Overtraining?

[gwd]

Hi there Cathe!

First off I have to say that I am SOOO grateful to have found your workouts! I am 29 and in the best shape of my life...having lost 31 lbs in the past year and discovering abs that I never knew I had. Thank you!

My question regards overtraining. I've heard it referred to in this forum and was wondering if I am overtraining. Trying to keep this short...I am extremely active. I train horses (jumpers...no pleasure riding here ;-) ) and am the barn manager as well, meaning a lot of other physical work as well (stacking hay, farm maintenance, etc) and while at horse shows a LOT of walking. In addition to my daily routine, I typically do 1 hour of cardio and 30-45 minutes of either abs or weights, 6 mornings a week. I tend to rotate through IMAX 2, IMAX 3, Kickmax, KPC, SB, RS the most often. I try to eat very clean (LOTS of lean protein, fruits and veggies), trying to stay around 1800 calories per day.

I'm 5'1", 118 lbs, about 22% body fat and am looking to get down to around 110 lbs and about 20% body fat. The problem I am having is that I now can't get this last bit of weight off, especially the back fat. I'm not sure if I need to increase my cardio length or intensity? As it is right now, I do your workouts all the way through with no modifications. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Again, thank you, thank you, thank you for making such incredible videos!

Wendi

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Wendi! I love your occupation....horses are beautiful animals and being around them brings great serenity to my life. I would be very happy spending my days with them and I am quite sure you feel the same

It sounds to me that you are in a plateau right now, and as hard as it is, you have to cut back on either the intensity, frequency, or duration of your workouts and let your body "miss it a little". During this cut back period, your body with refuel, recover, and rejuvinate. After about two to three weeks of cutting back a bit, you can go back to it the way you were. Only this time you will be stronger because you have healed your already very fit body and it is ready to perform even harder for you. If you were to try to do this now, during your plateau (a time where you have tried everything and nothing seems to be doing the trick) you could run the risk of injury from overtraining.

Good luck and give those beautiful horses a big kiss on the bridge of their nose :* and a little tickle on their velvety soft nostrils

 

[gwd]

Cathe,

Wow, what a quick reply! Thanks for the advice. Actually, your tip couldn't have come at a better time...we're horse showing non-stop for the next 2 weeks and I truly wasn't looking forward to trying to fit in my normal workout schedule with the extended hours I'll be working. I guess now I don't have to feel guilty :7 ! I was afraid that taking any kind of break would send me back peddling. Thanks so much for the advice and I'll pass on your "message" to the four legged boys and girls.