Excessive Exercise in Men

While regular exercise is excellent for losing fat, building muscle and improving your physical well-being, excessive exercise can be detrimental. Although rare, over-training does pose serious health risks and should be avoided.

What It Is

Over-training is rare. The body has the capability to adapt to extreme conditions, and the truth is that the vast majority of people will never get anywhere near the point where their levels of exercise are considered excessive. According to professor of exercise science and elite strength coach Christian Thibaudeau, the concept of over-training is frequently used as an excuse for laziness, and in all his years coaching, he has only encountered two athletes who have ever gotten to the point of true over-training. These athletes were Olympians training more than 30 hours per week, however, and for the average person who has a regular job or goes to school, excessive exercise should not be a significant concern.

Consequences of Excessive Exercise

While excessive exercise is certainly rare, those who do suffer from it can endure profoundly detrimental physiological symptoms. According to research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 1994, some of the short-term effects of excessive exercise are severe fatigue, immune system deficits, mood disturbance, increased physical injuries, sleep difficulties, and reduced appetite. In the long run, not only will these effects inhibit your ability to perform in sports and reach your goals, but they can also lead to serious chronic diseases.

Signs of Excessive Exercise

For those who think they might be at risk for excessive exercise, multiple ways exist to assess your condition. Research in the journal Sports Medicine in 1995 suggested that the best marker for measuring over-training is the ratio of cortisol to testosterone in your bloodstream, and that any large increases in cortisol and drops in testosterone are a good sign that your levels of exercise have become excessive. Alternatively, for those who cannot afford to have their hormonal profile regularly measured, an easier method for assessing over-training is to regularly monitor your resting heart rate immediately upon waking. Sudden, sharp increases in resting heart rate could potentially be a sign of excessive exercise.

How to Recover from Excessive Exercise

For those who need to recover from over-training, the first step that should be taken is to take a break from all exercise, or at the very least, drastically decrease the intensity and volume. Additionally, ensuring proper nutrition and optimal sleep, as well as minimizing stress, can improve your ability to recover. Lastly, research in the journal Biology of Sport in 1998 has shown that supplementing with the compound phosphatidylserine can cause cortisol levels to drop significantly and can aid in the recovery from over-training.