What is it called when you are addicted to working out?

Have you ever heard the old saying, “too much of a good thing can be a bad thing?”

Let me preface the following by saying this: When used moderately to maintain physical and mental health, and/or when used in conjunction with an appropriate amount of nourishment, exercise has a whole host of incredible benefits.

But in the case of exercise addiction, yes; too much of a good thing (exercise) can yield negative consequences.

Exercise addiction is something that impacts thousands of people, and can be conceptualized like other process and substance addictions. It’s not a formal clinical diagnosis, but rather a behavioral condition often rooted within other issues – such as distorted body image or eating disorders like anorexia.

So how much exercise IS too much exercise? That can be difficult to answer without knowing the unique circumstances surrounding each individual, but here are some more universal signs to look out for:

1). Missing a workout makes you/them irritable, anxious or depressed – For instance, if you notice someone or yourself getting clearly agitated or uncomfortable after missing a workout, even after a long string of consecutive days, it could be a warning sign.
2). You/they work out when sick, injured or exhausted – It is important to listen to your bodily cues. Those who have an addiction to exercise push themselves through a pulled muscle, the flu or even a stress fracture, failing to rest when it’s clearly needed.
3). Exercise becomes a way to “escape”– The primary goal is no longer balancing the mind or reducing stress. Exercise becomes a way to withdraw from certain life situations and the emotions that are brought up because of them. Clinical interventions such as talk therapy and/or expressive therapy are safe and adaptive ways to address uncomfortable emotions.
4). Workouts start to impact relationships – When you notice you/they are spending more time training than with a spouse, or opt to stay at the gym instead of attending get togethers with friends, it could be indicative of an unhealthy relationship with exercise. As with any eating disorder, exercise addicts tend to withdraw and isolate from their friends and family in order to continue unhealthy behaviors.
5). Other priorities suffer: In a similar vein, someone frequently misses a work deadline or child’s soccer game; again, viewing exercise as more significant/important in the grand scheme of things.
6). Happiness is re-defined: Mood or happiness are solely dictated by the outcome of the latest workout, how one’s body looks that given day or how “fit” they currently perceive themselves.
7). You/they continually extend workouts: It is quite common for someone struggling with an exercise addiction to add on workouts wherever they can, whether it’s extra reps on the bench press or running home after a hard soccer practice.
8). You/they excessively work out: Some marathon training programs call for “two-a-days” to build mileage, but consistently doing this – without any specific training goal and without being monitored by a medical professional – could result in further mental and physical ramifications.
9) Exercise loses the element of play and fun: Dr. George Sheehan, author of Running & Being, says it perfectly, “the things we do with our bodies should be done merely because they are fun – not because they serve some serious purpose. If we are not doing something that is enjoyable on its own account we should look for something that is.” Exercise needs to be fun, not viewed as a chore or “must-do” when you simply don’t feel up to it. It’s important to note these red flags don’t necessarily mean someone is addicted to exercise; rather this is an outline of universal symptoms that CAN be indicators that a greater problem exists. If the above statements describe your experience, please consider discussing your concern with a professional.

Need an opinion? We help athletes every day.

Compulsive exercise (sometimes called exercise addiction) happens when a person is driven to exercise too much. Injury, illness, going out with friends, or bad weather will not stop those who compulsively exercise.

Why Do Some Teens Exercise Too Much?

Regular exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. But athletes may strive to exercise more and more to improve their sports performance. Personal goals, coaches, teammates, or parents may pressure athletes to push themselves too far.

Compulsive exercising and eating disorders often happen together. Someone with an eating disorder also may work out excessively to lose weight. Someone with bulimia may use exercise as a way to compensate for binge eating.

Some people believe they can achieve an impossible ideal body type if they keep exercising.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Compulsive Exercise?

Compulsive exercisers often:

• won't skip a workout, even if tired, sick, or injured
• can't take time off and seem anxious or guilty when missing even one workout
• are constantly preoccupied with their weight and exercise routine
• lose a significant amount of weight
• exercise more after eating a lot or missing a workout
• eat much less if they can't exercise
• skip seeing friends, give up other activities, and abandon responsibilities to make more time for exercise
• seem to base their self-worth on the number of workouts completed and the effort put into training
• are never satisfied with their own physical achievements

What Problems Can Compulsive Exercise Cause?

