Exercise: Not Enough or Too Much?

Ah, exercise. We all need to get a reasonable amount in order to keep our bodies healthy and strong, but most of us are for one reason or another just not getting enough. However, for those amazing people for whom exercise is a daily part of their life, I have to wonder how they set the limit to maintain their health, not overdo it to the point of injury, and how they avoid addiction to the endorphin high. In other words, how much exercise is too much?

I am a big fan of anything that improves my muscle performance, since I suffer from fibromyalgia. That being said, I try to get a small amount of exercise, every day. If I overdo it, I will pay for it for days. According to the American Heart Association, 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, most days of the week, such as a brisk walk that accelerates breathing and heartbeat, is sufficient to good health. The person who is getting the exercise is not going to look like a swimsuit model or movie star, but improved circulation is good for your heart, and you will burn some calories. Your leg muscles will gain strength, and the stronger your muscles are, the more fat and calories your body will burn, even at rest.

On the other side of that coin, it is possible to overdo the brisk walk. I am as guilty of this as any person may be. Once I start walking, I am enjoying my MP3 player, the time away from my kids and then I want to just keep walking a little more, a little faster. Once the endorphins kick in, I feel no pain, and I could continue for an hour. It is easy to see how a person can get to a point where they overdo it, and the brisk walk just runs the risk of pulling muscles, having spasms in them and wearing myself out.

Joggers run the same risks, but there seems to be more of an issue of joint problems, since running is more high-impact than a brisk walk. Web-Md mentioned an exercise study that showed high-impact and high-activity participants suffered more knee injuries than people who were in lower impact categories. I will include the link in my sources, for anyone who is interested.

People who do a lot of weight-lifting have always concerned me. I am a firm believer that a reasonable amount of weight training is an excellent addition to an exercise regime. Who has not heard of the risks associated with weight-lifting? Pulled or torn muscles, hernias, and steroid addiction are just a few of the concerns that come with excess in this category of exercise.

As an example, a person can just concentrate on his biceps while ignoring the other muscles in his arms, or think of Popeye and his overly large forearms and skinny upper arms. According to Health Blog by YinTeing, the best advice is to work a different set of muscles at a time. It is possible to injure an underdeveloped set of muscles by relying too much on on the muscles that are stronger. In other words, Popeye would hurt his back by lifting something heavy, using only his forearms. I have friends who would go to the gym, five times per week, and they would work a different area of their body, each night. They avoided the performance-enhancers and steroids and followed the advice of trained gym personnel in how to avoid injury.

The American Heart Association link that I will include has excellent advice on what kind of exercise is most beneficial to your heart. The recommendations are also excellent for helping your body in regards to diabetes, blood pressure, and weight issues. With all the helpful advice on the internet, it was difficult to keep my sources to a reasonable amount.

In an excellent and informative article on About.com, the author, Paige Waehner, discusses over-training. She relates the signs of overdoing your exercise routine as follows: insomnia, achiness/soreness, headaches, elevated morning pulse, sudden inability to complete workouts, feeling unmotivated and lacking energy, increased susceptibility to colds, sore throats and other illnesses, loss in appetite, and decrease in performance. She continues the article to give advice on repairing the damage.

There is a lot of information available on the best ways to exercise, and the most important thing is to find the regime that fits you. I found it widely recommended to have a physical to ascertain any health problems you may have and discuss any new exercise plan with your doctor. Also, if you are in good health, it is a good idea to start with a trainer. There are many gyms that will provide a trainer to get you started and help you to know when it is time to increase your training. Most importantly, listen to your body.

How much exercise is too much? That is a question that really depends on the person. Too much for me might be way too little for you. I recommend research, medical advice and remembering that you cannot get fit within one exercise session.

Sources:

Personal Experience
http://health.howstuffworks.com/90-minutes-of-exercise1.htm
http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/news/20091130/too-much-exercise-may-pose-arthritis-risk
http://www.acefitness.org/fitfacts/fitfacts_display.aspx?itemid=2628
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=106
http://healthblog.yinteing.com/2008/10/14/strength-training-danger-of-overtraining-one-muscle-group-and-ignoring-the-rest/
http://www.gwc.maricopa.edu/class/bio201/muscle/arm/frma.htm
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exercisehealth/a/toomuchexercise.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/92318-exercise-diet-fibromyalgia/