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Why Do People Over Exercise?
Seeing physical changes for the first time after exercising for months can be ecstatic.
Overexercising can be working out three or four times a day, but it is a psychological disorder.
But overexercising can be harmful in many ways. There are many reasons that lead to an
individual to become compulsive with exercises; for example, a low self-esteem individual with
body dysmorphic disorder, eating disorder such as Anorexia nervosa, someone that has been
bullied and athletes. Nevertheless, overexercising or compulsive exercising can have many
consequences. It can cause insomnia and bone fractures (1). As we all know over doing anything
is bad for our body and health, but for some it can be their low self-esteem or a disorder that
pushes them over the limit.
When it comes to receiving satisfaction after seeing changes from exercising, this can be
very beneficial in multiple ways. For example, boosting your immune system so you won’t get
sick as easily. When we exercise, our hearts get stronger, our muscles get more efficient, our
metabolism is balanced, and we protect ourselves from complications like high cholesterol, high
blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes (Richards). But for some, people are compulsive
athletes, who overdo it because some people produce less dopamine which is a reward system for
our brains to keep on motivating us to continue something we enjoy. Some signs that you might
be an over doer is when it is your main focus and you put it over your friends, family, and
school. Another sign could be when you get mad if you miss a workout or don’t go to the gym
that day. Some will even work out every day but will not compete in certain events to win; they
overly do it just for the benefits of looking good and emotional satisfactions. Questions you can
ask yourself are “Why do we need to exercise?” Many people feel the need to exercise because
they feel that they are ugly and fat due to their low confidence in themselves. Not only are
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people who overexercise hurt themselves, but they are also risking their health because
overexercising can cause stress fracture which can lead to osteoporosis. One of my friends thinks
that there is something wrong with his body image. He thinks that his tummy is too fat so he
spends countless hours at the gym trying to lose the fat even though there is nothing wrong with
him nor does he have a fat tummy. Being a guy I told him he shouldn’t worry about his weight,
for guys when they are worry about their body image, it is easily noticeable that they have a
disorder such as being self-conscious about their body.
Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa can also lead to overexercising. Anorexia
nervosa is intense fear of gaining weight, body image distortion leading to a body weight of less
than 85% below ideal body weight. One of the effects of eating disorders, which usually strike
women, is the compulsion to over exercise, even when ill (3). The health risk of Anorexia
