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Ive been exercising almost religiously for about 4 months but have observed a declining rate of performance for the past 1 and a half month.

I haven't changed anything in terms of diet and sleep since the first day of my exercise. Though now I feel more lazy to workout despite the major weight lose I have incurred (I know I should feel more motivated to workout but my body just seems lazy at times).

I have a day job and only workout at night at around 8 or 9pm to 12 midnight then I sleep afterwards, I have been doing this 3 to 4 times a week for almost 4 months now. I have been missing on sessions for the past 2 weeks because I just feel so lazy and tired to workout. Even got to the point I fell a sleep on my exercise mat before a pushup routine lol.

My routine has been very high impact (in terms of cardio) for my first 3 months but I have reduced the intensity lately due to my declining performance and drive to workout. Also I have been feeling my legs are not recovering enough that's why I switched it up a bit.

My only goal as for now is to lose fat in my upper torso. I can see that I am getting there already but still not quite enough. Building muscle is only a secondary thing for me but will sure be a benefit nevertheless. I can already see some of the abs peeking out of the fat, which I assume just means I just have to uncover it.

To comply with my body fat losing goals I usually go on a caloric deficit so that I can, even though I missed a day of workout, continue to lose fat; I don't know if this is the correct approach though.

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    Could you detail your exercise routine? Even without that information, this sounds like a clear-cut case of overtraining.
    – Dave Liepmann
    Commented Jul 4, 2013 at 2:14
  • For the first month it was interval training that consists of 30seconds work 1 minute rest and lasts up to 15 minutes. I then changed it up after seeing I can do more. I moved to pyramid intervals 30 seconds to 1 minute and 30 seconds with all 1 minute rests. Then I finally moved up to the most challenging thing I have ever tried, which was tabata intervals that consists of 20 second work 10 second rest that last up to 17 minutes.I moved back to pyramid training now though since I can almost not complete my tabata routine now due to fatigue.
    – reverb
    Commented Jul 4, 2013 at 2:31
  • My weight training has been very varying though. The most consistent upper body thing I did was 150 situps per session and 80 pushups per session. I've been trying out pullups for the past few weeks now to help sculpt my upper torso. I have been also doing a lot of variants of goblet squats to replace my cardio but I feel like that it doesnt help at all with my weight loss goals. I remember days that I can do tabata then do the goblet squat variants and feel not tired. But now that seems like a herculean task.
    – reverb
    Commented Jul 4, 2013 at 2:34

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This sounds like classic overtraining. I'd try taking a full week off from all strenuous workouts. Instead of a workout, just warm up and stretch or go for a walk. Take it easy for seven days and see how you feel in the workouts after the break.

In athletes, overtraining is closely associated with undereating. This is hard news for someone working on long-term fat loss, but it might be necessary to increase the amount of calories, fats, or carbs at least temporarily. It can be productive to reduce those macronutrients for body recomposition, but your body might have had too much. You might need to make adjustments to your diet in order to continue working out productively.

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  • It's hard news for me. I have been reading about rest weeks for quite a while now and while I do think it's needed I feel like that I am losing precious time in terms of weight loss. What I usually do is I stop for 2 days and then train again. Usually I can spring back to training after that but the intensity I think is just not there. Classic example would be I didn't train much last tuesday, but this thursday I trained and I was able to accomplish my routine. Could my increasing levels of fatigue be associated with sleep loss as well? Day job is getting in the way of giving time for exercise
    – reverb
    Commented Jul 5, 2013 at 1:35
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    Yes, sleep loss is an enormous factor. Two days also isn't really enough to get back on track. You really should try a full week off.
    – Dave Liepmann
    Commented Jul 5, 2013 at 3:02
  • okay I will try that. Will overtraining hinder my fat-loss? the one week rest scares me a bit since I fear I might gain fat back during those rest days. for weight Im pretty much where Im at but it's just the fat that bothers me. lastly would caloric surplus benefit me as so that I won't have to have rest weeks anymore?
    – reverb
    Commented Jul 5, 2013 at 3:23
  • These questions are unfortunately beyond my knowledge.
    – Dave Liepmann
    Commented Jul 5, 2013 at 3:29

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