Addicted to exercise? Is that possible? Lol

Shadowmf023

So I lift heavy 5 days a week for an hour. (Targeting different muscle groups everyday) I have bodybuilding goals, as my gym is hosting an amateur bodybuilding competition next year around this time.

Recently a lot of fun classes have started at my gym. I'm particularly interested in Kickboxing and kettlebell classes. They sound so fun! Thing is, now I want to do ALL of it! Lol, and that would put me at 3hrs working out a day, 5 days a week. I don't know if I should or shouldn't.

But then, I don't do anything else the rest of the day. I sit around, maybe do some walking, although not as much as I used to. So, I suppose if I did do them all, I'd say my overall daily activity level is that of a very active job.

2 people have commented that I'm addicted to exercise. Is that even possible? Could you get addicted to the high and happy hormones?

NomaElephant

I'm going through the same. You just crave the feeling of those endophines.

vespiquenn

In a sense, yes it can be addicting because of endorphins.

Although I don't see an immediate problem because it's essentially a hobby, be considerate of your life obligations as well as your body. Does your current schedule allow to do these things without important sacrifices (family, social, etc)? 3 hours is a long time to spend in the gym without sacrificing something elsewhere.

What I would also be more concerned of is too much exercise can have the opposite affects and weaken your immune system, but that could be on my mind currently because I'm suffering one hell of a chest cold.

TavistockToad

If you have time to do that much exercise then I don't see too much of a problem as long as you're fueling it adequately?

steph2strong

Yes there is such a thing as addiction to exercise and over-exercise, but that is different than just doing a lot of exercise. There are people who do iron man races and 50 and 100 mile running races, extreme adventure races etc. and they train hours on end, but also have rest and proper nutrition, recovery activities like stretching and massage. There is nothing wrong with doing a lot of exercise as long as you enjoy it and are having fun, aren't getting injured or chronically sore, and it isn't preventing you from carrying on a normal life (disrupting work, family or social life) or causing dysfunction in a relationship. If you are forcing yourself to exercise when you don't want and simply doing it because you feel you have to, that is a different story, but I really don't think there is anything wrong with doing a lot of exercise because it is fun, just be sure to incorporate proper rest and recovery so that it stays fun.

Shadowmf023

vespiquenn wrote: »

In a sense, yes it can be addicting because of endorphins.

Although I don't see an immediate problem because it's essentially a hobby, be considerate of your life obligations as well as your body. Does your current schedule allow to do these things without important sacrifices (family, social, etc)? 3 hours is a long time to spend in the gym without sacrificing something elsewhere.

What I would also be more concerned of is too much exercise can have the opposite affects and weaken your immune system, but that could be on my mind currently because I'm suffering one hell of a chest cold.

In a sense, the gym is my social life. My friends all live far away. And I see them maybe once or twice a year (because I study from home, and they are at uni campus - 5 hours away). But I've made new friends in the gym, and so essentially that's where we catch up.

Outside of gym times, I really am home all day. With family. Because I live with my dad in order to care for him.

There's not much "life" other than that that I'm interested in in this small town... As I'm really not the go-out-and-get-drunk-and-party-all-night type.

Shadowmf023

There is some time between these classes. The kettlebell class is 06:00-07:00, I lift from 08:00-09:00, and the kickboxing class is from 19:30-20:00.

vespiquenn

Shadowmf023 wrote: »

vespiquenn wrote: »

In a sense, yes it can be addicting because of endorphins.

Although I don't see an immediate problem because it's essentially a hobby, be considerate of your life obligations as well as your body. Does your current schedule allow to do these things without important sacrifices (family, social, etc)? 3 hours is a long time to spend in the gym without sacrificing something elsewhere.

What I would also be more concerned of is too much exercise can have the opposite affects and weaken your immune system, but that could be on my mind currently because I'm suffering one hell of a chest cold.

In a sense, the gym is my social life. My friends all live far away. And I see them maybe once or twice a year (because I study from home, and they are at uni campus - 5 hours away). But I've made new friends in the gym, and so essentially that's where we catch up.

Outside of gym times, I really am home all day. With family. Because I live with my dad in order to care for him.

There's not much "life" other than that that I'm interested in in this small town... As I'm really not the go-out-and-get-drunk-and-party-all-night type.

If that's the case, I don't see a problem at all as long as you're paying attention to fueling for the increase in activity.

As others have said, I wouldn't consider it an addiction. Now if you were unable to function without exercise (beyond the crabbiness we all get from lack of exercise), then there would be a cause for alarm. But it sounds more like its something you enjoy. So go for it. Plus, classes are a good place to get to know like-minded folks.

SLLRunner

Shadowmf023 wrote: »

vespiquenn wrote: »

In a sense, yes it can be addicting because of endorphins.

