Physical exercise is very important for good physical and mental health. It has been shown to increase and maintain bone density, help maintain body weight, increase muscle strength, improve joint flexibility and mobility, reduce stress and anxiety, and eliminate depression, among many other benefits. But exercising too much can be harmful .
Why is exercising too much bad?
Injuries
Injuries, whether muscular or joint, are more frequent in athletes and can occur whether or not there is excess exercise. However, when you train too hard and don’t get enough rest, your chances of injury greatly increase . This can be due to muscle or joint overload or mental fatigue, which causes the exercises to be done incorrectly.
Joint and muscle wear
A continuous and excessive physical effort accelerates the wear of the joints and also of the muscles. Every time a physical activity is carried out, some tissues are worn out in order to build new ones to cope with the activity that will be carried out in the next session. In other words, there is a kind of regeneration.
When there is overtraining and the body does not have time to renew tissues, rhabdomyolysis can occur. This disease causes large amounts of myoglobin to be released, which, through the blood, can reach the kidneys and cause quite serious damage.
Heart problems
Excess exercise can cause an increase in heart and circulatory problems. Although exercise is good for the heart, when it is practiced excessively it can be counterproductive , especially for people over 30 who dedicate more than five hours a week to high intensity exercise.
Weakening of the immune system
When the body does not get enough rest, the immune system is weakened and the person is more prone to colds, flus, infections and more serious illnesses.
Lack of rest can also be caused by insomnia . People who exercise excessively have been found to have difficulty sleeping because the body produces a large amount of stress hormones. These hormones make it harder to fall asleep at night despite being tired.
Symptoms of exercising too much
There are times when the body may ask for effort to be reduced. You have to listen to it and pay attention to these signs that could be indicating the beginning of a serious problem :
- There is a lack of energy and the legs or arms do not respond.
- Difficulty breathing.
- Decrease stamina.
- Accelerated pulsations in the morning.
- Insomnia.
- You feel cramps, tingling, or muscle spasms.
- You feel pain.
- Concentration, memory or performance problems appear.
- There is demotivation.
Faced with any of these symptoms, the most advisable thing is to stop, rest and reduce the number of hours a week that are dedicated to physical exercise.
Our advice
We advise being realistic with training. Physical exercise helps maintain good health and enjoy its many benefits. With dedicating 3 or 4 days a week and 1 hour each session is more than enough.
Never overreach. You have to listen to the body at all times and stop when it asks or decrease the intensity of the exercise if it is considered necessary . If a session is not completed, nothing happens. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.
Exercise is part of a healthy life and must produce well-being, not suffering. Because playing sports is no longer healthy the moment it becomes sacrifice and is synonymous with pain.
