Reading Time: 2 minutesFueling up before exercising is important for giving your body the energy it needs. So what’s the best pre-workout snack? Our trainer shares some ideas.

Reading Time: 2 minutesAvoid feeling stiff from sitting too long in class with these dynamic stretches.

—Catherine N., University of Wyoming

If you’ve been on a regular workout routine and aren’t seeing the results that you want, or aren’t feeling great despite your efforts, that can be very frustrating. Working out inefficiently or working out too much (overtraining) can have the opposite effect on your body of what you intend.

Signs of working out too much:

Feeling tired all the time

You might not be getting enough quality sleep at night. Our body repairs itself from exercise while we sleep. Too much exercise can throw off the nervous system and endocrine system, which can lead to disrupted sleep, resulting in a feeling of unusual tiredness.

Increased resting heart rate

A normal heart rate is 60–100 beats per minute. Take your pulse before you get out of bed in the morning. If it’s unusually high or low, you could be overtraining.

Overuse injuries

Muscle soreness for a day or two after exercise is normal, but if you find you’re always sore or are developing common overuse injuries (such as tendonitis or stress fractures), you could be training too much.

Signs of working out inefficiently:

Not seeing any progress

If you’ve been working out for over a month and have not seen any gains in strength or endurance (depending on what your goals are), it could be because your workouts aren’t efficient. Increase the intensity of your workouts by going faster or longer, or lifting heavier weights. You might need to up your efforts to start seeing results.

Spending over an hour at the gym

It doesn’t take a long time to get a good workout in. Again, depending on your goals, you might only need 30–45 minutes in the gym. Decrease your breaks between sets and really focus on what you’re there to do: work out. Your heart rate should be up and you should be moving. Sitting around too much, checking your phone, or chatting while not moving may be making your workouts less effective.

“How can I improve my endurance?”

—Amber L., Concordia College, New York

Endurance, or the body’s ability to withstand physical stress over a long period of time, is a key component of overall health and wellness. If you find yourself getting tired after regular daily activities (e.g., walking to class or going up and down stairs), focusing on your endurance may be a good idea.

The key to building endurance? Consistency. To help prevent injury, increase the duration and intensity of your exercise gradually over time. The goal is to remain injury-free so you can be consistent with your physical activity.

These three approaches can help you improve your endurance:

1. Build muscle

A common misconception is that building endurance requires only aerobic activity. Stronger muscles will pump a larger amount of blood back to the heart with each contraction. This increases the amount of blood that’s available to be pumped back out to the body by the beating heart. Blood carries oxygen to working muscles, so the more blood being pumped through the body, the better.

2. Cross train

Sustained periods of aerobic activity are essential to building endurance. There are a lot of ways to get the heart pumping and achieve the positive effects of aerobic activity, so don’t focus on just one. Running, swimming, walking, and using an elliptical machine or a stationary or regular bike are all good forms of exercise. If you find that the intensity level becomes unsustainable (you’re breathing too hard), slow it down a little so you can continue the activity for a longer period of time.

3. Combine strength and cardiovascular workouts

An efficient way to build endurance is to combine strength training and aerobic activity (circuit training) with little rest in between. For example, perform a strength exercise (say, a squat). Then, without rest, go right into an activity, like biking hard for a minute. You can also add a set of core work into the circuit, like holding a plank for 30 seconds. Circuits like this not only make your muscles stronger but also keep your heart rate up and keep you breathing hard, increasing your overall endurance.