Although I don't see an immediate problem because it's essentially a hobby, be considerate of your life obligations as well as your body. Does your current schedule allow to do these things without important sacrifices (family, social, etc)? 3 hours is a long time to spend in the gym without sacrificing something elsewhere.

What I would also be more concerned of is too much exercise can have the opposite affects and weaken your immune system, but that could be on my mind currently because I'm suffering one hell of a chest cold.

In a sense, the gym is my social life. My friends all live far away. And I see them maybe once or twice a year (because I study from home, and they are at uni campus - 5 hours away). But I've made new friends in the gym, and so essentially that's where we catch up.

Outside of gym times, I really am home all day. With family. Because I live with my dad in order to care for him.

There's not much "life" other than that that I'm interested in in this small town... As I'm really not the go-out-and-get-drunk-and-party-all-night type.

Three hours a day of exercise seems excessive to me, but it may not seem this way to other people. If you choose to add in your classes, you will need to raise your calorie goal accordingly to avoid a crash.

I think exercise can feel addicting in a sense, but I think it's important to look at the why behind excessive exercise and go from there.

Shadowmf023

SLLRunner wrote: »

Shadowmf023 wrote: »

vespiquenn wrote: »

In a sense, yes it can be addicting because of endorphins.

Although I don't see an immediate problem because it's essentially a hobby, be considerate of your life obligations as well as your body. Does your current schedule allow to do these things without important sacrifices (family, social, etc)? 3 hours is a long time to spend in the gym without sacrificing something elsewhere.

What I would also be more concerned of is too much exercise can have the opposite affects and weaken your immune system, but that could be on my mind currently because I'm suffering one hell of a chest cold.

In a sense, the gym is my social life. My friends all live far away. And I see them maybe once or twice a year (because I study from home, and they are at uni campus - 5 hours away). But I've made new friends in the gym, and so essentially that's where we catch up.

Outside of gym times, I really am home all day. With family. Because I live with my dad in order to care for him.

There's not much "life" other than that that I'm interested in in this small town... As I'm really not the go-out-and-get-drunk-and-party-all-night type.

Three hours a day of exercise seems excessive to me, but it may not seem this way to other people. If you choose to add in your classes, you will need to raise your calorie goal accordingly to avoid a crash.

I think exercise can feel addicting in a sense, but I think it's important to look at the why behind excessive exercise and go from there.

Because I'm bored and I need something to do. Lol and I happened to enjoy being active.

sweetilemon

I don't think it's too bad. I wouldn't do the same exercise for 3 hours a day as it might have a bad effect on your joints but if you mix it up like different classes and you are letting your muscle groups recover then I don't see why not. I probably do near that amount most week days but at the moment I am on maternity leave, when I'm back at work I'll be on my feet all day so won't have the time or energy. I use it as my daily goal, like i would get up and go to work, i get up and go to the gym. I usually do maybe 1hr yoga class, 1hr crosstrainer, 1 hr swimming...or weights/treadmill things like that. I'm not sure I could keep up with some classes but I might start doing more of them. I know a few people who do most of them.

Kellyfitness128

If you want to and have the time, do it. This summer I hiked half of the PCT in which I was backpacking for 10 hours a day everyday. So, my personal opinion is unless you injure yourself, there's no such thing as too much exercise

ROBOTFOOD

Addict checking in. Love it. Will never stop.

GottaBurnEmAll

I think that's a lot of time spent going at top effort and would be concerned about over training. As long as you're allowing time for recovery, putting in time doing things like stretching and foam rolling, and really making sure you're eating enough and that your nutrition is on point? then go for it.

HOWEVER... do familiarize yourself with the symptoms of over training so that you know what to look out for.

nowine4me

Sounds like fun to me. If you're enjoying it, go for it. Drink lots of water, proper nutrition and get plenty of sleep yo round out your program.

AnnPT77

There's no way to assess for sure over the internet, but you don't sound obsessive or compulsive in any way about the exercise. You just sound like someone who enjoys the activity, likes your gym, and currently has a lifestyle that allows this much gym time to fit in. If that's true, go for it, as long a you fuel the exercise adequately as others have suggested, and continue to have the energy to do the other things your life requires (like care for your dad).

I'd only worry if it starts to seem like a compulsion (you feel bad about yourself if you don't exercise constantly, for example) or interferes with a healthy, well-rounded life that includes satisfying social interaction and other types of stimulation (intellectual, creative, whatever).

Some people are quick to pathologize things they don't really understand or share - that may be why some people you know are suggesting this is "an addiction". So, consider the source of the comments, and whether they really know enough about you, or about healthy heavy exercisers, to have an informed opinion.

Jeez, as a li'l ol' lady, I have friends who think I have a screw loose because I don't try to find the parking spot absolutely closest to the door at the restaurant when we meet for lunch!