Monday, March 10, 2008

too much exercise CAN be a bad thing...

I just found out from a friend at work that I might be exercising too much. She said that if your heart rate goes to high for too long that it'll start depleting your body of needed sugar which will cause your brain to shut down. She said it'll make you tired.

Well, I've been doing the elliptical for a half hour maybe 3 or 4 times a week. And as soon as I get done, I'm so tired I have to take a nap. I mean, I'm not physically tired like "wow, what a work out!" but tired like "man I'm sleepy" and I can barely keep my eyes open.

Have you ever heard of that before?

I've never heard of it.

Now I'm going to have to do some research and find out what it all means.

She recommended keeping my heart rate between 120 and 130 for fat burn (for my age) but no higher. My heart rate has been pretty steady at 160 to 170 doing the elliptical.

I had no idea!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

It could also be that you aren't eating enough or hydrating during the ET. I know you are supposed to at least sip water every 15 minutes of working out, or your body starts to burn muscle instead of fat. also if you dont have enough energy from food, it can ruin the benefits of the workout. I tend to eat a snack an hour before and drink water throughout. How long have you been working out?

Anonymous said...

Wow, I always heard that exercise would invigorate you.

Christina said...

I have the opposite effect after I exercise I am super hyper, google that to see what happens and let us know, curious :)

--cara said...

cara, I've been exercising pretty regular (3-5 times a week) since last June. Been mostly walking but have done some interval (walk then jog then walk then jog). I walk 4 miles (in an hour) if I'm by myself. 3 miles if I'm with my walking buddies. Either way I have LOTS of energy afterwards. It's only since i've started doing the elliptical that i've been sleepy afterwards. I usually will eat something extra high in protein 15-20 minutes before work out (peanut butter, boiled egg, etc.). I take a 1 pint bottle of water with me and sip on it throughout the workout so by the time I'm done, i usually have just a couple of swallows left.

So I'm not sure why I'm sleepy unless there's something to this "drop in sugar levels" thing.

Christina, I'll definitely do some research on it and post what I find.

Until then, I've stopped the elliptical and will only do tread mill (WHICH I HATE). I go walking (outside) with my walking buddies tomorrow and Thursday so that'll give me some time to research it before I'm back at the gym on Friday.

Unknown said...

Hmm not sure what the sleepy thing is then. hmm. Maybe ask your doctor just in case?

We have been working out about the same amount of time. Good to know :-)