by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: February 03, 2009

It is always possible to have too much of a good thing, including exercise. As Western societies struggle with the health problems that obesity is causing there are increasing efforts to get people to become fitter and healthier by eating better foods and exercising more. However, it is easy for some people to take things too far so that exercise becomes less about health and more about trying to gain control over their bodies through exercise.

It is not uncommon for people to express their disdain for exercise, and for them to joke about how unfit they are. People who exercise religiously are often regarded as something of an oddity, yet also seem to be respected for their commitment to exercise and fitness, and tend to be regarded as the epitome of good health.

However, individuals can develop a complex involving exercise, just as people can become fixated on food issues or become obsessive in other areas of their life. For some people, exercise has always been a part of their lives, particularly if they have an aptitude for sports and perhaps have a certain goal to achieve, such as becoming a professional in their activity. These individuals not only have their own expectations to live up to, they often have even more pressure placed on them by parents and coaches. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if you train harder and more often this will naturally produce better results.

The body needs to rest in order to recover, though, and over-exercising can simply lead to more injuries and can increase the time needed to heal. Too much exercise is not good for a person's mental health, either, as they can develop feelings of guilt when they fail to fulfil the goals which they have set themselves, or do not train as much as they intended.

When individuals are praised for succeeding in a sport and for reaching a high level of fitness it becomes hard to disconnect the practice of exercising with such positive reinforcement, and so making it more difficult to break from the routine that has been established. Exercise itself can also be a reward' as endorphins are released as a result of intense training.

The association between exercise and positive reinforcement is also true of people who took up exercise simply as a way of getting fit. As they lose weight and become more toned, they may be praised by their friends and family, which puts pressure on them to maintain that look, and maybe make them feel that they have to intensify their workouts.

It is not impossible for exercise to take over an individual's life, meaning that exercise comes before everything at the expense of other activities in their life, particularly their social life. Some people become so fixated with completing their daily exercise routine that there is little time to think of anything else, increasing their isolation and alienation, making it even more difficult to break the cycle. For most people it is too little exercise that is the problem, but for others too much exercise is just as bad, if not worse.

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