Contributed by – Healthians Team
Can too much exercise damage your health?
Exercising is a good habit. Keeping your body fit should be your aim. There are different forms of exercises which you can follow according to your like and comfort. A cardio workout helps you to increase the heart muscle strength. A bodybuilding workout helps you shape and build your body muscles. Those who start with a new exercise regime should know and plan how much to exercise so that it does not strain the organs like heart and lungs which increases their work. Extreme exercise training and challenges in endurance events can lead to heart mutilation and rhythm disorders.
Common individuals like you and I generally start exercising without finding out how much and for how long to exercise. It can adversely affect our heart health and have negative impact on the breathing pattern too. Following are a few FAQs that shall guide you on how much to exercise, when to stop an exercise and when to get yourself tested.
What is the best time to exercise?
Whenever you wish to give some time to your body is the right time to exercise. For some people, morning workout is effective while for others evening workout works. But avoid eating 2 hours prior to exercise as it might leave your stomach heavy and make it difficult to follow a regime. Nutritionists say that eating a light dinner and exercising the next morning yields the best results for those aiming for weight loss.
How vigorously should I start?
The best way to start any exercise regime is by catching up slowly. Start by stretching your body, breathing exercises, aerobic activity, strength and endurance training. It is during the last phase of exercise that the body generally is fatigued and has maximum chances of damaging the heart and even muscles.
How much exercise is too much for my body?
Your body is designed very well to give you enough red flags to stop exercising. Notice these sign to know how much is too much for your body.
- Sweating
- Lightheadedness or dizziness
- Unusual fatigue
- Shortness of breath
If you feel any of these then stop exercising immediately to protect yourself from any major health issue.
What should I do if I feel the above?
If you feel any of the above-mentioned signs then stop exercising immediately. Take a chair, sit and relax. Untie your shoes, loosen your clothes, put the fan on and take deep breaths. Ask someone for a glass of water with some salt and sugar. Do not panic. Know that you will be fine and all you need is proper rest to relax your over-worked organs.
Other signs body shows if you are over-exercising?
There a few signs which might show if your body is suffering from an exercise burnout. There can be a lot of reasons why you want to exercise but if you are facing these symptoms it might be an alarm that your body and heart need rest and you can choose to relax and laze around for a couple of days.
- Mood Swings – If you have been anxious, irritable and have been facing less of patience then probably you need a break from your workout and need to plan a few days off.
- Decreased performance – If you feel that you are performing lower than the standard performance you need to understand that your body needs some rest to get back on track.
- Increased heart rate – If your heart rate has increased during the non-activity time as well say from 60 beats per minute to 75 beats per minute then it might be a sign of putting your body into stress.
- Muscle pain – After exercising if your muscles start aching that means you have overworked.
- Insomnia – If you have become restless during the night sleep then it’s a sign of overworking of muscles.
- Reduced appetite – The body is working fine it would want the same amount of nutrients every day but when it is overworked you would face the loss of appetite.
- Deposited fat- In a wrong protocol of exercise there will be deposition of adipose tissue at the wrong places making you lose weight without looking thinner.
- Weak immune system- The wrong exercise pattern shall make you weak from the guts. It leaves your body with a weak immune system which shall make you fall ill repeatedly.
Exercise is the most common topic of awareness these days without knowing the drawbacks of wrong exercising. A detailed exercise pattern which is designed keeping the goals should be followed. If not then it can cause irreversible damages to the heart and the body.
