Exercising is vital to achieving and maintaining good health and staying strong in mind and body. Yet, training too hard will ruin your heart, cause several ailments, and could lead to an early death.
As an ex-Olympic ski racer and professional athlete for many years, I know more than most what excessive training does to your body and mind.
This period lasted between the age of 12 to 20, from 1982 until 1990. I often fell sick, and ended up with a broken heart, when I crashed badly and tore up my right leg.
I was young and indestructible, or so I thought by training hard.
After my crash and multiple operations to fix the knee and save the leg, I carried on with my life as best I could. I had to start over in a place I didn’t want to be.
Training harder in the gym and running twice a day
I thought I was “tough and manly” by following this routine. It made me feel somewhat in charge again.
My body was bulked up, and my confidence was as high as the Empire State Building.
What I did not realize at the time was that I was:
1 — Damaging my fragile knee
2 — Eating junk food and everything I could get my hands on in between
3 — Constantly feeling low-energy I didn’t know why
4 — Damaging my heart
5 — Getting fatter around my waistline
6 – My training was ruining my body and health
It took me 20 more years to figure out what I was doing wrong
I was pre-diabetic, not obese, but 60 lbs. overweight — all nicely stacked around my waist. I used to call it “love handles.”
Like most, I believed it was “normal” to add weight in your 30s and 40s and just go with the flow.
My answer to my problem?
I will work out more — so I kept saying to myself — and I did. But nothing helped me lose weight or feel and look better.
In 2015, I had a stroke from over-training and poor food
That got me a little worried and sent an anxious and very stressful wake-up call to my brain.
I said to myself:
“Man, you got to figure this out and change, or you might not make it past 50!”
That minor stroke was my lifesaver. It slapped me in the face, and I took action.
I studied food and what effects it has on the body and mind. Then I became a modern nutritionist and changed my diet from terrible to excellent.
I cut down on the carbs and eliminated all sugar from my diet and started to cook homemade real food.
It only took me 2 months to shed my excess weight and become lean and healthy again.
Once I recovered my body, my mental health soon stabilized too — they are interconnected.
That was 8 years ago.
Today at 54, I feel better and stronger than ever, with endless energy, ideas, and power of mind, body, and soul – and far less training!
The Gym and Overtraining
Please stop wasting too much time in the gym pumping iron, taking mirror selfies, and posting them on social media to get attention.
You’re not only wasting your time — you are overtraining, slowly harming your heart, and most likely overeating, and none of that will lead to good health!
That’s all you need t do to stay fit, strong, lean, and save time and money!
Final Takeaways
1 — Go easy on yourself in body and mind. Life is hard enough as it is.
2 — Think about your heart and internal health instead of bulking up your muscles.
3 — Lower your carb intake and try to remove all sugars from your diet.
4 — Spend time in nature: walking, swimming, working out, or chilling.
Rob
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