When you first started working out, everything was challening but new and exciting. The people, the energy, the movements, all the things you didn’t know you could do but now have done repeatedly make you feel invigorated (but exhausted) and ready for more each day. But then, one day, maybe you lose your excitement and it stops being fun. It becomes just another thing you have to do… and not for a day or two, but for a week or more. Burnout is a real thing in the world of exercise, and it will probably happen to you at some point if you stick with it long enough. So what can you do to end or, better yet, to prevent that feeling of burnout so you can continue making progress towards better health?
Talk to Your Coaches
Your coaches may be able to ask some questions and give you some ideas about how you can get back on track. A coach can put things into perspective, give you options of possible focus for your workouts, or help you to create a workout plan that is more balanced with your current life situation. Also, if a coach knows you are feeling burnt out, s/he can support you more appropriately by knowing when to push or give encouragement.
Have a Plan
Along with talking to a coach, the next biggest thing is to have a plan of action if you start feeling overwhelmed or stressed. Maybe you are getting the house ready for family to come visit, it’s the end of the month and you have many responsibilities at work, or you are traveling. Have a plan of what is realistic for you to accomplish that week. How many times will you go to the gym and what will be your focus? It’s not realistic to walk in each day and make huge gainz. Sometimes, it’s more important just to move and connect with another person. Maybe you go twice this week instead of your usual three or four. Plan to be generous and kind to yourself for a period of time, and then have a plan for how and when you will come back harder when you are ready.
Know Your Triggers and the Antidote
We can’t plan for everything, even if we are a competitive, high-performing lot. Life is going to happen: loved ones become ill, someone loses a job, a child decides to test boundaries (and you), money becomes tight, work gets stressful. If you have a lot of stress in your life, learn to determine if working out at a high intensity is going to increase your stress or relieve your stress. Sometimes life catches you off balance and working out (full intensity or lower intensity) recenters you. Sometimes, you need to stay home and go for a walk or take a nap. When you get home from that walk or wake up from that nap, go to work on talking to your coaches and getting your plan together for moving forward.
Do Other Stuff
Working out in a great community can envelope your life. This is great in that you have a vibrant, supportive community whose culture is to be healthy and social. We want you as invested as possible. However, it’s important to do other stuff, too: try new sports, learn to paint, go rock climbing, camp, play cards, fish, knit, visit museums, travel, and see friends. Working out is supposed to enhance the rest of or your life and allow you to do other stuff more easily, so do other stuff.
Change Your Focus
Have you mostly been doing CrossFit? Try doing a strength class or kettlebell work. Been doing bodyweight training for a while now? What about adding in some barbell work? Changing your focus can even mean focusing on slowing down and lightening up the weights in order to do everything as perfectly as possible. It could mean working to rehab a nagging pain or making sure you do some core strengthening each day. By changing your focus, you can oftentimes continue to stay active and strong without losing out on an opportunity to improve.
Hopefully, if and when you should experience burnout, you will take note and come back to this list. You have worked far too hard and long to allow a rough spot to make you regress, and even feeling sick of your workouts can be an opportunity to persist, learn about yourself, and improve as a human being and athlete… and that’s the goal, right?