How many hours is excessive exercise

You might even need to add more healthy carbohydrates and protein to your diet. You may also need to examine why you exercise.

Are you working out because you want to be healthy? Or are you doing it as a punishment for eating a cookie at lunch? When you view exercise as a punishment, you may overdo it and not reap the mental health benefits of physical activity. When exercise becomes compulsive, it can damage your relationships with friends and families. According to the National Eating Disorders Association , if you begin to turn down or cancel plans with people you love to exercise, you may be exercising too much or for the wrong reasons.

Exercise should always be your choice. If you feel anxious or guilty after skipping a workout, you may be exercising compulsively. If you feel unsure how much exercise is right for you, we can help you create a plan to meet your fitness goals.

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But current research clearly demonstrates that too much exercise may cause harmful effects known as overtraining syndrome. When an individual is performing excessive amounts of exercise without proper rest and recovery, there may be some harmful side effects. Some of these side effects may include decreased performance, fatigue, altered hormonal states, poor sleeping patterns insomnia , reproductive disorders, decreased immunity, loss of appetite, mood disturbances, and a compulsive need to exercise.

To help avoid overtraining training be sure to eat a well-balanced diet and strive for a minimum of seven hours of sleep per night. A proper nutrition strategy coupled with adequate rest will help provide you the necessary nutrients and energy your body needs to maintain physical activity.

In addition, it is equally important to listen to your body. Important: This content reflects information from various individuals and organizations and may offer alternative or opposing points of view.

It should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Accessed October 25, Netter's Sports Medicine. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; chap Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the overtraining syndrome: joint consensus statement of the European College of Sport Science and the American College of Sports Medicine. Med Sci Sports Exerc. PMID: pubmed. Sports medicine. Textbook of Family Medicine. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; chap Updated by: Linda J.

Editorial team. Are you getting too much exercise? How too Much Exercise can Hurt. To get stronger and faster, you need to push your body. But you also need to rest. Pushing too hard for too long can backfire. Here are some symptoms of too much exercise: Being unable to perform at the same level Needing longer periods of rest Feeling tired Being depressed Having mood swings or irritability Having trouble sleeping Feeling sore muscles or heavy limbs Getting overuse injuries Losing motivation Getting more colds Losing weight Feeling anxiety If you have been exercising a lot and have any of these symptoms, cut back on exercise or rest completely for 1 or 2 weeks.

How to Avoid Overtraining. Here are some other ways to make sure you are not overdoing it: Eat enough calories for your level of exercise. Decrease your workouts before a competition.