If you’re reading this with a foggy brain and an even foggier sense of direction, you’re not alone. You’re not broken. And you’re definitely not lazy. You’re burnt out – which is an entirely different beast.
Even though it may look like it on the surface, burnout isn’t a lack of willpower or ambition. It’s your body’s way of forcing a hard reset when the system has been running on fumes for too long. While it may feel tempting to power through or punish yourself back into action, there’s another way to go about getting back into the groove again.
Let’s look at a gentler, steadier way to recover and regain your rhythm and beat burnout.
The Reality of Burnout in South Africa Right Now
- South Africa’s unemployment rate currently sits at ±32.1% (Q4 2024, Statistics SA).
- 76% of South Africans report experiencing workplace stress (PWC, 2023).
Training as Tangible Structure When Life Feels Foggy
- Stabilise your mood by releasing endorphins, your body’s natural stress-relievers
- Re-establish a sense of agency in your body, even when your mind feels out of control
- Support better sleep, which is often disrupted in burnout
- Rebuild your capacity to handle life’s demands again, but slowly and sustainably
Why Showing Up Is Enough (And the Science Behind It)
Burnout can create a mental loop of shame. You know you need to do something to feel better, but the energy to do it feels completely out of reach. Then you berate yourself for not trying harder, and the cycle repeats itself over and over again.
Here’s where training comes in as a form of relief, not another task:
You don’t need to reach a new personal best. You don’t need to go hard. You don’t need to ‘make up for lost time’. You simply need to show up (and the science agrees wholeheartedly).
Research in behavioural psychology shows that action comes before motivation, far more often than the other way around (Fogg, B. 2020, Tiny Habits). In other words, moving your body, even when you don’t feel like it, creates the internal signals that gradually restore drive and focus.
Neurologically, consistent training supports neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to form new pathways and recover from emotional fatigue (Ratey, J. 2008, Spark).
Physically, even low-intensity movement like a stroll on the track or treadmill can help regulate cortisol, the stress hormone that typically spikes in burnout states (Harvard Health, 2021).
If you’ve been beating yourself up for not doing more, take this as your permission slip from all of us at Planet Fitness: showing up is more than enough right now.
Reset Your Rhythm Before You Rebuild Your Empire
There’s a temptation when recovering from burnout to leap straight back into hyper-productivity. To chase the old ‘you’, the one who could juggle 14 tabs and 3 projects and a side hustle before lunch.
The gentler truth, though, is that you need rhythm before you need results. The first empire to rebuild is the one inside your nervous system – and that starts with one consistent anchor at a time.
Training can be that anchor, and not as punishment or hustle, but as an act of care and repair. It’s not about chasing peak performance. It’s about reconnecting with your body as an ally, not an enemy. Once you’ve achieved this physical grounding, it slowly ripples out into the rest of your life.
Keen to beat burnout? Start here. You’re not starting from scratch, you’re starting from experience – and we’re here for every rep.
