Exercise Addiction

Many people find it strange that someone can be addicted to exercise. The way many see it is that if something is good for you then you, then you can never get enough of it, the more the better. This is were they are wrong, to much of anything (good or bad) can not be healthy for you. Exercise is great and the truth of the matter is that most people do not get enough of it. For those who do exercise, they must be able to determine what the lines are between healthy beneficial exercise and unhealthy compulsive exercising. If someone is totally obsessed with exercising then they may need help in treating their exercise addiction.

Reasons why people become exercise addicts:

• Overly obsessed with their looks, a lot of this is done by the media and magazines that portray models and stars as if they have perfect bodies.

• Many men who become exercise addicts may be suffering from muscle dysmorphia, this is the medical term used for men who believe that their muscles are just to small and weak looking.

• Women become exercise addicts because they may think that they are overweight and will do as much working out as they need to in order to lose that weight.

• Some think that the more working out that they do, the less chance they have of having health problems such as diabetes, getting high cholesterol, or getting high blood pressure. Getting a half hour work out each day decreases your chances of these things happening to you but by working out for 2 hours, you do not decrease your chances more.

How do I know if I have an exercise addiction problem?

• If your exercising schedule pushes other things that should be important in your life to the side you may have an exercising addiction. Many times, addicts would rather spend the couple of hours of free time that they have exercising instead of spending that time with their spouse and children.

• If your exercising prevents normal interactions that you would normally have, then you have an exercise addiction. Anything that consumes to much of your time will negatively affect other aspects of your life. Just because exercise is good for you does not mean that it can not negatively impact other important things in your life.

• You get very upset and irritated when you miss a work out.

• You would always choose exercise over doing other fun things in life.

• You exercise for over two hours each and everyday. Seriously, no one needs to work out more than a couple of hours each day.

• You exercise to the point of extreme pain. We all have heard the old saying "no pain, no game" but when you are feeling intense pain and continue to work out anyways, you have an exercise addiction.

• You can not remember the last day that you missed working out.

• Your medicine cabinet is filled with a bunch of pain killers

How can I treat my exercise addiction

• The first step that someone needs to take is to acknowledge that they have a problem and to make a commitment that they need help.

• Meditation and Yoga will help a person control the desire to hit that intense work out.

• Get involved in another activity in your life. If you like painting, spend lots of time painting. If you like dancing, spend lots of time dancing. You will need to get other activities in your life going on if you are going to seriously cut your exercise addiction.