Here is # 2: You’re Addicted To Exhaustive Exercise!
“10 Reasons You Struggle to Lose Fat and Keep It Off.”
The process usually goes something like this:
● “Skinny” Magazine tells you that cardio and HIIT training is best for fat loss.
● You try it and lose weight quickly.
● You hit a plateau.
● “Skinnier” Magazine tells you that you need to train even harder.
● You try it and lose even more weight.
● You therefore conclude some is good, more is better, and harder is better.
● You also start to develop a sense of pride or significance from thrashing yourself in the gym and being the “hardest worker in the room”. If you’re not crawling out the gym on your knees it’s not been a good workout.
● You hit another plateau.
● Now you’re maxed out in both volume and intensity and have nowhere to go.
Unbeknownst to you, you were already fairly stressed. You’re a busy professional perhaps with a family in tow and your cortisol (stress hormone) levels are already high.
If we add on top of that many of the mindset struggles women have: overwhelm, perfectionism, over-analysing, low self esteem, anxiety, etc, you’re now swimming in a sea of high stress hormones.
By adding excessive levels of high intensity exercise on top you’ve tipped your body over the edge. With all that excessive cortisol, and an impaired ability to recuperate your body holds onto its fat reserves and struggles to repair and recover after your workouts. (note this is usually coupled with under eating too)
Something needs to change. HIIT and getting sweaty is great, no form of exercise should be demonised but when you are addicted to the feeling of exhaustion, we have a problem.
You do not need to “exhaust” yourself, you need to learn to train efficiently and effectively towards your goals.
It’s no secret, I am a massive fan of weight training for my female clients – not “cardio weights” where you’re basically circuit training and still fueling your addiction to HIIT training, but well designed weight training with tempo, rest periods and adequate load on the bar.
Combine this with walking. Walking is awesome – in increases general activity and energy expenditure without adding excessive stress on the body. (Plus get your Fitbit steps up!)
But of course, now you’re terrified of changing because you’re addicted to high intensity cardio, anything else doesn’t feel like an “effective” workout, anything else doesn’t give me the kudos of being a hard worker, and “what if I gain weight?!”
To this I would simply ask, “is what you’re currently doing working for you…..?”
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Addicted to exercise and need help to get your body and life back on track?
Applications open for the next intake of Chase Life Intensive!