Am I asking my body for too much?

[Jadekitten]

To start off, I'm 15 years old, and a sophomore in HS. I'm almost 5'8" and I weight about 117 pounds. Most of that weight is muscle.
I run track & field and I'm really good. I work extremely hard every day (my hs has an extremely good track team) I sprint 200's, 400's, and I do hurdles. Despite being only a sophomore my coach is considering putting me on varsity.
So, I run track every day, and I work my ass off. Two days a week I stay after school. Monday we work on hurdles and Tuesday we work in the weight room. This is after normal track practice.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, sometimes Friday, and Saturday (and sometimes Sunday if I have a horse show) I ride horses. I don't ride as a hobby, it's my sport and I ride competitively (traveling for shows etc.). I ride for an hour or more every day but Tuesday, when I ride for half an hour. I'm at the barn for about two and a half hours, one hour riding, the other one and a half cleaning my stuff, taking care of my horse, etc. So in addition to track every school day, practices after school sometimes, I ride almost every day. That's a LOT of exercise. I'm extremely serious about riding and, again, work EXTREMELY hard. The level and type of riding I do requires physical and mental strength. Physically, it is very tiring - jumping a 3'6 course of fences and having good equitation (form) takes a lot of strength and work. I can't stress how important riding is to me, it's one of the most important things in my life and even if I can barely walk after track I still go and ride my horse.
In addition, every day but Wednesday I do core and quad workouts. Leg lifts, bicycle crunches, planks, wall sits, squats (without weights), push ups, and a LOT more. Most days I am so tired by the time I go to bed. I have an extremely small appetite (though I eat mostly healthy) and I'm worried that I'm overworking myself… I'm extremely competitive and always want to be the best, and I'm obsessed with not being fat.

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

Add some supplements to your diet to give you an edge, where otherwise you might mishandle your nutrition (a vital factor in how much energy you have and how well you recover and grow from exercise). Protein supplements, creatine, multivitamin and ZMAs are all proven to generate greater strength yields after exercise than placebos (and none of them overlap in bodily function, so using all of them is much better than 1 or 2). Daily creatine and pre-race caffeine are also performance enhancers that might help give you a competitive edge. Oh, and sugar after a workout is good for fatigue. It helps the body replenish glycogen levels in the blood stream after demanding exercises, so it's a great time to treat yourself to something like a snickers bar-- my preferred post workout snack is ice cream (sugary protein).

It's less likely you're overworking yourself than that you are under-nourishing yourself. The human body is extremely resilient under proper conditions. If you're getting faster/stronger you're definitely not overworking yourself.. but nutrition can further your strength gains, up your energy levels and support your mental health as you challenge yourself day to day.

Good luck and keep it up.

[Jadekitten]

Thank you so much! I always crave sugar after I run and my mom is always telling me how horrible sugar is (she's a health freak) but I guess that's the reason sugar always makes me feel better after a hard workout! I haven't been taking my multivitamins but I'm going to start taking them now.
I'm definitely getting stronger and I can recover relatively quickly. You're right that I'm not overworking but under-nourishing, I'll start taking my vitamins and eating more protein & fruits & vegetables. Thank you so much for your detailed answer!

[wowzer]

Make sure you eat , sleep and get enough water. You must have your diet down to be that active or you'll burn out. Work out you energy needs for your weight and what you burn and make sure you eat at least that much. Get your portions of fruit and veg and keep your iron and calcium in check. You'll obviously want plenty protein and make sure you get your fish oil everyday. Stretch often, see about free massages at school, and go for foods with lots of potassium for revovery. A soak in a bath with magnesium salts is very good for that too. Don't stress about fat because you're so active you'll burn it off and you need the calories, especially if your appetite is small, you'll need high calorie foods.

[wowzer]

*your

[wowzer]

*recovery

[Jadekitten]

Thank you so much! I'm definitely going to start eating some more, I always get freaked out if I eat too much because I'm scared I'll get fat but I'll push those fears aside. I'm definitely going to make sure I have at least one serving of fruit or veggies at lunch and I already eat fruits and vegetables at dinner. I've never heard of magnesium salts, I'll try that! Ok, I'm pretty obsessed with my body image but I know I'm underweight. Thank you so much!!

