Are you overdoing it?

Q: I like to shake up my fitness routine. There are a lot of different workouts that interest me. I find that I’m more tired during my runs now. I was cross training for the opposite effect. What am I doing wrong?

A: There are a lot of cross training activities that compliment running really nicely. If you’re finding that you’re feeling worse while running it could be related to the type of cross training workout you’re choosing or it could be a case of taking on too much which only leads to burnout or overtraining syndrome.

Whether or not you’re doing too much really depends on your fitness level. But there are a few things you should be asking yourself. Are you keeping days for rest and easy runs? Are you doing back-to-back workouts without recovering? Are you listening to your body? Activities that go really well with running could include yoga, body toning workouts, swimming, cycling or skipping. Don’t let these things take from your running schedule though and listen to your body.

For example, if you do a full body strengthening session on a no-run day, you still need to let your body repair the muscle damage. You shouldn’t schedule that workout on a “rest day.” Rest days are for total rest. If you’re using the breaks from running as opportunities to jump into a new activity, you need to back off. So if you go hard at an evening spinning class, don’t expect to bounce back on time for tomorrow morning’s long run.

Don’t try a new class the day before your track workout. Even if you think it’s a gentle class. It might not be as easy as you expected, especially if you haven’t done it before. That can ruin tomorrow’s workout if you wake up with aching muscles. It can be tempting to want to pack in different types of workouts– the evening yoga class, the morning swim, the ultimate core workout– just don’t add too much too soon and don’t add these things into your schedule ON TOP of the running you’re already doing or you’ll hit a wall.

Remember that physical activity has to be paired with rest to get the full effect. With improving fitness it’s not just about go, go, go! If you’re not giving time to put the feet up and have that calming bath, you’re shortchanging yourself.