Modern day society has given rise to new trends and obsessions with exercise.  With competitive weightlifting, bodybuilding, cross fit, triathlons, and marathons, there is no shortage of options for someone who wants to get involved with physical activity.  In fact, one could engage in exercise on their own, without participating in any type organized physical activity.  No matter the type or reason for engaging in exercise, the bottom line is that an adequate, healthy amount will yield positive effects on the body, both short-term and long-term.  As one exercises, their level of physical fitness increases and their risk for chronic diseases decreases. But, how much physical activity becomes too much? There becomes a point where exercise is no longer beneficial to the body.  Exercising excessively can lead to many negative effects and will possibly negate any positive effects previously gained by exercising.  Excessive exercise can be detrimental to the body and a balance must be found in order to maintain good health.

Before understanding the effects of too much exercise, it is important to understand the benefits of a healthy amount exercise.  In Werner and Sharon Hoeger’s Fitness and Wellness it was stated that by exercising at a moderate rate (raises the heart rate and breathing between 40% and 60% of maximal capacity) for as little as 30 minutes in any given day can yield health benefits (Hoeger and Hoeger, 2011). The benefits of exercise may benefit someone in the long run or in a short-term, everyday life aspect. In regard to the long-term benefits, exercise can greatly reduce risk for cardiovascular disease, other chronic diseases, such as osteoporosis, and may even reduce the risk for premature death in individuals.  Additionally, cardiovascular exercise in particular has been associated with improved cognitive function in aging humans. Stanley Colcombe, and others, conducted an experiment in 2006 to test the effect of exercise on the aging human brain.  The results that the researchers found showed that many tasks, all controlled by the fontal lobe in the brain, were improved as a result of cardiovascular exercise.  The frontal lobe is primarily responsible for the higher order of attention control and memory function.  Therefore, the researchers concluded that cardiovascular exercise might in fact increase brain volume in aging humans and age-related brain deterioration (Colcombe, 2006). In regard to the short-term benefits, despite the decrease risk for premature death, the greatest benefit of an adequate amount of physical activity is that physically fit individuals enjoy a better quality of life.  Many people have misconceptions about how much exercise they need in order to start reaping benefits.  In fact, one benefits from exercise from as little as one exercise session.  Most benefits gained from a single session will dissipate between 48-72 hours after the session.  There are a huge number of benefits one may gain from a single session, with a few of the benefits including decreased stress, boosted energy levels, improved brain function, improves digestion, and promotes better sleep.  

In Werner and Sharon Hoeger’s Fitness and Wellness overtraining is defined as emotional, behavioral, and physical condition marked by increased fatigue, decreased performance, persistent muscle soreness, mood disturbances, and feelings of “burnout” as a result of excessive physical training (Hoeger and Hoeger, 2017).  It can become an addiction that gives people a false sense of healthiness.  As an addiction, excessive exercise may start to govern people’s lives, as they will plan their everyday activities around working out.  A person who exercises excessively is prone to negative effects that are both physical and psychological.  Physical effects of excessive exercise include, but are not limited to, increased resting heart rate, decreased appetite, dehydration, and unexplained weight loss. The psychological effects may include sleep disturbances, drowsiness, fatigue, depression, and hostility.  Research conducted by Carl Lavie, and others, in 2012 focused on the potential adverse cardiovascular effects from excessive endurance exercise.  Results showed that in some individuals, long-term excessive cardiovascular endurance may cause adverse structural and electrical cardiac remodeling such as fibrosis, stiffening of the atria, right ventricle, and large arteries.  Cardiovascular benefits appear to benefit an individual when working out up to one hour a day, however, working out beyond one hour produces minimal benefits and may cause adverse cardiovascular effects in individuals (Lavie, 2012).

