Fitness gurus and many medical professionals tout the benefits of exercise, but is there such a thing as exercising too much? Apparently, yes. Studies found that excessive endurance training can, over time, harm your heart*.
Learning this was a great relief. I used to spend an inordinate amount of time looking for excuses to avoid my gym. “Because it’s a day ending in ‘y’” was wearing thin, so excuse-searching consumed ever-increasing portions of my day. Studies on the harmful effects of excessive exercise liberated me.
How to Tell if You’re Exercising Too Much
But this leaves open the question of how do you know if you are exercising too much?. Various researchers, along with people paid to wear a “personal trainer” label on their tracksuits, may offer answers to this question. But their answers can’t possibly be universally applicable.
We don’t all have the same metabolism. In addition, our heart, lung, muscular, skeletal and general fitness conditions vary. Thus, one answer isn’t right for all of us at all points in our lives.
The right amount of weekly exercise for me at age 67 may be way too much or way too little for you now. Therefore, a published report that says, for example, “one hour of strenuous exercise three times a week is ideal” may be useful for only one, possibly unidentified, segment of the population. That guidance might kill the rest of us slowly or, possibly, instantly.
In a similar vein, what do they mean by “strenuous?” Again, the answer differs depending who you are talking about. For example, for some, turning the other cheek is strenuous, if not necessarily exhausting. So, again, there is no one right answer.
Rather than a single quantitative prescription as to the best duration and intensity of exercise, the media would deliver more value if they provided general guidelines that would help us to recognize when we are going overboard. I haven’t found any publication that does a good job of that. To fill that void, I offer the following rules of thumb for avoiding excessive workouts:
Physical and Mental Signs of Exercising too Much
When you experience cardiac arrest while working out your body might be trying to tell you that you are pushing yourself too hard. If you survive, when you get out of the hospital and go back to the gym, cut back slightly on the intensity of your workouts. If you suffer another cardiac arrest, again cut back slightly on the intensity when you return to the gym. Continue this until you die or you find the level that is right for you, whichever comes first.
Remembering the names of all eight of the personal trainers you hired to help you with various aspects of your fitness and muscle-building programs, but forgetting the names of your spouse and children is a sure sign that you are spending way too much time at the gym. Either reduce the frequency and/or duration of your visits or ask the owners if they will allow your family to move out of their home and into the gym. (Yes, I know I said “their” home and “not” your home. Face it. If this describes you, then the gym is your home.)
If, when attempting a “clean and jerk” weightlifting movement, your hands remain resolutely attached to the barbell while your arms pull out of their sockets and fall flat on the floor, you attempted too lift too much weight. After that happens, you should cut down on how much weight you’re lifting. And you may also need to switch to exercises that don’t involve your arms.
If you like to use the elliptical machines in a public gym (in non-pandemic times when gyms are open) and the pedals on all of them have deep grooves that perfectly match the soles of your sneakers, you might want to cut back just a tad.
Exercise Dating
For those of you who are single and go to the gym because you think it is a great place to meet people of the opposite sex (or the same sex if that’s your thing) casually, that can be healthy provided you don’t force yourself on or harass anyone in any way. If you are single and interested in a relationship, but, no matter how intelligent, warm, friendly, empathetic, and attractive you think they are, you refuse all invitations from interested and interesting dating candidates because going out would cut into your exercise time, that’s sick.
Talk Test
Try the talk test while working out. Attempt to speak aloud during your workout. If you can’t sputter more than a word or two between gasps you are exerting yourself too much. If you can still carry on a conversation easily, but nobody wants to listen to anything you have to say then you are probably not overexerting yourself, but you may have a problem nonetheless. It might be a strong indicator that you are a major twit and/or idiot. Exercise will likely neither help you nor hurt you much with that. (Warning: If people see you constantly talking to yourself aloud during your workouts they may think you’re crazy. They might be right about that.)
* The usual caveat about me not knowing what the heck I’m talking about goes here. Ignore any and all medical and fitness I provide if you value your health.
