Exercise is healthy, so more exercise should be healthy too. Right? Not always! There are some negative effects of excess exercise that everyone needs to keep in mind as they decide how much exercise to do on a daily basis.

Injury Is Possible

There is a difference between being sore and being in pain. Being sore after a workout is very common and usually not a serious issue, whereas having pain in the chest, back, shoulder, or joints is not normal and should be a concern. If you feel localized or acute pain during or after working out, take that as a sign that you are doing something wrong and you need to stop and take a break for your exercise routine or at least look at how often you’re exercising.

When injury occurs, and you keep exercising, you are not only doing damage to that area, but you are putting other areas of your body at risk too. In order to lessen the pain, you may compensate with other areas of the body and cause injury in them as well. Moreover, if you work through the pain, the inflammation in the area will continue and great injury can occur.

Once you seriously injure a muscle or joint, you can easily re-injure that area and that can have a major impact on your future efforts towards exercise and even your health. In short, you may not be able to exercise after too much injury, and that can cause many negative health issues in the future.

Excess Exercise Is Bad For Your Heart

Atrial fibrillation, or abnormal heart rhythm, is associated with too much exercise at high-intensity. This shows that less may be more in terms of intensity. Excess intensity while exercising may burn off more calories, but that is not worth the risk of heart issues.

It is important to note that this has been shown only for high-intensity exercise. People who do a lot of exercise, but at lower intensity levels, still experience a benefit over people who do not exercise at all.

“…men who exercised intensely for more than 5 hours a week were 19% more likely to develop an irregular heartbeat by 60 years of age, compared with those who exercised less than 1 hour a week.” – Medical News Today

Shorter Life Span Possible

You exercise to become healthy, but research is showing that too much exercise can equal shorter life span. For instance, one study found that runners who run moderately have longer lifespans than people who do no exercise. But they also have longer lifespans than people who run at high-intensity. The reason is not clear, but it is a finding that you need to take into account if you are exercising to prolong your life.

Exercise Can Become An Addiction

One of the surprising negative effects of excess exercise is that it can become much more than a habit. When you become addicted to exercise, other areas of your life can suffer.

For instance, you may not be willing to give your body the rest it needs because you feel the need to workout in your free time. This can lead to injury and other health issues, not to mention a lack of results. One of the most profound aspects to working out for a shorter amount of time, something similar to what is recommended in 6 Minutes to Skinny, is that you can often get better results from putting in less effort much of the time.

Moreover, excess exercise can impact other areas of your life in regards to health, such as nutrition, and eating disorders can arise. This is especially true if you view exercise as a way to combat weight issues rather than viewing it as a tool to stay healthy.

Lastly it can interfere with relationships. When you would rather work out than go see your family or friends, relationships can start to suffer.

If you experience withdrawal symptoms, disruption of daily activities, or a dependence on exercise to feel good, then you may be addicted to exercise.