Bhumi Pednekar Says Overtraining Syndrome Damaged Her Body; Has Now Changed Her Fitness Regime | Health

Bhumi Pednekar recently revealed that over-exercising damaged her body in ways she had never imagined (Pic credit: Instagram)

While exercising is always good, both for physical and mental health, hardly anyone talks about the downsides of pushing your body way too much. Bhumi Pednekar recently revealed that over-exercising damaged her body in ways she had never imagined, leading her to change her approach to fitness. Bhumi said she switched burnout for balance and now has a changed perspective on workouts.

According to the actor, her once-intense gym routines not just exhausted her completely but also led to overtraining syndrome, affecting her body silently.

In a recent interview, Bhumi said her previous exercising routine was coupled with intense workouts and burning as many calories as possible. “When I started my workout journey, I thought the only way to be fit was when you overexert, and you burn many hundreds of calories in the gym. I used to feel very proud of it,” she told an interview with Healthshots.

But her body started reacting. “What was actually happening was I was damaging my body because I never gave my body the chance to heal. Due to this, I got a lot of underlying conditions. I don’t want to talk about them yet… But one of the biggest things that I changed is that I prioritised not overdoing it,” Bhumi added.

Bhumi said she now works out just 20 per cent of what she was doing four years back, “and I think I’m my fittest.”

What is overexercising or overtraining?

Also known as overexertion, overtraining syndrome is a condition that happens when you exercise too often or too intensely for long enough that it starts hurting your body. It usually affects athletes, especially those training competitively.

According to experts, it is important to give your body time to rest and recover after any intense physical activity, especially if you’re trying to push your limits to get better at a sport or activity. Apart from physical symptoms, overtraining syndrome can also have mental and emotional health downsides. And so, you must visit your doctor if you notice signs like pain, fatigue, and a sudden dip in your performance.

What causes overtraining syndrome?

While it is understood that training or working out too much leads to overtraining syndrome, it is natural to want to improve, especially if you are a competitive athlete. Experts say pushing your body beyond its limit hurts more than it helps.

Overtraining also means training too often without giving your body enough time to rest and recover between sessions. Anyone who’s physically active can develop overtraining syndrome. Apart from competitive or high-level athletes actively trying to improve or maintain an elite performance level, kids and teenagers who specialise in one sport early have an increased risk of overtraining syndrome.

Signs and symptoms of overtraining

Doctors say overtraining causes physical and mental health issues, making you experience a few symptoms like: