Recognising the Signs Of Over-Exercising
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by: derekrog
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It is universally recognised - by medical practitioners and the public alike - that regular exercise is beneficial to health. Psychologically and physiologically, there is no doubt that indulging in activities that flex the muscles and raise the heart rate brings enormous benefits and represents an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
Despite the undoubted health advantages however, it is possible to over-exercise and a propensity to over-indulge in exercise carries several social, physical and psychological risks.
Doctors recommend that everyone takes part in some form of exercise for three periods of at least 30 minutes every week. Many people exercise much more frequently or intensively than that - perhaps working towards personal sporting or aerobic goals or as part of a regular social sporting pursuit, often gaining substantial health benefits and personal satisfaction.
But for some people, exercise becomes a compulsion - a part of their life that, rather than offering health and social benefits, brings only problems which, unless the compulsive pattern is broken early, have the capacity to become self-reinforcing. Understandably, parents or friends of someone whose indulgence in exercise appears excessive may be unsure and consequentially reluctant to intervene but there are a number of key signals to look out for that may indicate an exercise regime has become potentially harmful.
The development of a problematic situation is often indicated by an insistence upon exercise regardless of all other aspects of life or the consequences for others - for example, missing social activities or other significant personal or professional commitments. Often, an individual's motivation is rooted in emotional issues, their goal to lose weight and raise self-esteem rather than to be mindful of normal health or social considerations. Their exercise schedule is intense and rigid to the extent that missing even a single session can make them anxious and unsettled and even attempt to double the amount of exercise they do at the next available opportunity to make up for the perceived loss. The compulsive nature of their exercise may drive them to continue with their planned schedule in spite of injury or illness, risking a worsening of their condition, and they will typically exercise alone, uninterested in the social benefits that many derive from sport and competition.
Medical practitioners agree that the excessive physical burden of over-exercise can result in a number of health side-effects with potentially serious long-term consequences. Placing the body under excessive strain and denying tissue adequate recovery time can be a contributory factor in the development of degenerative arthritis, osteoporosis, stress fractures and cardio-vascular complications. Muscular deterioration, fatigue and dehydration have also been identified as potential consequences of over-exercise. No less debilitating are self-perpetuating social and psychological difficulties such as the neglect of personal relationships, leading to greater loneliness and isolation, anxiety and depression and a resultant reinforcement of negative self-perceptions and guilt.
About the Author
Jenny Hudson is an experienced health journalist, whose articles are regularly published in national newspapers and magazines. For more information about eating disorders and over-exercising plus the signs to look out for, visit Newbridge House.
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