The Peloton Might be Doing You More Harm than Good
If you’ve been dragging yourself out of bed to hit a Peloton ride or HIIT class—even when you feel like a zombie—you’re not alone.
And you're not weak. Or lazy. You're likely depleted, inflamed, and pushing your nervous system past its actual capacity.
Here’s what you need to know: if you’re dealing with chronic fatigue, autoimmune issues, burnout, or mystery symptoms no one can figure out, those high-intensity workouts you’ve been told are “good for you” might be quietly wrecking your health.
Intensity is Not Always Better
Workouts like Peloton, CrossFit, OrangeTheory, or Burn Bootcamp are designed to spike adrenaline and cortisol—your body’s built-in stress hormones. In someone with a well-regulated nervous system (and in really great shape already), that kind of activation can be helpful. But if you’re already dealing with chronic stress, poor sleep, pain, or blood sugar crashes, it’s not resilience you’re building—it’s another log on the fire. And if you’re doing these intense workouts under the notion that you need them to burn calories in order to lose weight, let me dispel that myth right now. Frying your adrenals will slow down your metabolism, not speed it up.
Let me be clear: high intensity workouts are stress on the body, and too much stress can cause weight gain. Not to mention fatigue, inflammation, digestive issues, and an increase in all kinds of other symptoms.
If You’re Too Tired to Work Out, Listen to Your Body
If your body is begging you to slow down, believe it. You don’t need to push through a 45-minute HIIT session for the workout to “count”. You don’t have to punish yourself with exercise to earn rest or progress. Movement should support healing—not sabotage it. A long walk or a Pilates workout will leave you feeling refreshed and energized rather than depleted and drained.
Love HIIT too Much to Quit? There’s a Way to Do it Right
I get it. That runner’s high is so so good. If you truly enjoy HIIT (and your body isn’t in a full flare), there’s a way to do it without wrecking your recovery. The trick is to keep it short. In short bursts, interval training can effectively burn fat and improve cardiovascular health without overly activating your nervous system.
Here’s how:
Warm-up: 2–3 minutes of gentle movement (walk, bike, mobility work)
Intervals: 2–4 rounds of:
30 seconds of effort (bike sprint, jumping jacks, fast bodyweight movement)
2–3 minutes of slow recovery movement
Cool down: 1–2 minutes of deep breathing and gentle stretching
Done in 5–10 minutes. And yes, it totally.
Remember to Rest
You don’t need to push harder to heal. You need to stop overriding what your body is trying to tell you. For women in burnout, with chronic illness or autoimmune symptoms, movement has to change. What worked five years ago might be completely incompatible with what your nervous system needs now. You can still build strength. You can still feel empowered in your body. You can still achieve your fitness and health goals. But it has to start from where you actually are—not where you think you should be.
If your body is whispering “slow down”—don’t wait until it has to scream.
