Lifting weight is cool, but you can overdo it and ruin your results. Find out how to keep balance in lifting weights. Overtraining of any kind can be bad for your health. You need to maintain good form, have time to recover, breathe through the lift, and manage other areas of your health to live well.

weights lined up on a rack to show balance in lifting weights

Burn calories lifting weights

Weightlifting is great and produces results if done properly. You could hire a personal trainer to teach you proper form and how to get the most from your routine.

You can burn 90-126 calories per 30-minute weight lifting session depending on your intensity and body weight. Vigorous lifting can burn 180-252 calories per 30 minutes. For an idea of how many calories you burn doing an exercise routine, check out a calorie burn rate calculator.

Both cardio and weight training have advantages and benefits. Evidence shows weight training burns more calories and fat and gives you more long-term results. However, the type of exercise that is better for a person depends on your goals, physical fitness, and capabilities. We recommend a variety of types of exercises for a well-balanced workout.

Check out Low weight, high reps for weight loss here.

Research shows that weight training can have lasting results for up to 48 hours after training. It boosts the basal metabolic rate.

Is it bad to lift weights every day?

Lifting weights is great to do every day, however, you do not want to train the same muscles two days in a row. You can get away with it for a short time. But over long periods of time, you will not see the results that you would if you train properly.

a man lifting weights on a bench with a trainer spotting him

Focus on different body parts every day. You can do upper body one day and lower body the next. Then throw in a core workout on either day but not both. You can do chest one day, back, shoulders, trapezius, legs, biceps, and triceps.

A good rule of thumb is to do 3-4 exercises per body part with 3-4 sets of 8-15 repetitions. Take 30-60 seconds of rest between sets. I have seen people do 100 repetitions and not stop. You can really damage your joints doing this.

Recovering from overtraining

Sure signs that you are overtraining are constant soreness and pain, stress fractures, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, fatigue, irritability, a decline in productivity, having a harder time focusing on your exercise regimen, and difficulty sleeping.

a strong woman lifting a barbell with balanced weights

You can also experience constant sickness or a harder time recovering from illness. You can experience a lack of motivation and low energy. It’s always important to listen to your body.

Slow and steady wins the race. You can’t win if you’re always sick, tired, or disinterested. Take some time to get massages, take vitamins and eat nutritious food, and get enough rest. There are a lot of benefits when you find balance in lifting weights.

Remember, before starting ANY kind of exercise, consult with your doctor to make sure they recommend it.