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Getting Fit...with Kirk Matthews
Simple answer to a worrisome problem: Stop trying so hard

 

Kirk:

I recently made reality out of one of my New Year’s resolutions and have begun a really grueling workout program, involving heavy resistance training and lots of cardio (12 hours a week). I began early in December just to get a jump start, and while I’m new to this and expected to feel energized, in fact I am just wiped out. Even my skin is breaking out in a rash that I used to use cortizone cream for, and I thought it had been cured. What is going on here—help!

--Kelly in Tempe

Kelly:

Thanks for this particular question. It’s very much needed this time of year. And even though you got a jump start, this question may have a ring of familiarity for many of your Kyrene Corridor neighbors who are no doubt experiencing some, if not all, of your symptoms.

The particularly notable points in your situation are simple: You’re new to training; you’re working WAY too hard for a new trainee.

That’s it. No complicated scenario here. I discussed this briefly in a very recent issue, to forewarn those who engage in the inevitable onslaught of training that occurs at the beginning of each new year.

What you are mainly dealing with is an overload to your central nervous system. Consider that you have a certain amount of energy reserves and recovery ability that your body has been operating with for years, sometimes decades.

All of a sudden, you are asking your heart, lungs, capillaries, muscles and immune system to deal with a dizzying amount of work not entirely unlike boot camp training. It’s really no surprise that your skin is suffering: it’s often the case with overtraining to notice skin, hair, or nails (or all three) suffering a breakdown, as it were.

These visible clues are easy indicators of excessive stress on your entire system and represent a warning to cut back or take a break from the stress. Your whole system needs to adapt to the added work on a gradual basis. It’s rarely possible to go from zero to 15 workouts in a week without experiencing the stress somewhere, and you can be thankful that you noticed the symptoms earlier rather than later, before major damage accumulated.

So. First, cut way back on the training. This means: reduce that cardio work to around three hours a week maximum--that’s it. Maybe, months from now, you can add more as you get used to it, and that’s only if you want to, for fun or an additional challenge.

And cut back on the resistance training as well, particularly if you are always sore following your workout, even a day or two (or three) later.

Second, make sure you are getting enough sleep and a good balanced diet, and you should be fine in a few weeks, seeing your system recover, your skin improving and your energy returning. If you don’t, then I’d recommend a whole week off all activity to rest and completely recover, after which you can start again gradually.

Remember, finding the path to fitness is a gradual and progressive journey which should be fun and productive, not exhausting and stressful. Take it easy, hire a trainer and learn to do it the right way.

Kirk Matthews is an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer and a nutrition consultant working in the Kyrene Corridor.

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