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Regular exercise is always beneficial, but the compulsion to overdue it at the gym can lead to some serious health issues
If you’re constantly making this face during your workout, you could be over-exercising
Regular, moderate exercise is a cornerstone of good health, and it delivers many positive mental and physical benefits. However, intense, unrelenting, obsessive exercising can actually compromise your health.
Yes, it is possible to over-exercise. For some people, exercising can become a compulsion, perhaps a response to a need to be in control, or perhaps because of self-esteem or body image issues.
Such people might exercise hard two or more times a day, seven days a week, and they may even feel guilty or stressed if they miss a day. While it’s true that elite athletes train hard, and perhaps even daily, they follow a strictly supervised training regimen and they don’t necessarily exercise all-out every day.
Overdoing it at the gym (whatever the reason) can invite injury and illness. Frequent, improperly planned training doesn’t give the body time to recover – muscles need up to 48 hours to repair – and the longer and harder you exercise, the more fatigued you become.
Fatigue compromises exercise form, which can lead to injury. Intense exercise can also lower the body’s resistance to illness. Recent research indicates that excessive exercise may even lead to permanent heart damage. Here are some warning signs that you may be overdoing it:
Originally published in Wellness Matters, Canada Wide Media’s quarterly newsletter on health and wellness.