EXERCISE

Can Exercise harm you?

When you exercise, your brain releases chemicals called endorphins that produce a feeling of euphoria – the so called runner’s high.

Some people who regularly do high intensity exercise can become addicted to this endorphin rush and without it feel irritable and out of sorts till they exercise again. So they go on exercising, never stopping to listen to what you body is saying.

The reason exercise addicts keep pushing themselves probably lies in what happens when they don’t work out. Psychologists at the University of Massachusetts in Boston studied the psychological consequences of being unable to exercise. They compared 30 male and female runners who had been laid low by minor injuries for at least two weeks, with a similar group who continued to run. Those who could not run displayed more signs of depression, anxiety and confusion, and they were far less happy with themselves and their bodies. Like other addictions, exercise, they say, appears to have withdrawal symptoms.

Over indulgence doesn’t harm only the mind, but the body as well. Initially, the exercise will do what it’s supposed to, give you a fit body but once you cross the line, it can cause physical problems including muscle damage and osteoarthritis.

It isn’t only muscles that are at risk, so are bones. Some recreational athletes push themselves to the point of injuries such as shin splints or stress fractures, and then refuse to rest, causing greater and perhaps permanent damage.

The body has its limitations and if you push it beyond that limit, you will harm yourself.

Obsessive exercise tends to happen among people who have only just started working out. So keen are they to get fit that they overstep their limits. You should begin gradually and combine different types of workouts, something that obsessive exercisers forget.

Never work out so much that you feel completely exhausted at the end of it. About 45 minutes to and hour, four to five days a week, should be your limit. Your workout should leave you feeling fresh and energetic. Make a point to take a couple of days break every week as this is important to allow your body to relax and rejuvenate.