Why Your Progress is Ghosting You

Whether you are trying to drop two pant sizes, add an inch to your arms, or shave a second off your sprint, hitting a wall is not a sign to work harder. It is a sign you are overdrawn. When you outpace your recovery, your body stops burning fat and building power and starts surviving instead. This is Overtraining Syndrome, or OTS, and it is the ultimate progress killer for everyone from the soccer mom to the Division 1 prospect.

A 2012 study in Sports Health by Dr. Jeffrey B. Kreher at Massachusetts General Hospital showed that OTS causes a full systemic breakdown. For those chasing fat loss, it spikes cortisol, which makes the body cling to belly fat like a life raft. For athletes, it crushes explosiveness and reaction time. Research from the Cleveland Clinic in 2022 confirms this is not just being tired. It is ongoing muscle and nervous system fatigue. If your workouts feel heavy and your results have disappeared, your internal workforce is on strike because it has not been given time to recover.

The 60-Second Fix: Check your morning resting heart rate. If it is five to ten beats higher than your normal average for two days in a row, your nervous system is overworked. Take a deload day and cut your weights and intensity in half for one session so your system can catch up instead of digging a deeper hole.

So if you are stuck in a plateau or your energy has completely tanked, we have you. It is always smart to check in with a health professional before making big changes. If you want a strategy that respects your biology while finally moving the needle forward, we are here to build it with you.

Emmanuel Ofori

Your friendly neighbourhood fitness professional