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I created a monster at work and I do not know how to make her stop. In a previous post, I could barely suppress patting myself on the back for the healthier transformation I brought to my office. The co-worker that chided me for walking too slow has dropped over 10 pounds by adding exercise to her day. Which is great for her. But the problem is that now she feels entitled to make snippy comments about other people’s weight loss (or lack of). And she spends over 3 hours a day exercising. That is too much exercise!
It is no surprise to see her drop weight so quickly since she went from zero exercise to 3 hours of exercise (plus the 30 minutes walking at work) each day. It is unlikely she will be able to devote this many hours to exercising over the long run. But her behavior is not unusual for exercise newbies.
I understand the “exercise until I drop” philosophy. I did the same thing once when I was her age. (I am sorry body. I did not understand how great I looked at 23.).
How much exercise is too much?
Depending on my week, I exercise anywhere between 2 – 4 hours. But when you factor in my walks at work, that add another 2 hours to my total exercise time. So each week I log a total of 4-6 hours of exercise. I am in weight maintenance mode. There is a huge difference between 2 hours, but depending on my energy level, there are weeks where I feel like moving more than usual.
30 minutes a day is recommended for general health and weight maintenance (3.5 hours/week). So I am a little above the recommended amount of exercise for general health and weight maintenance. But I love to eat and often “treat” myself once or twice a week, so I know the extra time barely burns off my “treats.” If I were to give up my “treats,” then I can spend less time working out.
However, if you are in weight loss mode, then 60-90 minutes a day is recommended (7-10.5 hours/week). So the co-worker who is working out 3 hours a day is exercising too much!
Is it realistic to be able to sustain that many hours of exercise?
Diane from Fit to the Finish prose this question of whether or not a person can sustain hours of exercise when they are on maintenance mode.
Realistically I do not think it is possible. Throw in a husband, kids, a career, a commute, and maybe aging parents – you will be lucky to squeeze in 30 minutes!
If you have a supportive spouse, you might be able to squeeze in 7.5-10 hours/week of exercise for a few months. But I cannot imagine having the luxury to maintain that level of commitment for years and years during your working adult years.
What are the effects of too much exercise?
In my early 20s when I first started exercising regularly, I was overtraining myself. Of course, I did not recognize the insomnia and constant fatigue were the effects of exercising too much. I thought my never ending aches were a badge of my dedication to a healthier and thinner lifestyle. Neither did I notice that my headaches were not from drinking too much coffee and that it is not natural for a young woman to have that many colds.
If not for my repetitive stress injuries on my knees, I think could have permanently injure my body. Fortunately, my knees started aching, then screaming whenever I started exercising. Listening to that tiny voice of reason to stop, my body was able to recover on its own when I gave it time to rest, though it was hard to stop the jumping, the lunging, and the squatting. I keep seeing this slim and sexy person in the shadow waiting to step forward. All I needed to do was exercise more to see that person in the mirror.
I was exercising too much and too soon. I had all the signs, but I chose to ignore them. I did not realize that doing squats and lunges holding dumbbells for my strength sessions are the same as the squats and lunges without the dumbbells in my cardio sessions. Six days a week, of course my knees were not happy!
Then there is the effect of developing an eating disorder from too much exercise. Just because someone is obsessed with exercise, does not make it healthy. I am lucky that I stopped before developing such a serious illness.
However, I worry about that co-worker. I see so much of what I went through when I was in my 20s: a mother who constantly criticizes her weight, a sudden need to look marriageable to attract a husband, and the yearning to change her life. This is why I do not want to live through the uncertainties of my 20s again.
Until next time and thanks for stopping by.
Photo by: oksidor.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Asithi – Good post. I partially agree with what you are saying. For me 3 hours per day would be too much and not sustainable in the long term. However, if exercise is the number one priority in your life then I don’t think that 3 hours per day is too much. For example, professional athletes do more than this because they want to be in peak physical condition and exercise is their main priority.
Hi Asithi – Thanks for the mention. I of course, agree with you! I think you are kind to worry about that co-worker, even with her snippy comments to you! (She shouldn’t be like that!)
Your experience with over-exercising is really common. Injuries, extreme fatigue, and stress aren’t what should happen to us on the road to better health! We are supposed to start feeling better, not worse. Thanks for the great post!
I hope you have a wonderful week. Diane
.-= Diane fit to the finish´s last blog ..Some Saturday Thoughts =-.
I do believe that the latest recommendations were 55 minutes a day once in maintenance.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080728192801.htm
I do about one or two hours daily, never saw heatlh problems from it. It’s not always strenuous, sometimes hardly even moderate. Call me unemployed, no kids. Weight loss is excruciatingly slow, even at this level of exercise.
.-= julie´s last blog ..Honesty sucks. =-.
@Tom – But most of us are not professional athletes. Even if we are training for something, we have another job and other priorities. If I were paid to be in fight shape, I certainly would not complain about exercising. Thanks for the comment.
@Diane – Instead of trying to nationalize healthcare, they should just give us personal trainers. That way we can learn the proper way to exercise to stay in good health. Thanks for the comment.
@Julie – I believe that if you exercise at the proper intensity, you really do not need to workout for an hour each day. Though the article mentioned four groups in the study, it did not mention whether the 55 minutes group did moderate or vigorous exercise. Also, I think it is human nature for people to “eat more because I exercised.” Who knows what parameters have changed that are not told in followup phone interviews.
As for having more free time to take care of yourself, I will soon be joining that group. My employer is reducing my hours. I should have no excuse to not exercise for an hour each day after the wedding. Thanks for the comment.
Great post. I’m usually active- walking, biking, running- from anywhere between 1 and 4 hours every day. That’s because I use my legs or bike for transportation, though, and it’s not super strenuous exercise. I go at a leisurely pace. I think the mindset is really important to factor in with the exercise; if we’re focusing on exercising constantly, then it could be detrimental to our health. If exercise happens to find a way into our lifestyle, then it’s a good thing!
.-= Sagan´s last blog ..Vegan Challenge kick-off =-.
You just become extremely lazy!! I’ve been there. Your eyes just go read, head aches and wanting to sleep all the time. I think one should just listen to his/her body. Don’t under or over do it.
@Sagan – I couldn’t agree with you more. The goal should be use every opportunity to move, not just during “exercise” times. Thanks for the comment! And good with your vegetarian experiment.
@Usman – That true. Sometimes you go the other extreme from exercising too much. Thanks for the comment.
I think it all depends on how much activity you get in your day. If you have a sedentary job, I do not feel 1 hour a day of being very active is too much.
.-= Dr. J´s last blog ..Southern states high in illness and low in nourishment, court ruling a win-lose for the hefty and weighing in for dinner =-.
I only get about 1 hour of exercise on weekdays and maybe 2 on the weekends. I try to do something different everyday. Three hours everyday seems to much to me unless your varying your workout considerably. Your body needs time to recover in between workouts otherwise you are going to run into fatigue or injuries down the road.
~Viv
.-= Viv @ Cardiosport Heart Rate Monitor´s last blog ..Privacy Policy =-.
I have a question:
Did anyone who over exercised actually find that they gained weight instead?
im an over exerciser, and now my knees are screaming, so im only doing yoga from now on
Alexia – Yes, weight gain from overexercising is possible. The reason why some people gain weight from over exercising are: 1. eating too many calories unconsciously because you are working so hard and 2. constant inflammation from overstressing your muscles hence water gain.
Whenever you lift weights, you are causing microscopic tears on your muscles. As it heals, the muscle gets stronger. But when you are overexercising, you are not giving your body a chance to heal these tears. Hence constant inflammation.
Thanks for the comment!