One of the hardest conversations I have with new clients goes something like this:
“Andrea, I’m working out all the time… so why am I not seeing results?”
They’re lifting weights, squeezing in cardio, training for races, playing sports, walking 15,000 steps a day, and trying to check every health box imaginable.
Yet they feel tired, stuck, and frustrated that their hard work isn’t translating into results.
My answer often surprises them:
The solution probably isn’t to do more. It might be to do less.
More isn’t always better when it comes to training.
We have this strange belief that if something is good for us, then doing more of it must be even better. But there comes a point where “more” stops benefiting us and starts doing the opposite.
Over the years, I’ve noticed there are generally two types of clients.
The first is the person who struggles to stay consistent. They need accountability, guidance, and someone to push them to show up.
The second is the complete opposite.
They love to train. They squeeze in workouts whenever they can. They play sports, hike, run, bike, or take fitness classes on top of lifting. They pride themselves on giving 110% every session.
Ironically, this second group is often the one who gets stuck.
When progress stalls, their first instinct is to add more: another workout, another conditioning session, another challenge of some kind. They fear rest days, rush through their sets, and think feeling exhausted is proof they trained hard enough.
But here’s the reality:
Life stress impacts training, and training stress impacts life.
Your body doesn’t separate stress from work deadlines, parenting, financial worries, aging parents, poor sleep, or intense workouts. And if your stress bucket is already overflowing, piling on more exercise may not produce better results. It may produce the opposite.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is step back and ask:
Is all this necessary?
Could you get better results by trimming your workouts, recovering more between sessions, and focusing on the exercises that move the needle?
This idea is called the minimum effective dose, doing enough to stimulate progress without digging yourself deeper.
This becomes even more important after age 40, especially for women navigating perimenopause and menopause. Recovery often takes longer, hormones fluctuate, and your body may respond better to smart, consistent training than all-out intensity every day.
Some signs you might be doing too much include:
Soreness that regularly lasts longer than 48 hours
Strength that hasn’t improved for months
Crashing with low energy every afternoon
Feeling constantly hungry no matter how much you eat
Intense sugar cravings that seem impossible to control
Missing menstrual cycles (if you’re premenopausal)
If several of those sound familiar, the solution may not be another workout. It may be more sleep, more recovery, better fueling, or simply fewer training sessions.
As a general guideline:
If you’re under 35:
Strength train 2–4 days per week
Include 1–2 cardiovascular sessions
Participate in sports or recreational activities 1–4 times per week, adjusting your lifting volume accordingly
Take at least one full rest day
If you’re 35 or older:
Strength train 2–3 days per week
Include 1–2 cardiovascular sessions
Participate in sports or recreational activities 1-3 times per week, adjusting your lifting volume accordingly
Prioritize recovery and keep at least two full rest days each week
Remember: the more stress you are experiencing the less you should be doing.
The goal is to build a body that’s strong, healthy, energetic, and capable for decades to come. Sometimes that means pushing harder. And sometimes it means having the wherewithal to do less.
I’d love to hear from you: What’s your biggest challenge right now: finding time to train, recovering between workouts, or knowing how much is enough?
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