Can You Exercise Too Much? Mental Health Experts Say Yes

You run in the morning, train for your next marathon at night despite a nagging injury, and head to the gym to weight train in your free time. Missing a workout is not an option.

Are you exercised obsessed, or just an avid exercise enthusiast?

That depends on your attitude, say mental health experts. If you exercise frequently because you enjoy it and you like the health benefits it provides, you have the right reasons in mind. If you exercise because you feel compelled to do so, and in spite of having injuries, you may be at risk for developing an exercise disorder.

“There is no set formula or standard that reveals how much exercising is too much,” says Theresa Fassihi, Ph.D., a psychologist with the Eating Disorders Program at The Menninger Clinic. “But if exercising is interfering in a person’s life, and it is compulsory, then it may be a problem.”

Dr. Fassihi treats patients in the Eating Disorders Program who over exercise in an attempt to burn off calories, build muscle or attain physical perfection. It is common for patients with exercise disorders to also have an eating disorder, Fassihi says. Problems occur when body perception doesn’t match reality.

As with eating disorders, persons involved in activities or professions that require physical beauty or high levels of physical performance—such as athletes and dancers—are particularly vulnerable to developing exercise disorders. High achievers with perfectionist personalities are also vulnerable. Both men and women can have an exercising disorder, but they often have different goals for their exercise regimens. Women seek the “lean look” and typically exercise aerobically to become thin. Men want to bulk up and lift weights to increase muscle mass.

“If you have an exercising disorder, you also may be very preoccupied about your body’s appearance, weight and muscle mass.” Dr. Fassihi says. “You spend a lot of time looking at yourself, scrutinizing yourself, measuring yourself and constantly working out to create the muscle mass or lean body that you want.”

Distorted body image, also called body dysmorphia, is a common component of an exercising disorder. Persons with body dysmorphia have a distorted view and exaggerated vision of their appearance—thin women may think they are too big, and muscular men may think they are too puny or scrawny. The obsession with being too small or frail is a subtype of body dysmorphia called muscle dysmorphia, nicknamed bigorexia, which is most common in men. Men with muscle dysmorphia constantly weight train and exercise to achieve a more muscular or perceived “manly” body.

To achieve their ideal body or fitness goals, many persons with exercise disorders also restrict their calories, based on the mistaken belief that they will build a higher proportion of muscle if they restrict their food intake while exercising, Dr. Fassihi says. Instead, they lose both muscle and fat, putting their health at risk.