Why It’s Important To Time Your Workouts

The right amount of time for a workout changes with the kind of exercise you're doing. Yet, there's an ideal length for every workout session that hits just right, making it crucial to time your workouts well. You want to get the most out of your gym time without overdoing it. Being active means more than just showing up at the gym. 

If you're mostly walking around or chatting instead of focusing on your exercises, you're not getting a proper workout. Timing your workouts right helps ensure you're spending your gym time effectively.

Daily Long Workouts: More Harm Than Good

Spending too many hours at the gym every single day could hinder your progress. Ever heard the phrase "too much of a good thing"? That applies to exercise as well. Especially during intense workouts aimed at building muscle, your body needs time off to recover and repair. Intense sessions do more than just relieve stress; they also impose new kinds of stress on the body. This can weaken your immune system for up to three days. 

Moreover, strength exercises create small tears in your muscles which, once healed, make your muscles stronger. Without allowing a day or two for recovery between these intense sessions, your body doesn’t get the chance to properly rebuild itself.

Not Breaking a Sweat? Your Workout Might Be Too Light

A heart rate monitor is good for seeing how hard you're working out by checking your pulse. But, an easy test to see if you're pushing enough is if you can talk or sing easily while exercising. If that's the case, it's time to step it up a notch. It's okay to feel a bit sore the next day; that's normal. But if you're hurting, you might have gone too far. Pushing too hard can make it harder to see improvements and make workouts tougher over time. 

Hitting this kind of wall means you should take it easier, especially if you're starting to dread working out. It's important to time your workouts right, give yourself a break for a day or two to rest, and keep loving your workout plan.

Pushing Yourself Too Hard? How It Impacts Everyday Life

Going overboard with your workouts can spill over into your daily life, making you start to dislike exercising. It can also sour your mood in general, making you feel like you're always on edge, similar to the early signs of falling ill. You might notice more frequent sickness, mood swings like anger or depression, and a general sense of tiredness that goes beyond normal post-workout fatigue. This kind of exhaustion affects not just your gym time but your entire day.

Timing your workouts smartly means considering the intensity. Intense sessions like HIIT should be shorter to prevent burnout. Remember, it's not about how long you spend at the gym but the quality and intensity of your actual workout. Only the time you spend actively working out should count.

Monitoring your heart with a device can be insightful. A sudden increase in your resting heart rate often signals your body is under too much stress. In such cases, dialing back on your workout intensity or duration can help.

Excessively intense Cardio Training sessions without adequate rest can paradoxically lead to muscle loss and an increase in fat. It's crucial to balance the effort of your cardio workouts with rest, ensuring you're not pushing your body beyond its recovery capacity.

Properly timing your workouts with sufficient rest periods in between is key to maintaining muscle and overall health.