With everything going on in this strange post-pandemic world (*gestures at sky-high inflation rates, mass layoffs, and overall economic uncertainty*), you’ve likely experienced a bout or two of burnout.

Um, wait a minute. Isn’t burnout a workplace phenomenon?

This is GymStreak—so why are we talking about it? Well, see, while the concept of burnout does indeed come from workplace psychology, it’s seeped into all corners of our lives since those dark, lockdown-filled pandemic days.

In other words: beyond making you obsessively think about quitting your job to travel the world, burnout can also hurt your commitment to your fitness routine.

And, unfortunately, in contrast to job burnout, exercise burnout isn’t as easy to beat (how can you request Paid Time Off from your routine?) So, what can you do about it? That’s what this article is for. Continue reading to discover:

What is exercise burnout? (And how to tell if you have it)

First, a disclaimer. Technically speaking, no official definition of exercise burnout exists.

Still, building off from workplace burnout's definition, here's what we think may work best:

“Exercise burnout is defined as physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion due to a workout routine. It is often associated with a slew of negative feelings, from cynicism to irritability to resentment.”

But what does that look like? And how will you feel? Here are a few tell-tale signs that you may be experiencing exercise burnout:

• You’ve lost your motivation for training: You skip out on your workout session at the slightest inconvenience (oh, I stepped on a puddle—best get that tiny wet spot cleaned ASAP, so I’ll give the gym a miss today)
• You’re unusually fatigued: Sore, achy muscles are normal. But having to drag yourself out of bed and feeling like death, personified, with every step you take? Something’s up with you.
• Your performance is suffering: Is your performance declining (e.g., unable to hit last week's training volume) for no apparent reason, like weight loss or an injury?
• You’re getting injured more often: Despite staying consistent with your mobility work and warm-up routines, you're constantly pulling something or the other during your workout session.
• You’re mentally oh-so-done with exercising: You’re jaded. You’re ready to throw in the towel and give up exercising—forever. Muscles? Lower risk of chronic health conditions? Improved mental well-being? Yeah, you couldn’t care less at this point.

What’s the difference between exercise burnout and overtraining?

Hmm. Think all the above sound awfully like overtraining? That’s perfectly understandable.

Psst: don’t know what overtraining is? Don't worry. Here's a refresher:

However, it’s worth noting that they’re two separate things.

With overtraining, the prerequisite is that you’d need to have been, well, overtraining in the sense that you haven’t dedicated enough time for proper rest and recovery.

Workout burnout, on the other hand, can happen even if you're well-rested.

So perhaps a simpler way to think about it is that exercise burnout has more of a psychological origin than overtraining.

How to recover from exercise burnout

Alright. So, you're knee-deep in exercise burnout—and sadly (and metaphorically speaking), can't find the shore from where you are. What can you do to help yourself and fall back in love with exercising again?

Feel free to try out the following tips for size:

How can you eat healthier? Well, you might find these meal plans useful:

Cliché, but true: prevention is better than cure

You know what they say … prevention is better than cure. So, if you've never experienced workout burnout or have recovered from it, and would like to keep it that way, here's some advice: it all comes down to smart workout programming.

To keep motivation levels high without running into mental exhaustion or recovery issues, you’ll want a workout program that:

Well, OK, that sounds logical and all, but there’s just a teeny-weeny problem.

You don’t know sh*t about workout programming.

You’re not a personal trainer, after all. What now, then?

We'll tell you what. Download GymStreak. This smart, AI-powered personal trainer app will create a workout program perfectly tailored to you and your fitness goals—so you can leave all your worries about exercise burnout in the dust.

Take a sneak peek at the app here: