What Is Fitness Fatigue? Is Your Workout Routine Secretly Harming You? 5 Tips To Maintain Metabolic Health
In a world obsessed with #NoDaysOff and pushing limits, “fitness fatigue” is a term we don’t talk about enough. Simply put, fitness fatigue refers to the physical and mental exhaustion that builds up when your workout routine lacks balance, nutrition, and sustaining adequate recovery, or is not aligned with your body’s needs. Two situations I see this happen often with clients who consult me are:
– Those who solely use the weighing scale to guide their nutrition and workout plans. The scale doesn’t drop; they reduce the food and increase their workouts. Yes, in theory, eating less and moving more should work, but we forget to account for the different factors that also control your weight: hormone changes, sleep disturbances, water weight from eating out, taking medicines like antibiotics or painkillers, and gut health. So, more than just the weight on the scale, you need to see objective markers like your body fat percentage, water weight and muscle mass too. Subjectively, see how your clothes are fitting you, how good you are feeling and the inches you have on you.
– Women with PCOS often have fluctuations in hormones and therefore in PMS symptoms like irregular period, poor sleep, mood swings and intense cravings (more pronounced than those without PCOS). It becomes counterproductive to overtrain and underfuel in these situations, as it can spike cortisol (stress hormone) levels, which in turn further worsen the fluctuations. For some, it can even lead to hypothalamic amenorrhea (medically, a term for when you lose your period entirely). All because of the mental and physical stress you are putting your body through!
– For those managing conditions like diabetes, pushing through intense workouts without enough recovery can cause energy crashes or blood sugar fluctuations.
From a medical standpoint, this is called unintentionally sabotaging their metabolic health. The signs? Constant fatigue, plateaued progress, low motivation, disrupted sleep, and persistent soreness. So, how do you fix it? Here are some tips to bookmark.
Listen to your body: Your body is unique and responds differently to others. Not every day needs to be high-intensity. Plan a workout routine that allows you rest days and workouts that YOU enjoy.
Prioritise recovery: Quality sleep is most important for your immunity and prevention of injury. Aim for 7-8 hours daily. Protip: adding a Magnesium supplement after consulting with your health care provider could help with both better quality sleep and muscle recovery.
Cycle your training: Mix strength, cardio, mobility, and rest days.
Fuel smartly: You need to know that food is also fuel. And that you need to have a good relationship with food, as it will be occupying a lot of your day and social or family life. Skipping meals or carbs around workouts can backfire, affect sleep and intensify your binge eating episodes.
Fitness isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing what is good for our bodies. It’s time we shift from hustle culture to a more mindful, body-intelligent approach to wellness.
About The Author
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Dr Juhi Agarwal studied M.B.B.S from Mumbai, and P.G Dip Nutrition and P.G Dip Diabetes from the United Kingdom. She is a Diabetologist and clinical nutritionist. She focuses on lifestyle correction, personalised mentoring, ailment control, weight loss and mindful eating.
First Published: May 31, 2025 9:13 AM
