💪 You Can Be Too Healthy: The Surprising Risks of Overtraining

CEFR Level: B1–C1

Category: General English | Health & Fitness

This is a reading & speaking lesson on how excessive workouts can become harmful—and how to recognize overtraining.

Are you into training, sports, or going to the gym?

That's great—but sometimes pursuing fitness intensively can backfire.

While exercise supports your mental health, extreme routines may lead to injury, exhaustion, and burnout.

Life Stories

@PowerPeter trains five times a week. “But while I’m training, someone else is training harder. If I want to win, I have to push myself more!”
@James did 35 push‑ups on his 35th birthday—and promises 36 next year.
@Lily89 held a plank for 40 minutes. The next day she was completely exhausted—barely able to walk.

These stories sound impressive, but experts warn: without rest, weight training and intense workouts can harm more than help.

🎧 Expert Advice & Real-Life Cases

Here are some stories shared by Fitness Coach Sam Davis of some of his clients:

  • Kate, a marathon runner, increased her training to the point she feels drained—not motivated. Sam told her to take a break, because overtraining hurts mental health and performance.

  • Greg, who works full-time, only trains occasionally and pushes himself too hard. His workout pattern is inconsistent—leading to pain and injury.

  • Dan wants to bulk up and cut out carbs entirely while adding more protein. He swore off bread and pizza—but keeps breaking his promise. Sam says to go slow and balance diet and rest.

Trainer Steve Curley, however, debunks these fitness myths:

  • A good workout doesn't have to hurt.

  • True results come over time—not overnight.

  • You must take a break to recover and grow stronger.

  • Consistency beats pushing beyond limits every session.

🧠 Vocabulary Builder: Fitness & Workout Words

Carb – Short for carbohydrate, a type of food (like bread, pasta, rice) that gives you energy.

Mental health – Your emotional and psychological well-being.

Pattern – A repeated or regular way something happens (e.g. exercise schedule).

Plank – An exercise where you hold your body straight and stiff, parallel to the floor.

Protein – A nutrient found in foods like meat, fish, and beans that helps build muscle.

Push-up – A common upper-body exercise where you raise and lower your body using your arms.

Training – A series of workouts done to improve fitness or prepare for a sport.

Weight training – Exercises using weights to build strength and muscle.

Workout – A session of physical exercise.

Exhausted – Extremely tired or worn out, often after intense activity.

Bulk up – To increase muscle size and body mass through exercise and diet.

Push oneself – To try very hard, sometimes too hard, to achieve something.

Swear off – To make a serious decision to stop doing or eating something.

Take a break – To rest or pause from physical activity to recover.

Go to the gym – To visit a fitness centre to exercise.

📈 Fast Facts & Overtraining Trends

  • Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) affects 7–21 % of endurance athletes each year, and up to 30 % lifetime prevalence in non-elite, and about 60 % among elite endurance athletes.

  • Among elite male distance runners, 64 % of women and 66 % of men reported experiencing “staleness” (a sign of OTS).

  • In studies of young athletes aged 13–18, up to 35 % self-reported overtraining symptoms at least once—higher in girls (36%) than boys (26%).

  • Injuries in youth sports often stem from overtraining and early specialization. High training load doubled the risk of overuse injuries in children aged 7‑14.

  • CrossFit and similar training programmes saw about 25.8% injury incidence over nine months—approx. 2.04 injuries per 1,000 training hours.

  • Elite athletes like Olympic swimmer Simone Manuel were sidelined by OTS in 2021, experiencing fatigue, elevated heart rate, appetite loss, and anxiety. After months of rest and mental pause, she returned to win silver in the 2024 Olympics.

✅ Comprehension Check: True or False?

  • Kate enjoys her training more now that she’s doing more workouts.

  • Dan is trying to avoid eating carbs and eat more protein.

  • Greg follows a regular pattern of workouts every week.

  • Experts say pain is a sign of a good workout.

  • Overtraining can hurt your progress instead of helping it.

✅ Quiz Answers

1 – False
2 – True
3 – False
4 – False
5 – True

💬 Discussion Questions

• Do you have a regular training pattern? Why or why not?
• Have you ever tried to swear off certain foods like carbs?
• What signs show someone is pushing themselves too hard—exhausted, irritable, lacking motivation?
• Have you ever felt exhausted after a workout? What caused it in your routine?
• Would you prefer to design your injury-resistant workout at home or go to the gym?

🧠 Idioms & Phrasal Verbs Related to Fitness

• No pain, no gain – you must work hard to get results.
• Hit the gym – go to the gym for a workout.
• Feel the burn – feel strong muscle pain after exertion.
• Take it slow – don’t rush; progress step by step.
• Crash and burn – fail or collapse due to overexertion.

🤔 Final Thought

Aiming for health is empowering—but it’s possible to cross the line into harm. Whether you're training to bulk up, manage stress, or improve fitness, remember: rest is part of strength. Listen to your body, follow a smart pattern, and train well—not too hard.

👉 Visit Henry English Hub to explore more reading comprehension posts, vocabulary builders, grammar tips, and real-world English content for motivated learners like you.

Whether you're working on fluency, focus, or just want engaging topics to read about—you’ll find it here.

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Hi, I’m Henry Lilienfield, a TEFL veteran with teaching experience across China, Taiwan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, South Africa, and online. With a law degree, two post-grad qualifications in Education Management and Development Studies, and a Level 5 TEFL Diploma, I bring deep knowledge and a practical approach to everything I teach—whether it’s English lessons or how to start your own online teaching business.

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