Compulsive exercise can lead to:

• injuries, including overuse injuries and stress fractures
• in some girls, a lot of weight loss, irregular periods or no periods, and weak bones (osteoporosis). This is known as the female athlete triad.
• unhealthy weight loss behaviors, such as skipping meals or drastically reducing calories, vomiting, and using diet pills or laxatives
• social isolation, because working out always comes first. Compulsive exercisers may skip homework or time with friends and family to exercise.
• anxiety and depression. Performance pressure, low self-esteem, and lack of other interests can contribute to emotional problems.

How Is Compulsive Exercise Diagnosed?

It can be hard to diagnosis compulsive exercise. There is no agreement on how much exercise is too much. A person who continues to exercise in spite of injury, health problems, or poor relationships may have an exercise addiction.

How Is Compulsive Exercise Treated?

A therapist can help someone with an exercise addiction change unhealthy behaviors, work on exercise moderation, and find coping strategies.

Treatment also includes:

• treating injuries
• resting or reducing exercise
• finding alternative exercise plans
• nutrition counseling and education about overexercising
• treating conditions, such as eating disorders, depression, or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
  

What Can I Do?

It is important for compulsive exercisers to get professional help. If you think that you're exercising too much, talk to your doctor.

You also can do these things to take care of yourself:

• Help prepare and eat nutritious meals.
• Have fun exercising by being active together with friends or family.
• Take a day off to rest between hard workouts.
• Try to find new ways to ease stress and cope with problems.
• Talk to a parent or other trusted adult and ask for support.

We all know getting and staying healthy through exercise can feel good, but sometimes it can feel so good that people who exercise might wonder, can you get high from working out? And if you can actually get high on exercise, like you can from drugs, is it good for you or bad for you?

The short answer is that yes, you can get high from exercise. And while the feeling of getting high itself is not harmful, like with drugs, you can be harmed while under the influence of this high feeling, as you may be less aware of the potential and real harm to your body. There is also a risk of getting addicted to the high you get from exercise, which can also be harmful.

So do we need to be concerned that we are exercising too much? For most of us, the answer is no.

Typically, people who don't exercise much find exercise hard work at the beginning, and it is only after your strength, stamina, and skill develops that you start feeling good during and after exercise.

Even for those who have developed a regular exercise routine, look forward to working out, and feel great during and after exercise, the majority of people don't get to the point where exercising too much is a concern.

There is wide variation on how much pleasure people derive from exercise, people's predisposition to addiction, and people's individual neurological makeup, and it has been noted by neuroscientists that one of the main reasons that people with the intention of increasing exercise eventually quit is a lack of enjoyment.

If anything, most of us would benefit from exercising more and increasing our enjoyment of exercise to reinforce a regular exercise routine.

Most people do not need to worry about getting addicted to exercise and should try to exercise regularly.

Exercise improves your body's functioning in many different ways and offers many benefits such as:

• Exercise gives you energy and increases your resistance to fatigue, meaning that although your body is working harder when you exercise, over time, you feel less tired than you did before you started working out.
• Exercise makes your muscles stronger, improving your ability to do many different active tasks, and increasing your independence, as you are less likely to need help with physical tasks.
• Exercise makes you more flexible, increasing the variety of physical activities you can do, whether or not they are directly related to exercise.
• Exercise improves your endurance, meaning you can continue to be physically active for longer periods of time than you can when you don't exercise, without straining yourself or feeling uncomfortable.
• Exercise makes your body more efficient at physical tasks, meaning you can do them with less effort, and feel less tired afterward, than if you don't regularly exercise.
• Exercise reduces your risk of injuries, such as lower-back problems.
• Exercise helps you to manage your weight and can help you to lose weight if you are overweight.
• Exercise decreases your risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Exercise reduces your risk of type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes mellitus.
• Exercise lowers your risk of depression and can help manage the symptoms of depression for those who have it.
• Exercise may decrease the effects of aging through improved functioning during regular tasks of everyday life.
• Exercise can help people overcome other addictions.
• Exercise helps you to get a good night's sleep and can help with sleep disorders.

So, you may be wondering, with such a litany of benefits, what could be the problem with exercise? It sounds like the more the better, and you can't go wrong.

For most of us, this is true, but for people with a personal or family history of addictions, those with unresolved emotional trauma, those with a history of eating disorders, or those who are particularly sensitive to endogenous opioids—the drug-like substances produced by the body—there may be a risk in exercising too much.

