stressing myself out?
Yay! Love differing opinions! I can totally understand where you are coming from. There are times when I will do a class and then take yoga. I think in that case, I’m not as passionate because the second class tends to be more stretching and active recovery, as opposed to 2 hours of hiit workouts. And I think it’s great that you know your body well enough to know what works for you. It seems some of the ladies in the classes I teach think they will ‘get more’ in terms of weight loss/calorie burn by going to multiple classes in a row!
i’ve been teaching classes for 13 years! i soooo love this because I agree! i don’t teach double any more because of this reason. AMEN sista
Thanks Lindsay! I am definitely not a fan of doubles. What’s even worse is when my boss asks me to cover multiple classes in a day or back to back!
I love this! In the last year I’ve really tried to put as much importance and emphasis on my rest days as I do on my workouts! Which in and of itself if a huge step because I never used to even take rest days. It’s not perfect, and it’s a struggle every day, but I’m learning… 😉
That is so great to hear, Liz. Even if it’s not perfect, it’s progress. And what a great idea to put as much emphasis on rest and the workout. Borrowing that tip! 🙂
I agree with you unless the classes are two different things. Like a strength class then a cardio class. I have lots of people take a Zumba class and then stay for my Pilates class (also a City Sports instructor!) and I think that’s a good mix. High intensity workouts are different, though, so I’m that case I agree.
Like Renee, I can definitely see where you are coming from, if it’s 2 different types of classes, especially if the second is a more active recovery/stretching type class!
Great post! I definitely workout a lot, but I try to be mindful and listen to my body. Nowadays, I try to balance out my high intensity workouts like HIIT and kickboxing with lower intensity exercise, like yoga and moderate hikes. I think it’s all about finding balance!
You are so right, Nicole. All about balance. I like to balance out my HIIT workouts with yoga too!