8 negative consequences of excessive physical exercise

Physical exercise is one of the activities that best affects our body and our physical and mental well-being, and that is why sports practice brings many benefits. Experts recommend moderate physical activity at least 3 times a week; otherwise, we run the risk of sedentary lifestyle and other problems.

However, excessive physical exercise can also have negative consequences for a person and for their health.

Negative consequences of excessive physical exercise

Controlled physical activity can increase our happiness, improve our heart health, help us to have a slim body, reduce stress and many other benefits, as you can see in the Article: "The 10 psychological benefits of practicing physical exercise”

But what happens when we train excessively? What consequences does it have for our body and our mind? We will see it next.

1. Vigorexia

One of the pathological conditions associated with physical training, and especially weight training, is vigorexia. This condition is a type of body dysmorphic disorder

 in which the person looks less muscular than they are and becomes obsessed with having a gym body (that is, muscular).

The origin of vigorexia is found in the culture of the image in which we live immersed. The media continually send us advertising messages about the perfect body, often in an unrealistic way. The obsession with diet and physical exercise can lead a person to suffer from vigorexia, and vigorexia can lead an individual to become obsessed with physical exercise.

• Related article: "Vigorexia: causes, symptoms and treatment”

2. Runnorexia

Running has become very fashionable in recent years, and although running is one of the most popular activities healthy for our body and mind, in excess, it can also cause serious problems for the person who is exceeds. And is that anything taken to the extreme can have negative consequences for our body, and running is no exception.

Runnorexia can appear because the person suffers from low self-esteem and, as a consequence, seeks to fill the void that he feels with excess training. Obviously, cultural factors also play a role, and the fact that running is in fashion has also led to an increase in cases of people with runnorexia.

In extreme cases, people with runnorexia they can see their quality of life decrease and they may even stop meeting their friends or their partner. If you want to know more about this disorder, you can read this article: "Runnorexia: the modern running addiction”

3. Rhabdomyolysis

The rhabdomyolysis is a condition that is characterized by the alteration of muscle cells that cause alterations for the organism and can put a person's life at risk. Its cause can be hereditary, although excessive and intense physical training can also cause its development. For this reason, to prevent this alteration, it is advisable to carry out controlled physical exercises under adequate conditions.

4. Injuries

Injuries are frequent in athletes, whether they are muscular or joint, and sometimes they occur without excessive exercise being present. Nevertheless, when we train excessively and don't get enough rest we are more prone to injury. Sometimes it is due to the overload of training and others due to the mental fatigue that occurs, which causes us to have an incorrect technique.

5. Aging

Practicing sports in a moderate way can help us feel young and healthy, not only physically, but also psychologically and mentally. However, overexertion accelerates wear and tear on the joints.

6. Overtraining syndrome

The overtraining syndrome is comparable to the burnout syndrome that occurs in companies. This phenomenon, which is also called staleness, can lead the person to have serious health problems and affect their day to day.

When we talk about overtraining, we must distinguish between physical overtraining, which can cause problems, for example, muscular, mental overtraining, which is much more complexor and that produces the following symptoms: feeling of fatigue, insomnia, depression, loss of vigor, etc. Excess exercise and lack of recovery play a role in developing this disorder.

• If you want to know more: "Overtraining syndrome: burned athletes”

7. Heart problems

While moderate physical exercise is good for the cardiovascular system, and even intense training when done properly, over-exercising can cause an increase in circulatory and heart problems.

According to research in Heart magazine, practicing a lot of sport can be counterproductive for the heart, especially in those over 30 who train intensely for more than five hours a day. week. The data concludes that 19% of the population are more likely to develop heart disease such as atrial fibrillation upon reaching the age of 60.

8. Lowering of the immune system

The immune system is also affected by excessive physical exercise, especially because the body does not get enough rest. This causes different problems for the body, because it does not recover properly as should do on a rest period. The weak immune system manifests itself with more colds, fevers, headaches, and more serious illnesses.