How many times a week do you go to the gym? Do you find yourself frustrated if you don’t have time to make it? Do you schedule your day around working out and if that schedule doesn’t work out, are you irritated? These may be signs that you are addicted to exercising.
According to mypyramid.gov at minimum the average adult should perform 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity most days or every other day. Moderate intensity activity is known as walking briskly, hiking, gardening, dancing, golfing, bicycling or weight training.
Exercise is important because it increases your self esteem, fitness level, builds endurance and muscle strength, and maintains your weight. Exercise and Nutrition work together to improve your overall health. Although exercise and healthy eating habits are important, sometimes these lifestyle choices can become obsessive and overwhelming. Studies have suggested that exercise addiction can cause chronic fatigue and depression. In addition, it may lead to serious bodily harm such as dehydration, stress fractures, reproductive problems, heart problems or even death. Some signs of exercise addiction are:
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Working out several times a day
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Feeling anxiety and guilt when unable to exercise
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Creating a daily schedule around working out
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Working out when injured or tired
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Canceling or avoiding social activities and other responsibilities in order to exercise
Exercise addiction is most commonly found in runners or students with high sports participation. These addicts are usually called “perfectionists,” “obsessives,” or “obligatory athletes.” Sadly, 10% of high performance runners have exercise addiction, according to webmd. Many of these exercise addicts seem to be under the impression that more is better. This is completely not true. Over-exercising can lead to eating disorders, depression and even suicide.
One major cause of developing exercise addiction could in fact have to do with the well known phrase “the runners high.” A study done in March of 2008 strongly suggested that the runner’s high is certainly not a myth. In this study ten runners were chosen to participate in a 2 hour long jog. They all were scanned before and after the run. Results showed that runners in fact sure do hit a high and multiple parts of their brain are affected by this. Therefore, it was stated at the end of the study that more testing was needed to further investigate possible aspects which may lead to exercise addiction.
To read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303101110.htm
Exercise is extremely beneficial to your health, but you must do it in moderation. If you aren’t able to go a day without skipping then perhaps you should question if you have a problem.