We shame and stigmatize heroin users, alcoholics, and gambling addicts, while - at the same time - putting those addicted to stereotypically “healthy” habits like exercise on a pedestal.Įxercise can lower your risk of conditions like heart disease and diabetes while increasing life expectancy by some 0.4–6.9 years in safe and recommended amounts.
Continuing to exercise despite injuries and pain.Įxercise addiction is training despite the consequences (i.e., injury or ruined relationships) to chase the “high” or avoid withdrawal symptoms.Typical withdrawal symptoms after a period of deprivation.Disrupted day-to-day life, mood, or relationships when not training.The unfulfilled craving for the euphoric endorphin release.A potentially harmful increase in frequency, intensity, and length of training.However, these are the five key indicators of exercise addiction, according to researchers: The line between “committed athlete” and “exercise addiction” is razor-thin.
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Is an elite marathoner logging 50 miles per week an exercise addict? What about a professional bodybuilder spending two hours per day in the gym in the lead-up to a competition?
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Is it exercising every free moment you have? Adding PRs to your Instagram bio (please, don’t do this)? Canceling plans with friends to visit the gym with a secret workout partner? Merriam-Webster defines addiction as “a strong and harmful need to regularly have something or do something,” often compulsive, chronic, harmful, and causing withdrawal upon quitting.īut where do we draw the line between passion for exercise and all-out addiction? What Counts As an “Addiction” to Exercise?