Everywhere you turn in the fitness industry, whether it’s a gym, a supplement store, a workout magazine or wellness blog, you’ll receive some sort of advice. You’ll hear how you should work out each day, what you need to eat and how you should go about living your day-to-day life. Society encourages a “do more”, an overtraining mentality by the attention given to extreme bodybuilders and dramatic weight loss transformations because of how much they have achieved and overcome.
OVERTRAINING YOUR BODY: WHY WE NEED TO KNOW OUR LIMITS
We’ve been raised with the idea that dreams can come true if you work hard and never give up. And most of us admire a good work ethic and have benefitted by constantly striving to better ourselves.
But one aspect that’s often overlooked is the concept of knowing our limits. How often are you warned about the consequences of doing too much?
As someone who is heavily involved in the fitness industry, I don’t think we stress this point enough, and it’s a shame. I’ll explain why here:
Physical and mental damage:
When we don’t know our limits, we increase our chances of suffering serious consequences, both physically and mentally. If we push too hard we can suffer from a multitude of medical issues, such as inflammation, joint pain, stress fractures and insomnia. And our mental health can take a hit, increasing the incidence of anxiety, panic, depression and self-image issues.
No sense of achievement:
Another negative consequence of not knowing our limits is the decreased awareness of what we’ve already accomplished. As we constantly push to do more and improve, we can lose sight of where we began and how far we’ve come. It taints our current perspective of how we’re doing; sadly, we might never be satisfied or happy with how our body looks.
Isolation:
I have repeatedly witnessed people who don’t know their limits take healthy living to an extreme, and I’ve been guilty of it myself. It can appear obsessive and self-focused and take precedence over spending time with loved ones and fostering relationships. Some people become so hyper-focused on what they think they need to do that nothing else can get in their way. Everyday life is put on hold.
By no means am I encouraging you to stop pursuing better fitness and health. But I hope that our industry can encourage balanced living and an increased awareness of our limits. Because if we fail to realize this possibility, we can miss out on the enjoyment of everyday life.
Is it time for you to assess where you are in your desire to be better? Have you pushed too far? I encourage you to ask these questions and acknowledge where you are right now. It’s within your ability to take a step back and find a middle ground so you can not only endure for years to come, but also enjoy life a lot more!
