I spent a lot of time trying to decide if I should write about this here. Part of me (a large part) would rather just deal with it on my own and move on. However, this is suppose to be a place where I share the truths of my life as a fitness instructor so in the end I felt it would be dishonest of me not to share it. Furthermore, a lot of people have been asking what is wrong with me (as I’ve mentioned a few times that I haven’t been well) and have expressed concern so I decided it was best for me to share it.
In a nut shell, I’m suffering from overtraining syndrome.
I’ve been teaching 10+ classes/week consistently for over 5 years now. In those 5 years I calculate that I’ve taken about 6 weeks off from teaching – total. There was a period when I was teaching 19 classes/week (we’ll call that the walking zombie era), and most recently I’ve been teaching 14 classes/week.
Any of you who have been kicking around the blog for a while will remember that I wrote about cutting back my classes not once, but twice . And I did, and things seemed better.
But apparently they weren’t.
In the end, it seems like the sum of all of those hours of exercise took their tole on my body. Perhaps I’ve been feeling it for a while and didn’t notice, some of the early signs of overtraining include insomnia, exhaustion, and muscle/joint pain – all things I regularly experience due to my Fibromyalgia so I would have no way of knowing the difference.
And then I started to have heart palpitations (which were scary).
My resting heart rate was higher than normal.
I started having respiratory problems.
I had no appetite (and anyone who knows me, knows that is a big deal!) but was super thirsty all of the time.
There were a number of other symptoms too but you get the idea.
The long and short of it is I have adrenal fatigue and a hormone imbalance. I think that one sort of follows the other (when your adrenals get tired your hormones go wonky) but I don’t really know.
That is why I am taking a week off from exercise. It wasn’t a planned vacation, but it is a happy accident that my time off is at the same time J had booked a week of vacation time so I get to hang out with him (which doesn’t happen that often). I’ve also been doing/taking a few other things to help bring everything back into a normal balance and am happy to say that as of a couple days ago the heart palpitations have stopped and my respiratory issues seem to be gone as well. However, I’m still going to be in super rest mode for the week and hopefully that means when I got back to teaching on the 18th I’ll be good. to. go.
With all of this in mind, I’ve cut back my class load once again. I have been teaching a few classes that weren’t profitable but I had continued with them simply because I liked teaching them. When it became clear I needed to cut back again, unfortunately those classes were the ones that had to be cut. It always makes me sad to cancel classes, but I know that in the long run it’s not only better for me personally, but for all of my participants. I’m a much better instructor when I’m not totally exhausted!
I’ve said in the past that I will take more time off, and last year I did take 3 weeks off, but two of those weeks were when I went to Disney and to NYC (and neither of those trips were physically relaxing, if anything I was more exhausted from those trips than if I had been teaching!). Going forward I will be taking more vacation/relaxation time like I should have been all along in order to prevent this from happening again.
Over the summer I’ll be down to 3-5 classes/week. I had thought about picking up a couple extra classes but since all of this has come to light I think I’ll be better off just sticking to the smaller number of classes for the summer to really give my body time to recoup before going back to 8-10 classes in September.
It’s funny, when I think of stress I think about mental stress, not physical stress. So when I think of stressful jobs I think of doctors, stock brokers, lawyers, etc. not a fitness instructor. And I guess, that is where I went wrong.
I may pop in with a post or two next week, but I expect it to be a bit quieter than usual around here. I’m going to be busy watching movies 😉
Thank you for sharing and being honest. I’m suffering from a hip issue due to overuse and some weakness in my glutes and it’s hard to admit that. But I’ve been teaching off the bike and trying to get it figured out. I’ve been suffering for chronic sinus infections as well and the more I ignore it the worse it gets. It’s so frustrating to try to eat right, exercise and sleep and be a good example for my students while doing the right things and suffering myself! I appreciate you putting it out there!
Thank you for your comment! And I hope you get your hip/glute problem fixed or figured out soon. It can be so hard as an instructor to teach the high quality classes we want to teach when battling these issues. I’ve been teaching a watered down version of my classes for weeks (while still encouraging my participants to push themselves) and can’t wait to go back to teaching my classes normally again. It kills me not to give 100%, but then again, giving 100% in too many classes was clearly starting to kill me too.
Thank you for sharing this, Suzi. Although I am not working out as excessively as you are, I have been overtraining with my 3 hours gym dates and 6-7 days a week fitness schedule. Recently I’ve been experiencing heart palpitations (I already have an existing heart condition) and anxiety effects, etc….not to mention, I think I stopped losing weight (insert expletive here!). My doctor has set me up with several tests but now that I’ve read your post I wonder if it all comes down to my addiction to exercise. Something for me to think about.
I haven’t had the palpitations for nearly a week now, which is a huge relief. Did you dr check your hormone levels? I think a hormonal imbalance (in women) is what causes a lot of the overtraining symptoms in women so it might be worth getting another blood test. 3 hour workouts and exercising 6-7 days/week make it sound like you’re exercising too much of effective results anyway. Your body responds better with less exercise and more rest. I hope you find out what is wrong soon!!
Thanks Suzi. I had some blood work done…I am already on Synthroid so I know she’s checking my thyroid (among other things). I have to go in for an electrocardiogram and next week I’m getting fitted for another lovely heart monitor. (Don’t worry, I know how to rock the shizz outta that gear.)
As for my exercsing…I know I have an unhealthy healthy addiction to it. I just have to work my way into weening myself down. I’ve been living this lifestyle for so long now that I feel guilty if I don’t have a work out. *sad face* I’m going away for the weekend and am going to consider leaving my gym clothes at home.
Do it! Leave them at home! Seriously, doing more than an hour of cardio/day (unless you are training for a marathon/tri/etc) is counter productive. Less is more, and as far as strength training goes you should be lifting heavy enough weights that you are totally fatigued in an hour or less.
Take care of yourself girl! I only exercise this much because it’s my job, otherwise an hour/day 5 days/week would be all I would be doing
Thankyou for highlighting an important issue, I’m a instructor and personal trainer and have been teaching classes for years, I recently increased my class schedule at the same time I increased my running and my weight training goals, the good thing at the end of a week weeks of this a had a week away booked, to Disney!! After 6 straight days of walking all day I came back with a hip issue, I was determined to work through it after all Disney! My downfall, no I’m stronger than that, so I kept going, limping through classes, I ended up in er, apparently I had a muscle strain so I fourgt on with crutches, got a few classes subbed and carried on personal training, that’s rest right?? A few days later, I tripped caught my injured toe on the curb and fell full weight on my injured leg, pop! Off to er again, I thought I’d dislocated it, apparently I’d broken my femoral hip bone after having a previous stress fracture. I’m now resting since I now have no option, I have 3 screws in my hip a and no clear idea of when I’ll be able to teach again, oh and I forgot to mention, I’m only 31!
Oh my gosh I’m so sorry to hear about your injury! I think it happens more often than people realize with professionals in our industry. It’s so hard to find a balance between teaching and making enough month + avoid overuse injuries and muscle imbalances. I am still struggling trying to find a balance though I think I’m closer now than I have been in years. I hope that you recover quickly and are able to find a balance for yourself that allows you to do what you love without further injury to yourself! <3