over-worked muscles and loss of motivation... any advise?

Hey there :)

does anyone know if it's bad to run with tired or weak muscles?  more often than not, i find myself getting the urge to run even though i'm really tired or really weak from a previous run.  i have a really hard time allowing my body to have recovery days.  i lose my motivation, and one recovery day turns into a whole week.  it's terrible.  so i tend to overwork myself and jog 2-4 miles a day, when my body just can't handle it.

at this point i figured my body would get used to the constant exercise and stop hurting.  i'd just like to know if my exercise habits could backfire and cause problems.

any advise?  thanks :)

Try finding a less stressful alternative for your rest days like swimming or go for a bike ride. I love yoga on my off days (also ride horses obsessively, but that's not for everyone. hehe). You can do damage to your joints if you pound them too much and don't let them recover (ahem. I am FINALLY taking my own advice and its a big difference).

I found that if I run 4 days a week and cross train or lift weights 2 (run, XT, run, run, XT, long run, off), my body has enough time to recover (and I'm using different muscles to cross train to help build stabilizers and such). Also, my comfortable distance and speed increase noticeably week to week and I don't hit that need to take a week off. I feel good about my runs and workouts and want to continue.

Best thing I can tell you, listen to your body and give it some rest days. Fewer higher quality workout days will benefit you more than struggling every day. Or, at least it has me. :)

It sounds like, also, that you are running too hard.  Your runs should not decimate you--at least not unless you're racing every day! :P 

Depending on your current running pace, I would say that you probably should back off by about a minute per mile, or take walk breaks (especially in the summer!), all in the effort to keep your heart rate at between 65%-70% of its max.  Another good tool is the "talk test" to make sure you aren't pushing it too hard. 

It is hard for me to not run hard every day as well, since I feel like I am getting "more" out of my work out if I want to puke by the end of it.  But frankly a persons get more from consistent efforts with occassional quality workouts than burning herself out. 

Hi there, my 2 cents: get on a training program. Ie join a running club and train for a race (what ever distance you are into) . Most schedules build up to harder workouts gradually, also, they usually run 3-5 days and the runs are at a certain pace (tempo, lsd, steady etc). On recovery days, take up a non impact exercise (water running, swimming, cycling etc) . Pilates or Yoga is also really good because running really tightens things up.

btw... if you are running to lose weight, a slow pace is much better for calorie burning than a fast one

This has been working for me anyway.

Cheers!  :)'

Original Post by angellos:

btw... if you are running to lose weight, a slow pace is much better for calorie burning than a fast one

 

You are right!  If you run at a lower heart rate  (60% to 70%) you be exclusively burning fat.  If you are increasing your heart rate and pushing it (80% to 90%) you are burning glycogen not fat.  Long slow runs are best for weight loss.  In between 70% and 80% you will burn some fat and improve your aerobic capacity.\

I find it is good to do a mix, which is what you get if your joining a running group that is training for a specific distance or event.