Exercise brings many benefits to the body, physical and mental. But sometimes it can cause harm. Today we'll learn about the harms of excessive exercise and not taking rest days. Some girls like the feeling of endorphins released during workouts. We'll see what harms come from this and how to avoid them.
Is it possible to overdo exercise?
Overdoing exercise happens when you focus on it too much. Like most things, doctors recommend about 15 minutes daily but no more than 60 minutes. Some girls even get addicted to certain sports. Below are some signs to see if you're exercise addicted or not:
- Muscle pain for a long time: This feeling shouldn’t last more than 2 or 3 days.
- Trouble sleeping: Difficulty falling asleep can be a sign of too much exercising.
- Always tired: If your body always feels exhausted and you barely finish your workouts.
- Performance drops: The right way to train is to see your stamina improve over time. But if your abilities decrease, you should know something is wrong.
- Mood swings in appetite: If you exercise regularly and well, you'll feel your diet is on track with set times, but if you find your appetite is low, this might be linked to your exercise addiction.
- Increase in body fat percentage: Intense exercise can lead to weight gain.
- Weak immune system: Catching lots of colds and flu is a sign of a weak immune system. Moderate exercise boosts immunity, it doesn't weaken it.
- Injury occurrence: Exercise addiction weakens your muscles and endurance, so you're more likely to get injured.
How to listen to your body
The points mentioned can be a sign for you, but you should learn how to listen to your body and respect its tiredness. There are some questions you should ask yourself regularly:
- Watch the activities you do in your free time and whether you're truly tired and don't want to do anything.
- Follow your diet. Are you eating your daily calories? Have you skipped any meals lately?
- Do you feel strong during your workout or tired and weak?
- Do you notice muscle gains and no fatigue in your body?
- Does exercise make you feel stressed?
When to consult a doctor
If you find yourself exercising too much, don’t be scared. You can take a break and go back to working out moderately and healthily. You can get help from experts if you want. There are some cases where you should see a doctor like if you get injured or feel pain in a specific spot. You can follow the page Fitness Garage on Facebook to learn new workouts and diet plans that will motivate you to stick with it and switch up your daily routine.