[wowzer]

You're very welcome. You can message me, I've been interested in training and nutiriton for about 16 years. =) Magnesium salts are known as Epsom salts =)

[Jadekitten]

Ohhhh ok, my parents have talked about epsom salt baths but I've never tried one.
Ok, thank you so much! (:

[wowzer]

=)...

[wowzer]

thank you =)

[soccerchick4eva]

Its fine to have a lot of activities like that on, but you need to make sure you eat well and sleep well, so that you dont become weak! For the not being fat part, i have a feeling that you are one very fit girl who doesn't need to worry about that ! haha goodluck with all your commitments!! :D

[summiter]

Hey.. I am a very competitive marathon runner. It sounds like you are doing everything right. Don't burn yourself out! Remember it is the rest days where you heal an actually improve. It is important to watch your diet. Try to do all things in moderation. (easy for me to say).

Remember there are other great aspects in life besides working out. i. e. school, boyfriends (any yet?), religion, family etc. Try to keep things in balance.

[Jadekitten]

Thank you! (: I don't have a boyfriend because of my social anxiety but there are definitely other important things, however my passion is riding horses and it just so happens it's a very active sport haha

[dartmaul15]

Social anxiety huh? go for the shy guys, i'd say. They tend to understand at least (or have the same problem), so it might actually help. Plus you'll make their day if you're beign sincerely interrested in them.
As for the workout, i'd say "yes". A rule of thumb is that you need a day for restitution after two days of exercise, or else you break down muscles in the long run. Some can manage less restitution, others need more.
But honestly, i'd worry about eating first. Make sure to eat properly and enough. With that scedule i'd guess you need more nutrition than the average girl at your age, so eat properly.

But really it's down to listening to your body. Tired and aching muscles is a sign that they need restitution. IF you get weaker you're overworking yourself, and need to cut back.
And remember, don't push it past the "fun" limit. If you do that it starts to feel like a chore, and you just eventually end up quitting.

[legslover79]

wow you must have very muscular thighs and a flat 6 pack abs. but i dont think your hard on your body, your just keeping fitbut would you say that you have very muscular thighs and a 6 pack abs?

[Anonymous]

You're trimming your life expectancy down. :/

[Azara]

how is that?

[Opinion Owner]

Athletes live shorter lives, because we push our bodies so much. She's doing it too much almost obsessively. She's actually trimming time off of her life. I'm not sure why people forget that athletes live shorter lives.

[Jadekitten]

I've never heard of that. Do you have any sources supporting your claim?
I might be exercising obsessively but I'm extremely fit and if I'm "trimming my life expectancy down" then honestly it's worth it. I'd rather live a shorter life of being healthy and fit and winning than sit around all day and live longer.

[Opinion Owner]

Suit yourself

[Jadekitten]

Okay? If you could give me evidence for your claim that would be great...

[Opinion Owner]

if I'm "trimming my life expectancy down" then honestly it's worth it. I'd rather live a shorter life of being healthy and fit and winning than sit around all day and live longer.

[Jadekitten]

You just repeated what I said earlier...

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

Exercise doesn't trim your life expectancy.. that's such a horrible lie to spread. You want everyone to be fat?

Olympians have greater than average life expectancy
https://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e8308
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8450727

Most studies conclude professional athletes have 4-8 years higher life expectancy than the general population
www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/2012/243958/tab4/

But most importantly -- exercise (not an athletic profession) is proven to increase life expectancy.
www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/2012/243958/tab3/

I don't know where you got the idea exercise reduces your life expectancy.. maybe some completely unrelated famous people's life expectancy study.. either way, you're the one trimming your life expectancy down by holding on to the deluded belief that not exercising is healthier.

[Anonymous]

im 15 wanna hook up?

[Jadekitten]

Considering I don't know you and you're anonymous, no lol.

[Opinion Owner]

danm :P