For some of us, it may be hard to find the time to fit in our daily exercise regimen. However, there are some people that find time to exercise no matter what. Although exercise has many benefits, there can be some downfalls associated to excessive exercising. It’s important to make sure you know your limit and give your body time to rest and recover between each workout.
Different exercise programs require more recovery time than others. For example, it is recommended that people only do high intensity interval training three times a week. This type of exercising uses different muscle fibres which can take up to 48 hours to fully recover, while fibres used for slow exercise programs can normally recover in just one day.
It is important to listen to your body after a workout. If you feel good and have plenty of energy, then most likely you are not over doing it. Remember feeling muscle “burn” is normal during an intense workout, but feeling pain indicates that something is not normal. If you think something is not normal, slow down and take a few days to recover. If you do not feel refreshed after the days of rest, speak to your GP.
We are aware of the negative physical effects too much exercise can have, however excessive exercising can also cause negative psychological effects. We have all experienced hearing someone refer to another person as “addicted to exercising”, but do we ever stop to think about the true impact of this “addiction”? Regular exercise can have negative psychological impact when it turns into ‘exercise dependence’. Exercise dependence can appear as an inability to stop exercising, disturbed psychological functioning, exercising despite medical contraindications and interference with social life and relationships (Bamber & al., 2000). Someone who is ‘dependent’ on exercise may work out for several hours a week when it is not necessary for one’s work or career.
Everyone is different therefore deciding how much exercise is too much can be difficult. However, most researchers agree that if three of the following symptoms are present then an individual may be dependent on excessive exercise:
Exercise is a vital component to a healthy lifestyle, but make sure to be aware of the effects of excessive exercise going forward so that you can get the most out of your workouts!
