I have always been active with sports during school and running, and I would cycle through various fitness classes to supplement my workouts. In high school and college, I was all about step aerobics and kickboxing. After college, cycling and barre became my obsessions. In the last few years, I started seriously lifting weights a few times a week.
While being consistent with workouts has been easy for me, finding time for recovery was not. At one point, I was exercising 2-3 hours every day and I just felt exhausted and swollen. I didn't understand why with all of my exercise I didn't look and feel "fit". The picture below is after I finished a 50k - I was at my peak cardio fitness and still supplementing with weight lifting and other workouts.
I remember listening to a podcasts from Julie about her experience with overexercising and relating to what she said. Cutting back seemed difficult to fathom, but I decided to add in 1 full rest day a week and cut back on double workout days (I would run 4-6 miles the same day I was going to a 45 minute weight training class).
Over two years, I went from running 6 days a week and taking classes 5 days a week to running 3 days and lifting 3 days a week with 1 complete rest day. The picture below was taken at my gym a few days ago.
I am so glad I made this adjustment a few years ago for both my physical and mental health, and I have a few tips as it relates to my own personal experience with cutting back on how much I exercise.
quality over quantity - when I became certified in personal training, the topic of how many reps and sets was discussed in length. Essentially, there is no magic number for an effective workout. The goal should always be muscle fatigue and if that takes 3, 10, or 100 reps, that is the magic number. I adjusted my approach to the days I lifted weights to be about form and fatigue. In 45 minutes, I can easily achieve that for the day.
stretch and recover - I always spend time stretching after my workouts now (including the days I run). A few years ago, we skipped buying valentine's day gifts for each other to buy a leg compression machine; it makes a world of a difference after long runs or leg workouts. Compression socks and simply elevating my legs can make all the difference.
be intuitive and creative - if I am traveling, I may look at a unique studio to try out for a fitness class or map out a scenic run. I look for my workouts to "add to" my travel rather than seem like a chore to do. Also, if traveling to a walkable city, plan out time to grab coffee or a bite that is 1-2 miles away to add some extra steps. If I find I'm tight, I'll swap out a lifting day to stream a yoga class online to follow at home.