I think exercise addiction would be most likely suffered by those with obsessive compulsive disorders, but what would be the line that divides a dedication to daily exercise and being addicted to exercise? Would having to exercise even if it meant neglecting other responsibility's and obligations be a sigbn of exercise addiction? How about increasingly spending more and more time exercising and becoming irrational or feeling ill if you were to miss a work out of had to shorten a workout? What are your thoughts and opinions?
I think if someone is exercising even he or she is so sick or pushing himself to the limit that could almost kill him or killed him, that could be an addiction already. As always known/said, anything in excess can be bad.
Exercise addiction is very real and is not only likely to be experienced by people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The reason being that after a proper workout endorphins in the body are released which can mimic the effects of Heroin which is, effectively, exactly what Heroin does anyway. Some people believe that intense workouts can actually be more addictive than Heroin.
Makes sense, so is using exercise as part of addiction recovery an effective part of recovery or would it risk replacing one addiction with another addiction ? Does one build a tolerance to the endorphin released from exercising causing the need for increased exercise amounts of exercise thus making it an addiction rather than a healthy activity?
I've heard of this disorder too...and the sad thing is to most people, it's going to look like the person just has a very healthy active lifestyle. In a way I guess that's worse than having a very obvious addiction because who is going to know you need help?
Exercise addiction can go hand in hand with anorexia sometimes, too. This is quite dangerous as overexercising is unhealthy even if you are of normal health, but for somebody starving themselves the effects are going to be much worse.
Really? I didn't know that! You would think that people who exercise regularly would be more conscious of maintaining a healthy diet in order to fuel their body properly. Then again, I suppose there are many people who exercise to lose weight therefore it makes sense that some of them would eat less.
I think some people get carried away when it comes to exercising and devote their life to it. I mean it's good and healthy but they care about their body so much they end up hurting it in one way or another
Anything in excess could be considered an addiction, especially if you spend all of your time at the gym and are neglecting other things in your life. You could also do your body harm by exercising too much.
I reckon that, we need to sort the time out for things and also exercising in excess is going to be harmful and also it is something you need to keep in control. I reckon, that spending too much time at the gym can make you put importance on health too much that you forget about the other things in life. I usually try, to do few hours a day and also do other things as well so I have enough rest and can train well.
I know a few people who have started to exercise to help them kick an old habit or addiction. I enjoy working out but wouldn't call it an addiction. What I think drives me to work out and exercise is an intense desire to better myself and my physical appearance. If I weren't so busy with building my current and future career I believe I might turn into a workout fiend--hopefully I won't get laid off or have any other extenuating circumstances that would suddenly cause me to have nothing to do BUT exercise.
Exercise is good as long as it does not compensate for time you are supposed to be elsewhere. I you prefer exercise that you cannot go to work,then that's wrong. I usually have 30minutes daily for workout,that is after work.
I teetered on the edge of this myself for a while, along with orthorexia. It was my replacement for the social life I’d had previously, and there were times I would feel extremely guilty if I couldn’t work out, or I had one little cookie during the day. It could be pretty brutal. So I had to take a step back and stop being so hard on myself. I can still sense a change in my mood when I’m unable to exercise for an extended period of time due to illness or injury, but I don’t beat myself up about it anymore.
This is a very real addiction and there are many who suffer from it. Some people have a distorted perception of themselves and so they believe that they need to do more and more exercise in order to lose weight or to become healthier, when they are already fit and healthy and have no weight to lose. They feel guilty if they eat too much or are unable to workout. These people can drive themselves to exhaustion if they don't get the counseling they so desperately need.
Are you drunk? Lol. I mean seriously. Exercise is an absolutely great addiction. There are people in here talking about missing crack and still drinking every day. Adrenaline is the most gratifying rush any human being can ever experience. It is so good for you. Let me just say that when you accomplish in the physical and mental with exercise. You feel and do things you never did before. You feel so good about yourself. You have no time to criticize or question what other people do. It's a private club I guess and they call them athletes. Lol, no pain, no gain. I mean I seriously notice the difference between the mentality of a person who trains and one who doesn't. I guess it's better to have a beer belly or an extra chin. It's like some kind of reverse body shaming, but an attack on someone's rational.
Being too addicted to exercising is bad - no exceptions. If you exert yourself too much, you are working out for nothing. The whole point of working out is to 'tear' your muscles to a point where they rebuild during sleep or rest, but amends the former bulk of muscle. If you 'tear' your muscle too much, pain kicks in pretty soon, which gets you that stiff feeling every time you extend or retract your muscles. Your muscle only recovers, after a week or more. So, limiting your daily exercise to a satisfactory( 80% trying every day), depending on how much you can do, is the proper way of working out. Now, if you work out for the excitement and adrenaline rush, then that is your decision, and the consequences are yours.
It depends on the situation I guess. Some people's work is actually to maintain their bodies and looks like celebrities or gym trainers. Even some fitness bloggers need to maintain their look. For them, exercising is a must and maybe they do it more than the average person does. If however, an average person exercises excessively making their routine obstruct other aspects of their life then they might be overdoing exercising. Maybe they do it for the endorphin high or maybe they do it because they want to look good. Whatever their reasons, they must learn to control and exercise only up to their strength. Again too much of everything is bad.
This is actually a good addiction to have, provided you don't exercise beyond your physical capabilities. I actually exercised compulsively several years ago but started to experience back pains. I consulted my doctor about this and he told me that I needed to keep away from the gym for 3-4 months. My back pains gradually went away and then I returned to the gym, only this time I kept to a more reasonable exercise regiment.
Exercise addiction actually has a very similar effect to heroin and is therefore physically addictive if overdone. Just as heroin does, exercise causes the body to release endorphins after a good workout. People can therefore get a similar buzz from too much exercise as they can from heroin. Exercise, just like anything, can be addictive.
I'd say if it goes to 'addiction' levels then it's absolutely not a good thing to have. There's a girl on my wife's Facebook with whom she went to college who's absolutely addicted to working out and losing weight, to the point that she spends three, four, five hours at the gym each day, doing cardio and trying to lose weight. She looks horribly emaciated from all the physical activity. Part of it is a self-image problem, for sure, but she often talks about how the gym is the place to be, as well. It's kind of disturbing, watching her gradually self-destruct her life, but she also won't listen to anyone who insists she has a problem.