The good feelings that people get from exercise, also known as euphoria, is a well-recognized phenomenon, often referred to as "the runner's high." 

The positive feelings people get from exercise can be a great natural way to motivate you to exercise more regularly, can fight depression, can help lower anxiety, and can be helpful for people who are trying to recover from alcohol and drug addictions.

The problem comes from the psychological process of addiction, which can occur in people who experience a runner's high and can potentially lead to exercise addiction.

The runner's high happens naturally when people participate in vigorous exercises, such as running, swimming, or aerobic exercise. It is caused by changes in the body and brain that occur during exercise, which may be similar to the processes that happen when people take opioid drugs, such as heroin. Although this may seem far-fetched, researchers have found that endogenous opioid production occurs during intense aerobic exercise.

So the physical processes of opioid use disorder and exercise addiction may be closer than you might think, as the body's own endorphins are important in initiating both types of addiction.

The euphoria you feel during and after exercise is not harmful. While it's often referred to as "runner's high," these feelings can also occur with other forms of aerobic exercise.

Like with the high that people get from taking opioid drugs, the runner's high feels exhilarating, easeful, and comfortable. If you experience a runner's high, you may cease to notice pain, or become "comfortably numb." You may experience an overwhelming sense of well-being, even if this does not reflect reality.

You might continue exercising even though you know the physical activity is causing problems. For example, you may not be bothered by feeling too hot or too cold, and may even have a sense that these things don't matter, feeling a kind of invincibility, that you have superhuman strength and resilience, and can do anything and come out on top.

Of course, these physical things all do matter—people who get high on heroin and people who get high on exercise are just as vulnerable as anyone else to becoming ill from being over- or under-heated, or from the injuries that pain usually prompts us to take care of.

People experiencing a runner's high have been known to continue to engage in exercise or sports, even with serious injuries, such as broken bones. At the time, they either didn't notice they were hurt, or it didn't seem to matter.

Scientists have studied the runner's high, in order to understand the opioidergic mechanisms of the runner's high in the human brain, and to identify the relationship of these drug-like chemicals, which occur naturally in the body, to the euphoria or high that people experience when they engage in intense exercise.

Researchers have found a relationship between the number of opioids in the brain and the athletes' mood. The level of euphoria was significantly increased after exercise. The findings of this research support the "opioid theory" of the runner's high and suggest region-specific effects in frontolimbic brain areas that are involved in the processing of emotional states and mood.

Research indicates that the brains of people who exercise excessively get exposed to high amounts of drug-like opioids, creating an intense high. The desire to experience the feeling again drives them to continue to exercise in excess.

It is fine to take pleasure in exercise. In fact, it is encouraged. Most of the time, this will not be harmful, and it will do you a lot of good. It is also fine for you to think about how you can improve your technique, or excel in whatever form of exercise or sport you are engaging in.

Where it becomes problematic to gain pleasure from exercise is when it becomes your main focus in life.

If you enjoy exercise, you should enjoy other aspects of life as well. If exercise is the only activity you enjoy—with the exception of other addictive activities, such as sex, eating, work, TV, and of course, alcohol and other drugs—you may be focusing too much on the high you get from exercise to the detriment of other areas of life.

Are you enjoying a full social and/or family life? If all of the people you enjoy spending time with are your exercise buddies, you may be taking it too far. This is particularly the case if you know that you have problems in your primary relationships, for example, with your parents, your partner, or your children, but you aren't addressing these problems because you are focusing too much on escaping into exercise.

If you're concerned about the possibility of having an exercise addiction, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you feel you can't cope without the high you experience from working out?
• If you need to stop exercising, either because you are busy with other priorities, or because of a physical illness or injury, do you feel depressed or anxious?

Perhaps it might be important to note that there are other conditions that can lead to too much exercise. Excessive exercise can also be frequently seen in those with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia and can co-occur with food addiction.

If you think you might have an exercise addiction, keep a record of how much exercise you do, and when, as well as your mood before and after exercising, and when you are unable to exercise.

If, after a week or so, you are noticing a pattern of using exercise for a runner's high that you don't think you can cope without, talk to your doctor and relay your concerns outlined in the mood and exercise diary.

Your doctor can refer you to a mental health professional, who can help you to get your exercise under control, and help you to find joy in other aspects of life.