A common motto you hear buzzing around gyms and fitness centers is ‘the more you workout, and the more often you feel the burn, the better.’ That’s not exactly true, as it’s certainly possible to push yourself to burnout, which has detrimental effects on your health and wellness and hinders your overall progress. Overworking muscle groups increases your risk of injury and doesn’t give your muscles sufficient time to rest and recover, ready to power through your next session. Strava data recently revealed that more people are prioritizing rest days and balance rather than burnout. Let’s look at the data and tips to avoid burnout so that you can optimize your fitness.

What is burnout?

According to psychology experts, burnout is a state of mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion that occurs due to repeated or prolonged stress. That stress can be physical stress on your body from overworking your muscles and working out too intensely and too frequently. Burnout can appear in other areas of life, such as burnout from work or, in this case, from overexercising. The burnout state often comes along with irritability, a negative mood or depression, and lethargy, where you find it difficult to get up and go. Some people might push themselves so hard that they start to feel ill and end up battling excessive fatigue. 

Burnout can happen for a number of reasons. If you don’t take a break once in a while, you could face burnout. With regards to exercise, if you don’t take appropriate breaks and rest days, that awful, overwhelming feeling might be around the corner.

The data

Recently, Strava released the Year In Sport: Trend Report, identifying the leading trends and surges of 2024. The report combines billions of unique activity data from the global community of over 135 million people, along with insights from a randomized, global survey of over 5,000 people.

The findings show how people worldwide are prioritizing balance over burnout when it comes to their workout schedules. Rather than pushing their bodies to the extreme, more active people are incorporating shorter workouts and sufficient rest days to give their muscles a chance to recover. This indicates a shift to a more sustainable approach to exercise that helps people stay active long-term while fostering mental health and muscle recovery.

Here are the highlights:

• Over one-fifth of all ‘workouts’ were micro-movements under 20 minutes in duration.
• Runners training for marathons incorporated more rest and active recovery days in their workout schedule. 51% of days in the 16 weeks before the race were rest days.
• There was a 13% increase in large group activities.
• Large group activities had 3x more downtime than solo activities, showing that people made time for coffee or conversation and a breather mid-workout.

Taking breaks doesn’t hinder progress

The Strava data showed that this focus on balance and rest days didn’t hold back progress, and 72% of running goals and 77% of ride goals were met.

Tips to avoid burnout

The following are top tips to help you avoid burnout:

• Take appropriate rest days.
• Take a whole week off exercise to help your muscles recover when needed.
• Switch up the type of exercise for the best results.
• Make time to relax.
• Incorporate outdoor workouts and explore new places.
• Set new small, attainable goals for yourself.
• Recognize when you’re starting to overexert yourself or feeling especially tired.
• Plan a workout schedule that will be effective and fits neatly into your schedule without making you feel like you’re being pulled in too many directions.
• Prioritize your sleep and optimal nutrition and stay hydrated.

With the right balance in your workout routine, you can safely achieve your fitness milestones.