The Benefits of Overexercising

Exercise addiction is real, I see it everyday and I have experienced it firsthand myself. Therefore, the title of this article is pure trickery- there are zero benefits to overexercising, and in fact, it can be quite detrimental to our health. We live in a culture where “more” is viewed as better. The more hours you put in at work, the more successful of a person you are. The more Instagram followers you have, the more popular you are. The more hours you put in at the gym, the more healthy you are. But who even decided on this “more is better thing”, anyway? I am not sure if it’s because I reside in a fast-paced urban environment that I am so hyper aware of this strange phenomenon, but we live in a world where it seems like the majority of us are striving for something, but missing out on the journey. Sure, you can put in 80 hours a week at work and climb your way up that corporate ladder, but what happened to all of that time you lost out on that could have been spent with your friends and your family?

    The good news is, you can learn to distribute your time more 
                 
               efficiently and live a well-balanced, 
                          
                         fulfilling life.

So how does this relate to exercise addiction you ask? Well here’s my thing. I work in a gym and I see people every single day pounding their bodies to the ground. I see people on a regular basis taking multiple HIIT classes in a row, spending hours on cardio machines going nowhere, taking the same vigorous classes day after day, week after week. But if I asked the majority of these people how they actually feel, like physically FEEL, I bet you a majority of them would have one, even several ailments. And when you have an ailment, most likely you feel like shit. But what do you do? Well, you push through it, you keep working, you ignore the fact that your joints hurt and your body is aching, because that’s our society and that’s what we have been conditioned to do.

Trust me, I am not judging anyone here. I have been an extreme exerciser myself, and though I have cut back on my hours spent working out, I am still guilty of the “push” here and there. After a weekend of indulgence or a vacation of boozy fun, the first thing that pops into my head on Monday morning is, “Oh my God I cannot wait to get to the gym this week and un-do all the bad that I did!!” However, maybe it’s come with age, but I have also learned to counteract those little voices in my head with self-affirming thoughts like, “I strayed a little bit this weekend, but I am excited to cook some healthy meals this week” Or, “Vacation was so awesome, it was great having some time off from the gym, but I’m ready to move my body.” What most people don’t realize is that you really don’t have to spend tons of time at the gym to get in shape. The majority of health and wellness is truly diet-related, but thats a discussion for another time (side note, though, you can’t out exercise a crappy diet, so get that out of your head!) You may or may not have heard of this little thing called cortisol. High levels of cortisol, which can be caused by overexercising, can have significant effects on our health.

In a nutshell, cortisol is a hormone produced by the body in response to stress. Stress can be defined as many things, big or small, but a few examples include: exercising, overtraining, lack of sleep, relationship issues, job issues, traffic jams, etc. Cortisol is not bad, per say. In fact, it is necessary for human survival. As part of the “fight or flight" response, cortisol releases glucose into the bloodstream during times of high stress so that our bodies can be prepared to handle a threatening situation. However, the problem is, nowadays we are constantly putting our bodies under so much constant stress, that our cortisol levels are constantly elevated which can have a ton of negative effects on our body. Below are some helpful tips on how you can decrease your cortisol levels, including how you can still get your high intensity workouts in without overdoing it:

 In conclusion, there are only so many hours in the day, and I hope that you can spend them being the happiest version of yourself. There are small changes that you can make in your life that will help get your stress levels down and make you feel better overall. By cutting back on your time spent exercising, for example, you will have more time to enjoy other things in life that you enjoy, like reading a book or meeting a friend for a healthy lunch. You can still take your favorite classes at the gym, excel at your job, and maintain a fulfilling personal life, but just being more mindful of how you treat your body can make significant impacts on your health in the long run.

*Heidi Anderson has been in the fitness industry for over ten years and has been living a plant-based lifestyle for 9 years. She has a BS in Nutrition and is a NASM certified personal trainer. Heidi's passion in life is to help people look within themselves to find the tools on how to be the best versions of themselves. Check out her Instagram page for helpful fitness and nutrition tips, workouts, and product reviews.