Can you exercise too much?

2»

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    Yeah I occasionally log a 4-6 hour hikes. I'm credited all the calories for it. Might not let you set goals formore than 2 hours a day in goal set up? Not sure since I don't use that feature.

    The goals are only used for "attagirl" messages about whether you met your exercise goals or not . . . they don't have any impact or "credit" when it comes to calorie goal.
  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,121 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    OP hasn’t logged in for over a week.
    But I do want to point out that MFP and most other fitness apps only give “credit” for two hours of exercise daily. Beyond that you get zero credit.

    This is on purpose. Because beyond that it’s more likely to be a symptom of anorexia when done on a daily basis.
    Professional athletes with good coaches and nutritionists are an exception.

    Huh? I often log more than two hours of exercise on MFP. It credits me with however many calories I say I burned for that time. My fitness tracker gives me credit for all the exercise time/calories it "sees", too.

    OP's plan is still a terrible idea, though. (ETA: I've been active/athletic for 18+ years. Two hours plus of moderate exercise is fine, if someone has base fitness to support it. I have base fitness to support it. Still, longer exercise = milder intensity; if intense, then short. It's not even remotely exercise anorexia; lots of people who enjoy being active will exceed 2 hours a day, if their schedule allows. In my case, I'm retired, can have time for as much active fun as I choose to fit in.)

    Oh. No disagreement about moderate exercise.
    But the idea that all day exercise that OP was suggesting?
    I do think that’s bordering on anorexic behavior.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    OP hasn’t logged in for over a week.
    But I do want to point out that MFP and most other fitness apps only give “credit” for two hours of exercise daily. Beyond that you get zero credit.

    This is on purpose. Because beyond that it’s more likely to be a symptom of anorexia when done on a daily basis.
    Professional athletes with good coaches and nutritionists are an exception.

    Never seen evidence of this, just the opposite when some have posted screen shots of trackers and adjustments on MFP - all the extra is there as expected, and calculated calories for work done has matched up for device estimated - like long hikes or bike rides.
  • mburgess458
    mburgess458 Posts: 480 Member
    This thread reminds me of the uncountable number of times I have seen new people at the gym that seemed to have this sort of thinking. People who were obviously new to exercise, and definitely new to that gym, trying to go all-out like someone in great shape. A month (sometimes a week) later they were nowhere to be found. Sometimes I'd recognize one a year or so later doing the same thing for a week/month before disappearing again. Usually in January but not always.

    My other thought was Anorexia athletica (also known as Exercise Bulimia and Hyper gymnasia).
  • ceiswyn
    ceiswyn Posts: 2,253 Member
    edited October 2021
    OP hasn’t logged in for over a week.
    But I do want to point out that MFP and most other fitness apps only give “credit” for two hours of exercise daily. Beyond that you get zero credit.

    This is on purpose. Because beyond that it’s more likely to be a symptom of anorexia when done on a daily basis.
    Professional athletes with good coaches and nutritionists are an exception.

    Where did you get that idea from?

    I do more than 2 hours of exercise almost every day. I regularly log six-hour hikes. I've occasionally logged longer. Pre-Covid I would occasionally do back-to-back high-energy gym classes. I got the full calorie 'credit' for all of them.

    In fact it would be highly unethical of MFP to lie about the amount of calories used, because that might cause massive underfuelling of endurance exercise. It looks bad if your users collapse in the middle of a 23-mile hill walk.

    However, in response to the OP's question and anyone thinking like the OP - it took me literally years to work up to my current level of exercise. And that included a lot of setbacks where I would get impatient, try too much, get injured, and have to scale back again for weeks while I healed. The way to do more is by small increases and long periods of adjustment between them. Anything else just results in pain. Very literally.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    OP hasn’t logged in for over a week.
    But I do want to point out that MFP and most other fitness apps only give “credit” for two hours of exercise daily. Beyond that you get zero credit.

    This is on purpose. Because beyond that it’s more likely to be a symptom of anorexia when done on a daily basis.
    Professional athletes with good coaches and nutritionists are an exception.

    I've already mentioned that the OP's idea isn't a good one, but the bolded just isn't true. Not as much anymore, but I used to routinely log training in excess of 2 hours and always gotten credit. My first real training experience was for a sprint triathlon and would regularly have days requiring two or more hours of exercise. That training is what got me into cycling and I spent about 5 years really involved in endurance cycling and doing races and other events. When you're training to ride 100 miles in one pop, you spend quite a few hours on a bike training. My short rides were 60-90 minutes.

    I still road ride, but I haven't done anything but shorter events the last few years so I don't train like that anymore...but I can still spend a good 3-4 hours or more out mountain biking on the weekend and most of the hikes I do are a minimum of 2 hours...most of them are 4-6 hours. I get credit for those if I log them.
  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,121 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    OP hasn’t logged in for over a week.
    But I do want to point out that MFP and most other fitness apps only give “credit” for two hours of exercise daily. Beyond that you get zero credit.

    This is on purpose. Because beyond that it’s more likely to be a symptom of anorexia when done on a daily basis.
    Professional athletes with good coaches and nutritionists are an exception.

    I've already mentioned that the OP's idea isn't a good one, but the bolded just isn't true. (…snip…)

    Yes. Thank you. I have been corrected multiple times already.

  • Analog_Kid
    Analog_Kid Posts: 976 Member
    edited November 2021
    "While exercise by its simplest definition is a healthy habit, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Training too much can negatively affect your mental and physical health, and the signs you may need to dial it back might not be so obvious."

    Read the full article here:
    https://huffpost.com/entry/exercising-too-much-mental-health_l_61803a30e4b0ec286d306bd2
  • Mellouk89
    Mellouk89 Posts: 469 Member
    I do about 6 hours of weightlifting per week and i'm starting to think it's too much. And it's the only form of exercise I do.

    I think it's all relative, for me it may be too much for another person it is different.

    There's also stress tolerance that is involved.
  • cherchechristine
    cherchechristine Posts: 84 Member

    love this...but I am reminded often by my trainer...who supports my level of activity ( i bike, hike, golf, and ski) that abs are made in the kitchen! LOL


    you can't out exercise a bad diet...never!

  • Davidjohnson9333
    Davidjohnson9333 Posts: 32 Member
    edited November 2021
    Just answering the original question “what if you exercised non stop except for eat and sleep breaks?”. Answer, I think you would die within a year. People have done this before and is the source for the phrase “working yourself to death”.

    The benefit is that you may go to heaven and be with Jesus. That is about it.
  • marycilec
    marycilec Posts: 31 Member
    I have read before somewhere on a fitness site that most people should exercise heavily for like 10-20 minutes, moderately 20-40 minutes and lightly up to 1 hour every other day. Make sure to do aerobic, anaerobic like weights on opposite days. So I guess the average person should exercise 1 hour per day or 2 hours every other day. I'd say after you master that, you could go up to 2 hours per day, but beyond that, it would be too much to handle.
  • mirianyusm
    mirianyusm Posts: 89 Member
    Great comments but just an observation: The OP hasn't posted in 1 1/2 months.