In a world that praises hustle culture and the idea of “no pain, no gain”, it is easy to believe that when it comes to fitness, more is always better. However, the truth is that exercising too much can have serious, and often overlooked, impacts on women’s health; both physically and mentally.

Undeniably, exercise is great for you. It strengthens your heart, muscles, and bones which are great for us women across all our phases of life, but especially in some, such as menopause, when having strong bones and muscles are especially helpful. Having a strong body helps in day-to-day mobility, as well as preventing countless diseases. But, just like many other things, too much of a good thing can become bad. What are the impacts of doing too much, without enough fuel and rest?

 

Hormonal imbalances and menstrual disruption

When your body is under too much stress trying to recover from the load of all the working out, it can start to sacrifice other bodily functions, such as your period. Your body is smart; it signals to the brain that as there is not enough resources (food) to recover the body, it must be unsafe to reproduce and therefore the body should converse its energy by stopping your period (amenorrhea). As a woman, one of your best indicators of health is regular periods during the menstrual age. Even throughout menopause, it is important not to over exercise because the hormone changes already stress your body and adding too much additional stress can put you at a greater risk of illness or injury.

Bone health at risk

When the body is under stress, it can suppress the production of reproductive hormones like Oestrogen. Not only can this cause your period to stop, but as Oestrogen is vital for keeping bones strong, your bones can become brittle, which puts you at a greater risk of injury, such as a broken bone or stress fracture. As we reach menopause, having strong bones is even more important as we tend to lose muscle density as our Oestrogen levels naturally decline through menopause.

Limiting your goals

When we exercise, our cortisol levels rise, which is a natural response to the load of working out. However, when we exercise for too long, our body can start releasing very increased levels of cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone and can tell the body to hold onto fat, which if fat loss/weight loss is your goal, exercising for too long can become become counterproductive.

Mental and emotional burnout

Aside from the physical impacts, over exercising while under-fuelling/under-recovering can lead to mental and emotional burnout. Pushing yourself past your limits can lead to anxiety, irritability, and burnout. The joy of movement may become a source of dread and the pressure to always do more can erode self-esteem rather than building it.

What can you do?

Health is more than just working out. Make sure you’re eating a balanced diet and eating enough to support your level of exercise. Prioritise sleep, and build in time for stretching, gentle activity (walking/light biking), and other recovery (hello sauna!) outside of your workouts to aid your body in its recovery.
As always, make sure to listen to your body and tune in to what it is telling you.

 

“Train hard, recover harder.”

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