Exercise Abuse

Continued...

For the addict, exercise is often part of a harmful and illusory drive for perfection. She sets impossible goals for herself and feels like a failure - undeserving of love and happiness - when she doesn't accomplish them.

For some people, exercise addiction is an extreme outgrowth of a related problem: overtraining - intense training that undermines your ability to heal and improve. If not recognized early it can result in poor performance, mood changes and serious, difficult-to-treat injuries such as stress fractures. Overtraining can magnify common training errors - using poor form, wearing worn-out shoes or exercising on an unforgiving surface such as pavement.

Not everyone who overtrains is an exercise addict. Many overtrainers still derive a sense of enjoyment from their workouts, are able to take rest days and have a normal body image. They overtrain for different reasons than the addict. Some mistakenly believe that more is better. Others are perfectionists with unrealistic performance goals. They haven't recognized the natural limitations of their bodies.

Are you exercising too much?

Whether you have a psychological compulsion to exercise or are simply overtraining, you're harming your body How can you tell if you're closing in on peak performance or are on the verge of injury and collapse?

Since everyone has a different exercise capability, there's no formula to determine how much is too much. The American College of Sports Medicine has set basic weekly exercise guidelines for fitness, recommending three 20- to 60-minute sessions of aerobic exercise at 60 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate and two body-strength-training sessions; keep in mind that these are minimums.

As for maximums, researchers have only just begun to study overtraining conditions. They recognize overtraining by a variety of problems rather than one specific physical finding or complaint. Since everyone has different abilities, genetic endowment and propensity for injury, what is too much for one person might be appropriate for another. And what is too much for you now might be easy for you six months from now.

Nevertheless, there are ways to tell if you're exercising too much.

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Table of Contents

Foreword: Billie Jean King

Comments by Barb Harris
Editor in Chief,
Shape Magazine

General Health
Nutrition
Exercise
Common Medical Problems
Dental Health
Emergency!
Infectious Disease
Sexual Health
Emotional Well-Being
Eating Disorders
Alcohol & Other Drugs
Environmental Health
Prevention