You likely hear from multiple sources that exercising is good for your overall health, and that is true! What you don’t likely hear about is overexercising. Can too much of a good thing be a bad thing? Why yes, yes it can! The balance of exercise and nutrition can be a delicate one, that is why it’s important to speak with a healthcare professional. This blog will look at the risks of overexercising, finding a balance, looking at alternatives and more.
Risks and Signs of Overexercising
Overexercising can have major impacts on your health in numerous ways. It can affect your physical, mental, and biological health. Some of the signs and symptoms of overexercising can be attributed to other conditions or be a result of multiple conditions.
Some signs of overexercising are:
- Feeling tired, especially long term
- Mood swings/irritability
- Anxiety
- Inability to perform at your previous level
- Trouble sleeping
- Losing motivation
Impact on Physical and Mental Health
It’s normal to have brief muscle soreness after exercising, lasting a day or so. After all, exercising is breaking down our muscles in order to make them stronger (with proper nutrition, of course!). Overexercising causes long term muscle soreness and strain which can lead to sprains and stress fractures. Your performance will likely decrease as overexercising progresses. This may make you feel like you should push harder to make more progress, however the opposite is true. This is a good time to evaluate your exercise schedule and food intake to make sure they are balanced. If you’re questioning how much you should be eating for your exercise routine, a meeting with one of our dietitians can lead you in the right direction!
You will likely find many media influences giving guidelines on exercise and nutrition, however not all of these recommendations are coming from reliable resources. When your health is at risk, trust the licensed professionals! In women, over exercising can cause the loss of or irregularity of menstrual cycles. This is a red flag and should be discussed with your primary care provider as soon as possible.
Overexercising can also lead to decreased mental health and signs of depression and anxiety. If exercising stops feeling fun and feels like a chore, it is a good sign you are overexercising or doing it for the wrong reasons. On the opposite hand, balanced exercise can be beneficial to your mental health and is known to decrease stress and anxiety. If you are struggling with depression, anxiety, or stress, adding a behavioral health professional to your care team alongside your doctor and dietitian can be helpful.
Myths About Exercising
There are many articles on the internet about exercise, but what are they getting wrong? Let’s look at some common myths revolving around exercise.
- You have to exercise a lot for it to be beneficial.
Any increase in activity, even something like walking, can be beneficial to your health. Even if that increase is five minutes a week, it is still an increase above your normal weekly activity.
- You can target fat burn.
You cannot control where you lose fat on your body. Some people lose weight in certain areas first, but everyone is different. This will be dependent on your genetics. This is also a good reason to not just work one part of your body when doing strength-training, as using one muscle group more than another will not change how you lose fat.
- Exercise can erase a bad diet.
Both diet and exercise play roles in health and they go together to make the most of your health. When we break down our muscles during exercise, they cannot build back and build stronger without proper nutrition. Continue reading below for tips on finding a balance.
- Stretching is only for before exercise.
Stretching before exercising is beneficial, but so is stretching after! Take a few minutes to warm up before and have a cool down after each moderate and vigorous exercise.
Healthy Balance
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 2 days of muscle strengthening activity per week for adults. This evens out to 30 minutes 5 days per week. Breaking up the 150 minutes throughout the week can be more manageable both mentally and physically. This can also be split up between moderate and vigorous intensities. Per the CDC, 1 minute of vigorous-intensity equals 2 minutes of moderate-intensity. See below for ideas in each type of activity.
Moderate-Intensity
- Riding a bike on level ground
- Mowing the lawn
- Water aerobics
- Walking fast
- Tennis (doubles)
Vigorous-Intensity
- Jogging or running
- Basketball
- Riding a bike on hills or very fast
- Swimming laps
- Tennis (singles)
Muscle-Strengthening Exercises
- Lifting weights
- Using resistance bands
- Body weight exercises (sit-ups, push-ups)
- Heavy yard work/gardening (digging, shoveling, raking)
- Some yoga poses
Finding an activity you enjoy can be a game changer on your mindset towards exercise. If it doesn’t feel like a chore, you are more likely to complete an activity and reach your activity goals. Try the mindset of “I get to do this today!” instead of “ugh, I have to do that today”.
Long-Term Consequences of Overexercising
Overexercising for long periods of time can be detrimental to your health. You can have chronic pain, numbness, loss of mobility, loss of muscle function, heart damage or rhythm changes, malnutrition, and more. All of these can be prevented by balancing your exercise and nutrition. If you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms, it’s time to talk to your primary care doctor as soon as possible.
- Chest pain
- Numbness or tingling in your hands or feet
- Muscle soreness that lasts more than a few days
- Fainting
- Dizziness
- Chronic fatigue
- Amenorrhea (loss of period for 3 months or more)
- Hair loss not related to balding (large chunks of hair off scalp, hair on arms, legs, etc.)
Relating Overexercising to Eating Disorders
Disordered eating thoughts can often cause thoughts on overexercising. If exercising feels compulsive, like something you have to do rather than want or choose to do, then it would be worth your time to speak with a professional. Sometimes you may not recognize this as an issue, which is why it is important to listen to those who care about you and your healthcare professional if they feel something is amiss. Feeling that exercising is no longer fun or if you exercise instead of doing other responsibilities such as work, school, etc., are signs it may be time to review your relationship with food and activity. If you have questions on disordered eating or eating disorders, reach out to our team of dietitians. We can help you get on the recovery track!
Avoiding Overexercising
For some people, overexercising can feel normal, especially if they’ve been doing it for very long or have a history of an eating disorder or disordered eating. Here is a checklist you can go through to see if anything may be off for your routine:
- Do not exercise in extreme temperatures (hot or cold, storms).
- Drink enough water to replace what you lose during exercise (the more you sweat, the more water you need!).
- Eat enough calories for your exercise level (if you don’t know where you should be, reach out!).
- Do not exercise when feeling sick or very stressed.
- Take at least 1 rest day per week, more if needed! Listen to your body, not just your mind.
- Get adequate sleep (8 hours per night).
- Slowly increase your workout load rather than a drastic increase.
- Stretch before and after your workouts.
- Again, listen to your body!
Low Impact/Alternatives to Help Avoid Overexercising
When you feel like you’ve “overdone” it, doing some low impact exercises can help you continue to move while not straining your muscles. This could include:
- Leisurely walking
- Leisurely swimming
- Yoga/tai chi
- Stretching
The Bottom Line
Exercise is beneficial to your body and mind. It can make you feel accomplished, powerful, relaxed and boosts your self-esteem. It can have a positive impact on your blood pressure, blood sugars, cholesterol, anxiety, depression, and much more. Although, as we said earlier, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing and exercise is no exception to that. I hope you’ve learned more about overexercising today. If you’d like to discuss how to balance your food and activity, reach out to a One Bite Nutrition team member for a free discovery call!
Resources
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000807.htm
https://rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/body/exercise/can-you-exercise-too-much
https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/exercise-myths.h12-1589046.html
