#toomuchexercise

How much exercise is too much exercise and is there such a thing as too much Exercise? The answer to the second part of the question is, unfortunately yes there is such a thing as too much exercise.

Do you only feel good when you exercise and do you have that feel good factor when you think about and take part in exercise? If you do, in all probability you have an exercise addiction. For the vast majority of us, exercise is something we probably don’t do enough of, but there is a small minority of us that are compulsive exercisers, even if we’re not aware. Thirty minutes of moderate daily exercise is enough to prevent high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure.

It is hard to believe that as many as 10% of high-performance runners and possibly an equal number of body builders have an exercise addiction. Exercise addicts equate that a two-hour run will make them four times as healthy, but that isn’t the case. From what I know about exercise, too much exercise instead of making the bones strong, may deplete bone density, which can cause Osteoporosis further down the line.

The reality is that too much exercise not only leads to exhaustion and depression, but lasting physical harm too. Extreme exercisers outside of their exercise routine have an extreme need for control and that will cross into other areas of their lives. Those of us who aren’t exercise dependent will use exercise around our lives, whereas dependents will organise their lives around their exercise and will feel bad when they can’t or don’t manage it.

An addiction definition is the repetition of behaviour past the point where it becomes self-injurious. In exercise terms, it means refusing to limit or stop exercising when an injury in sustained.

When it comes to too much exercise, we must first recognise we have a problem. Once we see that we do, we must also see the need for us to change.