5 Ways to Prevent Fitness Burnout

We all feel unmotivated to exercise from time to time. For men 50 and over it could be any number of issues, from medical conditions, injuries or just busy schedules wearing us out. Usually, we can give ourselves a pep talk, turn up the music and get going. But fitness burnout is slightly different. We wanted to offer some suggestions on how to cope with burnout from our team PT, Eugenie, with our blog – 5 Ways to Prevent Fitness Burnout.

Fitness burnout is when you continuously feel low in energy and uninterested in any physical activity. Fitness burnout can also show itself in your physical – as well as mental health. Some of the physical side effects include slower recovery, a decline in performance, and feeling lethargic. In contrast, specific mental side effects involve feeling bored and excessively uninterested in your workouts.

Still, what causes burnout, and how can we prevent it?

What causes fitness burnout?

Fitness experts believe that fitness burnout can result from either overtraining or under-recovery.

• Overtraining occurs when your body cannot keep up anymore, and it struggles to recover effectively after strenuous workouts. Your exercise load essentially exceeds your body’s recovery capacity. It commonly results from too high training volume or intensity.
• Under-recovery, on the other hand, is an imbalance of recovery time and physical demands of exercise. This occurs when you don’t provide sufficient time for your body to recover after an intense workout.

Now that you know what causes burnout, let’s look at ways to prevent it.

5 ways to prevent burnout

1. Allow yourself to rest and recover

Research indicates that a muscle takes between 24 and 48 hours to recover and rebuild after a workout. Therefore, experts suggest that you never train the same muscle group on consecutive days. Instead, consider splitting your workouts throughout the week. For example, train your legs, then arms, back, and abs, followed by cardio recovery, and then come back to your legs.

2. Change up the type of workouts you do

Switching up the type of workouts you do not only challenge your body in different ways but also prevents you from getting bored. Try to alternate between different workout types such as weight training, interval training, incorporate circuit training, endurance training, Pilates, Yoga, or PiYo.

3. Try something new

Complacency can kill motivation, especially when the task can be grueling. It may be time to evaluate your workout goals and rearrange your routine. Trying something new will give you a new sense of motivation and offer a sense of accomplishment. For example, if you generally exercise at the gym, switch to exercising outdoors, try a new sport, or change the time of day you usually workout.

4. Don’t forget to fuel your body

We often don’t understand why we feel low in energy while exercising, yet we don’t fuel our bodies with wholesome food. Remember, you need the energy to perform and train to your best of your abilities. So, focus on eating food that will nourish and fuel your body. To speed up recovery, you need to replace the fluids lost during your workouts by drinking lots of water and eat high-quality protein and healthy carbohydrates within 60 minutes after your workout. (Check out our blog on Workout Nutrition for more information.)

5. Make your workout more enjoyable

Sometimes it may be hard to believe, but you should enjoy your workouts. It shouldn’t be a punishment, rather a celebration of what your body is capable of. Spice up your workouts by pumping the music, changing your workout playlist, getting a workout buddy, and do something you enjoy more. If you hate running, then rather go cycling or walking to increase your cardiovascular fitness. Or if you don’t enjoy weights, stick to bodyweight exercises. Learn what works for you and go with that.

Final Thoughts on 5 Ways to Prevent Fitness Burnout

It’s normal to experience a few dips in your fitness routine throughout your life, but that’s exactly why it’s a lifestyle change to make. Learn when to rest, even if you need to take a week off training. It might just be the best thing you need to come back stronger than ever. These tips are easy to implement, so use them to plan out a new routine today!

We hope the information in our piece – 5 Ways to Prevent Fitness Burnout, can help you with an informed decision on your workout regimens. If you want to continue further reading on home-based exercises that promote low impact lifestyles, check out our blogs on resistance band training and other cardio exercises.

As always, if you need something you can’t find here, reach out to us through the Contact page or leave a comment below. Please use our approved affiliate links to explore the options available to you, we appreciate you support!

Eugenie Lamprecht is a Physical Therapist and Pilates Instructor with a great passion for helping others live a healthy and holistic life. She has clinical experience working in various areas of healthcare, such as intensive care units, as well as orthopedic, neurological, and sports facilities.

When she’s not seeing clients, she’s a freelance writer for health & wellness websites and brands. You can see more of her work at https://santoshasisters.com/ and her portfolio at https://eugenie.contently.com/.