Feel the burn ... not the burnout
by Lange House, YMCA wellness director
Jul 06, 2011 | 5409 views | 0 0 comments | 22 22 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Lange House is the wellness director for the Rome-Floyd YMCA.
Lange House is the wellness director for the Rome-Floyd YMCA.
slideshow
If you exercise for any length of time, you'll probably wake up one day, take one look at your running shoes or whatever’s in your workout arsenal and consider burning it, just to get it out of your sight.

Burnout is a common problem and fire is not the answer (most of the time). Exercise burnout can happen to anyone, but we often don’t notice the signs of an impending burnout until it's too late.

Here are a few examples of exercisers in which a burnout might be lurking:

The Clock Watcher: How many times have you been one of these people who say: “I’m going to be on this treadmill for 30 minutes today and you constantly look at the clock begging for it to speed up?

Trust me, I know the feeling and have been there plenty of times myself! There's no worse feeling than looking at the clock, thinking you've been at it for at least 15 minutes and realize it's only been five. Constantly watching the clock during your workout may indicate a burnout on the horizon.

Captain Indecisive: Are you one of these people who think about exercising tomorrow and just can’t make up your mind about what you want to do?

“I’ll go walk around the neighborhood…no I’ll go ride my bike out at Berry….no I should go to the gym….I don't know what I want to do."

Sometimes you decide what you're going to do, but change your mind so much in the process you have no idea what you actually doing!

If you can't think of any workout that sounds good, this may be a signal that you're burning out.

The Dreader: When you pick out your workout clothes for the day and find yourself thinking, "I really don’t want to change and go workout! I’m just not in the mood to do this."

If the thought of even putting on these clothes makes you tired and irritable, this may be a sign you're burned out.

These are all normal issues that almost anyone who has ever worked out has experienced at some point. Being able to recognize the signs can help save you time and frustration and get you back on track to enjoying your workouts again. Sometimes just taking a day or two off from your normal routine, or giving yourself permission to sleep in one morning is enough to shake you out of your rut.

Other times, you may need something more drastic -- a complete change of schedule, a new activity or a ceremonial burning of that workout DVD you've done way too many times.

Exercise is great but like anything else in life, if done in excess it can hinder you. I say this time and time again, work on finding a balance in your life and make sure you are able to do things you truly enjoy doing.

Comments
(0)
Comments-icon Post a Comment
No Comments Yet
Postings are not edited and are the responsibility of the author. You agree not to post comments that are abusive, threatening or obscene. Postings may be removed at our discretion.