Are you suffering exercise burnout? Find out using this quiz - designed by personal trainer to models Elle Macpherson and Daisy Lowe
- Personal trainer Nicola Addison who's trained celebrities such as Elle Macpherson, Erin O'Connor and Daisy Lowe says you can overdo it
- There are clear signs to exercise burnout that she warns her clients of
- Can you recognize the signs? Take Nicola's quiz below to find out...
Personal trainer Nicola Addison - who trains models Elle Macpherson, Erin O'Connor and Daisy Lowe - says you can overdo it. Take this quiz to find out if you're suffering burn-out
Exercise feels great.
The endorphins and dopamine pushing round our body when we train really does give off an almighty buzz. For some people, it can be an addictive buzz.
But what happens when that buzz pushes too far?
I often hear it when when I ask people how their workout was and they reply 'I killed myself' or 'I smashed it' or 'I nearly threw up'.
Even worse is when I hear personal trainers say 'I messed them up' or 'I broke him in half' or 'he will have fun walking tomorrow'.
Is 'more' or 'harder' always yielding the best body results?
I am pretty sure that 'smashing up' an already smashed body and/or brain is not going to yield any results.
In fact, results will go backwards and the longer-term effect of training on empty will eventually start to take its toll.
Does the above sound like you? Are you in the throws of exercise burnout?
As a trainer to models including Elle Macpherson and Daisy Lowe, I need to be alert to when my clients are pushing themselves to the limit.
To identify the red flags, I have devised a checklist.
Take my short quiz below and take action now, before it's too late!
QUIZ
WHICH APPLY TO YOU...?
1. Do you feel irked when you are about to start working out? Are you frustrated in the gym when your favorite treadmill is not working or the music playing in your class is not to your taste?
2. Do you have sore muscles for days? Up to 72 hours soreness is ok, but are you sore entering into days 4 post workout? Are you still sore 3 or 4 days after your workout?
3. Does it take you a while to nod off when in bed? Do you sometimes feel restless?
4. Do you sometimes find your resting heart rate (i.e. sat on the sofa watching TV) is particularly high or even low?
Model Erin O'Connor is also a client of Addison's and posted this photo to her Instagram describing her excitement of achieving 60kg deadlifts
5. Have you stopped seeing results? Or have you plateaued?
6. Has your appetite declined post workout, even though you have hit the workout hard and burnt lots of calories during the session?
7. Do you feel tired instead of energized at the end of your warm up?
8. Are you unmotivated to exercise? Are you disinterested at the thought of a new gym program?
9. Do you feel a bit blue or sad on non exercise days?
10. Do your friends/family/partner ever make reference to your exercise habits?
RESULTS
HOW MANY DID YOU ANSWER 'YES' TO...?
1-4
Things are pretty good. You are aware that you hit a hard workout, but it's doesn't drive you over the edge. Keep pushing, but be aware of the warning signs if and when you see them.
5-7
Warning lights shining bright. You perhaps need to view your workouts and peel them back a little.
Give your body a chance to heal by giving longer rest days before working out.
Look at doing some brain work (breathing/meditation) that will assist your nervous system and help lower your cortisol levels and finally look at swapping intense HIIT workouts for more steady state cardio.
This will hugely aid your progress and in turn results.
5-step rule to proceed:
1. Exercise only three times a week for the next two weeks and ensure two days rest between workout days
2. Switch HIIT/heavy workouts to lighter sessions including cardio, mobility & stretch workouts. Such as 30 minutes on the cross trainer or a 30m spin class.
3. If you insist on hitting the gym, focus on lower intensity compound movements. Such a 20+ light squats (i.e just body weight & not too deep). Workouts should focus on raising the heart rate but not tearing up muscles.
4. Keep workouts between 20-40 minutes in length.
5. Complete 2 x 30 cycles (breathes) of Pursed Lip Breathing twice a day. One on waking and one at bedtime. Each cycle of 30 breathes will take 5 minutes.
Daisy Lowe, 28, has an 'incredible' deadlifting technique, Addison said. But because the model doesn't particularly like exercising, so the personal trainer said she made their classes into a fun P.E. style class
Elle Macpherson's (left and right) personal trainer Nicola Addison insists that lifting weights is the key to a top model figure
8+
SLOW DOWN!
You need to slow down otherwise your body will slow you down! Your body (and brain) needs some R&R, some down time, some chill out.
