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This week, I want to talk about overtraining, undertraining, and how you can have both simultaneously. All three of these cases will frustrate you and can be a big reason you’re training consistently but you’re not seeing muscle growth.

We tend to believe that if some is good, more is better. And that’s just not true when it comes to most things, including exercise. 

I know I’m a broken record with this, but I think it sometimes needs to be said in many different ways for you to understand and let it sink in fully. 

There is a dose-response relationship with exercise. A certain dose will yield positive results, but too little or too much will either do nothing or yield negative results. 

Exercise is medicine, yes. And any medicine can be overdosed and see adverse side effects, or underdosed and see no changes. Exercise is no exception. 

Let’s talk about the signs and symptoms of overtraining, undertraining, and undertraining...

Now that we've covered both HIIT and steady-state cardio, let's go over the main differences between the two.

The difference between steady-state and HIIT is that a HIIT workout is where the individual exerts their max effort , which can't be sustained for a long time. Whereas steady-state cardio is a low-to-moderate effort that can be maintained for a longer period of time.

During HIIT, your heart rate is close to its max, maybe around 160 bpm, depending on who you are, and sustained for a brief amount of time, maybe 15-30 seconds. 

After that brief, intense bout, you recover for a short period of time and repeat. HIIT is pretty brutal, but the good part is, it's brief and time-effective. It has benefits, as I talked about in the last podcast. But it's not for everyone. If you are new to exercise, have cranky joints, hormone imbalances, etc., HIIT might not be your exercise of choice until you get those things under control. 

Additionally, if you HATE that type of...

Being “in shape” doesn’t just mean looking tight and having big muscles. It also means your joints are resilient and healthy. I can’t tell you how many physical therapy clients I’ve seen that look amazing, but are in constant pain. They could run a marathon, but they can’t sit on a plane for more than 2 hours without agonizing back pain. They can squat twice their body weight, but they can’t pick up their kids. They have toned arms, but their shoulder pain won’t let them reach the top cabinet. They look strong, but they are unstable.  

I believe the “no pain, no gain” methodology brought us to a place where destroying our bodies during workouts is the norm. It’s my career mission to reverse that mindset through education and empowerment. We need to re-evaluate how we are exercising and what it means to be fit. Exercise should build you UP. It should elevate the physical ability of your body. Creating...