There is some debate as to whether or not exercise can be excessive.  Some believe that the more one exercises, the greater chance they have of being healthy and that there are no negative effects; no matter the amount of exercise. Certain forms of exercise, such as weightlifting, have provided concrete evidence and knowledge that too much can cause harm.  However, when considering exercises such as running, the evidence is not as solid. Some believe that, despite any accumulated evidence, that there is in fact a valid argument that excessive exercise does not exist at all.  Bobby Maximus, a health fitness and weight lifting expert says that the sole reason one may suffer from negative side effects is due to their lack of recovery. A person may exercise as much as they want and whatever intensity they choose.  However, if they do not recover well enough, they will experience negatives effects.  Any injury or chronic problem sustained from exercising comes from the way in which that person performs the exercise. Rest, for example, is one of the main factors in adequate recovery.  If one is not properly rested, fatigue will set in.  When fatigue sets in, the person exercising will not be able to put in a maximum effort or even perform the exercise correctly.  For example, when lifting weights, there is a proper technique to use in order to avoid injury. There are different lifts that one may perform and each life activates and requires the use of different muscles.  If fatigued, someone may use the wrong muscles to help them complete an exercise, which may harm the muscle that is not meant to be used. However, if one is properly rested and full of energy, they will lift weights with the proper technique. If someone does not get enough sleep and excessive fatigue sets in, lifting technique, body balance, muscles involved, and range of motion are all affected – all of which increase risk for injury.  Injuries sustained from exercise are merely the results of inadequate recovery, not from the frequency of the exercise (Maximus, 2010).  

The ideas that people have regarding excessive exercise vary from activity to activity.  Take, for example, weight lifting and running.  The two exercises are completely different in the fact that they activate different muscles in the body and in the fact that the body reacts different ways for both exercises.  When weight lifting, a person is attempting to increase their strength, or muscle mass.  In order to gain muscle mass, the muscle must first be destroyed.  When people lift weights, their muscles tear.  When their muscle fibers repair themselves, they grow back stronger than before to insure they do not tear as easily again, causing muscle mass to increase.  If someone is lifting weights excessively, their muscles will not have enough time to repair themselves and will cause the person pain.  Many people have misconceptions that soreness and pain are a normal part of weight lifting.  Some soreness is normal; however, if someone is experiencing pain, there are either overtraining or have sustained an injury. Pop culture and media have heavily influenced society by their portrayal of the phrase “No pain, no gain.”  For those that are uninformed, they think that if they do not feel any pain when weight lifting, they are not experiencing any muscle gains, and that is not true.  One should not continue to exercise if they are experiencing pain.  From the opposing side, there is running, which is an aerobic exercise.  While weight lifting affects muscular strength, running affects cardiorespiratory endurance.  Running increases a person’s maximum oxygen uptake as well as lowers their resting heart rate.  The recommended prescription for aerobic exercise is 3-5 days per week to improve and maintain the maximum oxygen uptake.  Research indicates that when any type of vigorous or moderate training is conducted more than 5 times per week, improvements in maximum oxygen uptake are very minimal.  However, despite the improvements being minimal, there is not much evidence of  “excessive running.”  Other factors may be considered, such as diet, to insure that a large amount of running does not cause the individual to lose too much body weight and become unhealthy.  No concrete evidence has been found that large amounts of running are detrimental to a person person’s heart or to the rest of their body.  Although, as previously mentioned, there are questions and possibilities that large amounts of cardiovascular exercise may cause abnormalities in the heart.

The research conducted in the paper focused on the frequency of exercise that is most beneficial to a person and that does not cause major forms of harm.  The research provided examples of the positive effects of a healthy amount of exercise and the point at which exercise becomes excessive and starts to cause harm to the body.  Exercise can yield many benefits to the body if regulated correctly.  Research shows that a healthy amount of exercise yields positive benefits that range from improvements in every day life to decreased risk of chronic illnesses or death. However, these benefits only come when exercise is performed in moderation and may be negated as a result of exercising excessively.  Despite the belief that excessive exercise does not exist, there is proven evidence that shows otherwise. Exercise can become excessive if the prescription and frequency are not well monitored.  Research shows that there are both negative physical and psychological effects of overtraining.  A balance must be found in the amount of time spent exercising so as to maximize benefits without starting the yield any of the negative effects of overtraining.
