Is there such a thing as too much?

[CharlottesWeb]

Is there such a thing as too much exercise? My sister who is 30 works out everyday. 7 days a week, she will do cardio, yoga, toning weights, bike, you name it. I'm only a few years younger than her and I workout as well. But I only exercise about 3-4 times a week. I will walk, ride the bike, yoga, cardio. I do believe its good to try to stay fit and healthy etc, but she exercises 7 days a week. She does change up her routines too, but 7 days a week seems like alot to me. Is that too much?

[MattB]

really depends. I workout 10 to 15 hours a week and don't have a single day where I do nothing. If her body is up for the task, she is maintaining proper nutrition, hydration and sleep, and is following a solid periodization schedule, then there should be no problem with it.

 

Rest is important, but with proper cross training, activity levels can be maintainted. For instance, in my training, I may hit a rest week in the running, but during that week my volume and intensity on the bike or with swimming may increase. On my planned "rest" day every week I still have a long swim planned. So if she has a solid plan and is sticking to it, then she should be fine. If she's just going all out day after day, then yes, that is bad and she will burn out and wind up injured.

[Pink_Tulip]

I agree. If she is doing it b/c she genuinely enjoys it and is healthy, it is fine.

 

If she is doing it b/c she is paranoid about gaining a pound and is neurotic about what she eats and stuff, could be a sign of exercise bulimia, but I would assume if that were the case you'd recognize she had issues regarding exercise and such.

[Shyguy86]

You CAN exercise too much. It's called overtraining! Usually happens to people who lift heavier weights in order to gain strength when they don't allow their muscles to fully heal. It doesn't happen as much with cardio or lower intensity exercises, so I don't think she should have a problem.

 

Here's a site if you want to read a little more about it.

 

http://www.intense-workout.com/overtraining.html