Staying fit and healthy feels great, but like with most things, there can come a point when it doesn’t have quite the same positive impact as it once did. There are several reasons that this can occur, however, the most common of which is fitness burnout. When it hits, it can be difficult to even think of going to the gym or hopping in the pool for a swim, let alone actually doing it, but fear not, we’re here to help. In this blog, we’ll run through four quick tips on how to ensure you never suffer from fitness burnout again.
What is Fitness Burnout?
Before we move on to our tips, it’s important to define fitness burnout. Burnout and overtraining aren’t always the same thing, but often go hand in hand, meaning pushing yourself to your limits on a regular basis can actually have a negative effect on you. What’s key to remember is that fitness burnout isn’t just physical, it can be mental too as you can become bored or unmotivated to work out like you used to. Overall, fitness burnout is when you lack the drive to perform your workouts to the same degree as you once did, and let’s be honest, nobody wants that.
Signs Your Experiencing Burnout:
- Consistent muscle soreness
- Extreme fatigue
- Regular mental exhaustion
- Routine boredom
- Frequent Injuries or illness
- Lack of motivation
Ways to Avoid Fitness Burnout
Rest
First and foremost, on the list is rest, which includes sleep, but that is not the only form of resting. When it comes to sleep, you need to ensure your body along with your mind are getting enough of it to recover, repair and even build muscle this means getting a sufficient amount of sleep each day. You should also ensure you include rest days into your routine, which means you can simply relax on the couch or have a low impact, active rest day which could include walking, swimming, a slower paced cycle, foam rolling or simply hitting the health suite to rejuvenate. Without a good amount of rest your body as well as your mind won’t be able to function to 100%, leading to less gains from your workouts, more fatigue and increasing your risk of injury, so scheduling rest is a must to counter burnout.
Switch Up Your Routine
When it comes to both the physical and mental side of things, if you’re doing the same routine over and over again, you can start to feel a sense of boredom or lack of motivation while exercising which guarantees a drop in results. This feeling is another symptom of fitness burnout, but it’s easily remedied, or you can make sure it never sets in by keeping your work outs fresh and varied over time. So, if you’re into your cardio and you’re always on the treadmill, why not try spinning or swimming for example, or simply if you’re always in the gym alone working out, give fitness classes a try or hit the pool for a full body workout. Not only will spicing up your routine stop you from becoming mentally fatigued, but it can also be a perfect way to prevent overworking specific muscles which means less chance for injury or exhaustion.
Focus on Nutrition
Many people set out on their fitness journey with a structured workout plan that contains a certain number of days to work out, what exercises to do, how long to do them for and so on, which leads to positive results. However, when a lot of people get into their routine they notice they are more tired or their muscles are taking a long time to recover, both of which are often down to the fact they changed their fitness plan but not their nutrition plan. Whenever you begin a new fitness routine it’s important to remember that your body needs more or different fuel to allow you to achieve your goals. It’s essential to make sure you plan your meals to replenish what you use during a workout and drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated, both of which will vary depending on your routine, but by staying on top of these your body will have the fuel it needs to stave off burnout.
Set New Targets
What often happens when people start to experience burnout is that their body is not being pushed the same way it was, or the challenge isn’t great enough, leading to a lack in motivation and endorphins being pumped around the mind. While a workout routine may have worked wonders before, it’s good to ask yourself occasionally, “why am I working out?” and “what results do I want to see?”. Once you’ve answered these, you might notice that you’ve achieved goals you once had or got to a weight you wanted to reach and now it’s time to set a new target whether that be to aim to lift a certain weight, compete in a triathlon, boost your endurance, the possibilities are endless. Having something to aim towards can provide that additional bit of energy for the body and brain, allowing you to cater your workouts as well as diet for your needs, which will stave off any chance of burnout.
Our Burning Conclusion
That’s a wrap on our tips to combat fitness burnout. Whether you’re someone who’s currently experiencing it or you want to give yourself the best chance of not finding out what it feels like, our tips should help. By getting enough rest, switching up your routine, prioritising your body’s fuel and adjusting your fitness goals as you progress through life, you’ll ideally avoid burnout. It’s important to keep an eye out for burnout as only you truly know your body and mind, but keeping on top of it will allow you to reach your targets with in the best possible way.
How Aura Leisure Can Help
At Aura Leisure, our personalised fitness programmes are the ideal way to kickstart your fitness aspirations, with Aura Fit for Life ideal for any beginners and Aura Lean3 perfect for people with a little more fitness experience. Not only that but our range of fitness classes means you can spice up your routine at any time. When you add in our state-of-the-art gym, swimming pool and health suite facilities, you’ll have everything you need to not only keep fit but also rejuvenated. Best of all, our members get access to all of this, plus much more at no extra cost.