Exercise emotions...

Do you know that sting of guilt when you have scheduled a workout (riding a bike to work) but do not follow through because your mind says, “YOU ARE TIRED”? A temporary feeling of guilt is a common sentiment that we all have when we plan to exercise but then lose our motivation or something gets in the way of our training schedule. However, it is not as easy for some people to move on from this guilty conscience or skip exercising altogether for a day or two. You might have heard a friend referring to someone who is “addicted” to exercising or is entirely “dependent” on working out for several hours every day. 

 
Parents, peers, the media, and the scientific literature relentlessly preach that exercising is good for our bodies and minds. However, it is rarely mentioned that exercise behavior can be unhealthy when it becomes a compulsive habit. I know people who would believe life is over if they did not start the day with a 10K or some other form of exercise, then walk another form at lunch, followed by an evening effort. I have been there, and my mind tells me I am still there, but my body is close to 51 says something entirely different.

Things are different, like my right knee and the past pain. I was sure it would flair up after my 29th consecutive grandma’s marathon and be very painful. I was wrong. In fact, after a few days, the entire body felt great. However, I continued to let the body heal. After three weeks of rest, I go on three 50-mile bike rides in 8 days and throw in a few 36-mile rides there, and the right knee pain is high. Makes no sense to me. Is it a delayed reaction from the marathon? There are too many bike miles too soon. Either way, it is frustrating when the mind says, “You are doing great,” and the body says get some crutches and stay in bed. 

Could it be that I need the exercise to keep the body functioning? Could it be that I am pushing too hard and then crash, a binge-and-purge exercise approach? Could this be more than an off-beat exercise addiction? I am not sure, but I have had too long without the positive energy from a regular workout, and the body is just being a pain, literally! So, could it be that I need to regroup and stop having that “I need to get that done or else” attitude? That will be hard! 

Don’t get me wrong. This surely is a “positive addiction” to exercising, meaning that the exercise routine can easily be included in daily life and leaves space for commitments to family, friends, work, and personal time. However, one has to be aware that there is a fine line between a healthy commitment to exercising and a perceived obligation and compulsion to fulfill a certain training regimen.

So, what I learned from this blog entry is a paradox: exercise, which has the reputation of being exclusively beneficial for our mental and physical health, can have the opposite effect if it is done in excess, and this holds true both for recreational and top athletes. To conclude, we should learn from Hippocrates, who acknowledged that “if we could give every individual the right amount of exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.”

 

Carry On…