The Fine Line with Exercise

Too much exercise can be bad for your health. There is a fine line between being committed to exercise and being dangerously obsessed: some people literally become addicted to exercise. Those annoyed the gym is closed on New Year's Day, or that they'll miss their 10km run because the relatives are coming over should read on. Over-exercising is hardly a nationwide epidemic. For many, just doing any is a major hurdle. But many amateur aerobic athletes - especially joggers, weekend triathletes and gym junkies actually overtrain, which can lead to burnout, injuries, chronic fatigue and a weakened immune system.

Also, the lifestyle that puts exercise first and family and friends near the back of the pack can become a major source of regret in years to come. Serious exercisers don't like being told they train too much, especially by those who don't train at all. Exercisers and non-exercisers are from different planets. So unless people keep tabs on their own (over)training, they might end up sore, sorry and sedentary. Dr David Pyne, a sports physiologist at the Australian Institute of Sport, says there are four key symptoms of overtraining to monitor:

Not All Addictions are Bad

One of the things I've been learning is that once you make exercise a habit, it's hard on you when you can't exercise for some reason. I think I've become a training addict!

In the beginning of creating any new habit, including the habit of training, it can be difficult. Once you commit to a new program, you have a certain amount of enthusiasm, but that only lasts so long. The hard part is to sustain your motivation beyond that initial period of enthusiasm.

Dave Brewer: Addicted to Running?

Dave Brewer likes to run. He ran yesterday. If he’s alive and not in traction, he ran today. He ran every day last month, and every day last year, too, and on April 16, 2011, he will celebrate one quarter of a century without missing a single day of covering at least two miles. In the running world, people like him are called streakers, but Brewer, a 56-year-old financial manager from Herndon, Va., says “the technical term is ‘idiot.’ ” Brewer is also modest. I learned about the streak only because I was bragging to him—he’s an old friend—about jogging six days a week for a year, and he casually mentioned it.

Is Your Spouse Addicted to Exercise?

Dear Abbey:

What can I do to slow down my husband's compulsive exercising? He runs every morning at 5:30, even in the rain, even when we're traveling somewhere on vacation. In the afternoon he rides his bike and lifts weights. Sure, his body is lean and mean, but his working out gets in the way of activities with me and our children. He says he's just trying to be healthy.