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Overtraining: What happens when you exercise too much?

Over-exercising can have serious consequences on your body and brain.

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Exercising helps you stay at a healthy weight, improve your cardiovascular health, and even ward off depression, but over-exercising can have serious consequences on your body and brain. Going beyond your capacity can lead to some serious health issues. It depends on factors like your age, health, and choice of workouts. But in general, adults should get about five hours a week of moderate exercise, or two and half hours or more of intense activity. Or some combination of the two.

1. Increases the risk of death- People who ran at a faster pace more than three times a week had a similar risk of dying as non-runners. So running too much and too intensely seems to undo some of the health benefits gained from regular running. 

2. Avoid extreme endurance exercises- This may lead to heart damage, heart rhythm disorders, and enlarged arteries in some people. Experts believe that extreme endurance puts extreme demands on the cardiovascular system. One study found that repeated extreme exercises can remodel the heart, thickening the muscles' walls and scarring tissue. 

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3. Female Athlete Triad- Females are prone to develop 'female athlete triad' who over exercises. That includes loss of menstruation, osteoporosis, bone mineral loss, and eating disorders.

4. Lower testosterone levels- For men, intense exercise has been shown to decrease libido, possibly due to physical fatigue, and lower testosterone levels. 

5. More prone to injuries- For both men and women, over-exercise raises the risk of over-use injuries, like tendonitis and stress fractures. 

6. Over-exercising can wreak havoc on your body- Excessive exercise can wreak havoc on your body, particularly your heart, tendons, ligaments, and immune system. And for around one million people in the US, exercise addiction is wreaking havoc on their brains. Symptoms of exercise addiction include withdrawal.

7. Impacts your mental health- That's when you feel anxious or exhausted when you miss a workout. Or feeling a lack of control and unable to cut down on exercise, even when you know it's hurting you. Now, it's important to understand that you shouldn't just give up on exercising. The key is to get the right amount. 

 

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