Your body is in a possible state of hormonal overload!
Don't worry about missing those fuzzy feelings exercise gives you.
Take a complete break from your standard exercise pattern and simple keep active by walking for 30+ minutes a day. Have some down time and results when you return in the game will be greater. Give yourself permission to have a break.
5-step plan to proceed:
1. Put a halt on 'gym style' workouts for a full seven days.
2. Keep your caffeine (+other stimulants) to before 12pm only and if possible, eliminate all together for the next 7 days.
3. Walk for a minimum of 30 minutes every single day.
4. Complete six cycles (breathes) of Pursed Lip Breathing (method below) every hour/every other hour each day for 7 days.
5. After a full seven days, complete the five-step recommendation above relating to scores between 5-7. Complete this program for two further weeks.
O'Connor (left) and model Jade Parfitt (right) are both clients of Addison's and they regularly post photos inside the luxury gym
HOW TO PREVENT FUTURE BURNOUTS
STEP 1: TAKE A BREAK
1. HOLD OFF ON THE GYM FOR A WEEK
Put a halt on 'gym style' workouts for a full seven days.
2. REPLACE WITH LIGHT STROLLS
Walk for a minimum of 30 minutes every single day.
3. NO COFFEE
Keep your caffeine (and other stimulants) to before 12pm only and if possible, eliminate all together for the next seven days.
STEP 2: EASE BACK IN
1. CUT DOWN ON YOUR USUAL
Getting back to normal, start by only exercising three times a week for the next two weeks - and ensure two days of rest between workout days.
2. LIGHTEN UP
Switch HIIT/heavy workouts to lighter sessions including cardio, mobility & stretch workouts. Such as 30 minutes on the cross trainer or a 30-minute spin class.
3. CHANGE YOUR MOVES
If you insist on hitting the gym, focus on lower intensity compound movements.
Such a 20+ light squats (i.e just body weight & not too deep). Workouts should focus on raising the heart rate but not tearing up muscles.
4. KEEP IT BRIEF
Keep workouts between 20 and 40 minutes in length.
STEP 3: A NEW REGIME - AND NEW HABITS
1. BE STRATEGIC
Look at your exercise programming & ensure the same muscle groups are not worked more than 3 times a week.
So, if you want to hit a workout every day, try split programming. Have a program for your legs one day and your uppers the next.
This will give time for your muscles to recover.
2. DEDICATE AS MUCH ATTENTION TO RECOVERY
Make sure your are stretching before & after your workout and have a bath on training days with magnesium salts. Splash out and treat yourself to a massage occasionally.
3. DON'T VIEW REST DAYS AS WASTE DAYS
Rest days does not mean sitting on the sofa all day with your Netflix box set. Active rest is incredibly important. Walking, low level cardio, even a light swim are all fantastic examples of active rest.
4. REVIEW HOW YOU FUEL YOUR BODY
Carbohydrates are your friend and important for yielding energy whilst protein is important for muscle repair.
5. GET BETTER SLEEP
Try to rise and fall at the same time each day as this can also have an impact on recovery.
6. JUST BREATHE
Complete two 30-breath cycles of 'Pursed Lip Breathing' twice a day. One on waking and one at bedtime. Each cycle of 30 breathes will take five minutes.
Nicola Addison (pictured) is the personal trainer of the stars and owner of Eqvvs Training in Knightsbridge, London
GUIDE TO THE PURSED-LIP BREATHING TECHNIQUE
A favorite technique of mine is Pursed Lip Breathing.
Aim to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, through pursed lips as if you were gently blowing through a straw. Imagine you are slowly blowing out a candle on a cake in a way that would make the flame flicker but not go out.
At the end of each exhalation take a pause (without strain) for a count of one. Inhale once more, but try to focus on the exhalation, forgetting about breathing in.
Try to repeat this for 30 cycles (breathes) at least twice a day.
Practice on waking and before bedtime, and before meals if possible.
After some weeks of daily practice you should be able to achieve an inhalation which lasts two to three seconds and an exhalation lasting six to seven seconds, without straining. Feelings of nervousness and anxiety should start to reduce with regular application and practice.
A few cycles of breathing (six cycles takes about a minute) can be repeated every hour if anxious or stressed.
- Nicola Addison is the owner of Eqvvs Training in London's Knightsbridge and is also Healthspan's Wellbeing Expert
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