Can Working Out More Than 3 Hours A Day Cause Your Body To Stop Losing Weight?

It's tempting to do as much exercise as possible to lose weight. However, working out three or more hours a day can cause your body to sense it is over-training, causing it to begin storing fat instead of burning it for energy. Additionally, excessive amounts of weight training resulting in a significant muscle gain can also contribute to a stop in weight loss or even weight gain. When weight loss stops, you must look at your training style and your dietary intake to determine the cause.

Over-Training

Whether your goal is to lose weight or improve performance, more training is not always better. Training three or more hours a day five or six days a week offers no greater benefits than training an hour to an hour and a half a day. In fact, research done on swimmers has shown that excessive training can significantly decrease muscular strength and performance, according to Jack H. Wilmore and David L. Costill authors of Physiology of Sport and Exercise. Exercising to the point in which the training load is too intense or volume is too high so the body cannot adequately recover, can result in a decrease in weight loss and in muscle tissue.

Fuel Source During Exercise

If you have been exercising for more than three hours a day and have stopped losing weight, it could be because your body is storing fat instead of burning it. Exercise that exceeds an hour in duration can cause the body to stop burning fat for energy and start conserving it. After an hour of exercise, your body becomes aware that you are going to extremes and attempts to conserve fat -- then begins to burn muscle for fuel, according to Bob Cicherillo of Bodybuilding.

Nutrition

Diet plays a large role in weight loss, as well. If you are exercising three hours a day and not taking in enough calories to support that activity, than your body could eventually go into starvation mode and conserve fat. Weight loss that occurs with extremely low calorie diets, is usually from water loss and not fat, according to Costill and Wilmore. Eat five to six small meals a day. Each meal should consist of a lean protein source to help maintain muscle tissue, and a whole-grain carbohydrate source to help fuel your workouts. Additionally, consume plenty of fruits and vegetables daily -- along with plant oils, nuts and seeds for a fat source.

Building Muscle Tissue

High volumes of weight training may also contribute to weight loss not occuring. Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue, and building muscle tissue will help increase your resting metabolism which can result in fat loss. However, building a substantial amount of muscle mass will not necessarily result in lower body weight -- you will more likely experience a reduction in inches instead.

Exercise Recommendation

When trying to lose weight include both strength-training and aerobic exercise into your routine. Strength-train at least twice a week targeting every muscle group to build and maintain muscle tissue. Perform moderate-intensity aerobic exercise five or six days a week for 30 to 60 minute sessions. Take at least one complete day off from exercise a week to prevent over-training.