Here's an excerpt on signs of exercise addiction that I found particularly thought-provoking:
Seven warning signs of exercise addiction are:
1. Always working out alone, isolated from others.
2. Always following the same rigid exercise pattern.
3. Exercising for more than two hours daily, repeatedly.
4. Fixation on weight loss or calories burned.
5. Exercising when sick or injured.
6. Exercising to the point of pain and beyond.
I’d be willing to bet that those of you who have completed an Ironman, or are currently training for an Ironman, can relate to the majority of these warning signs. Now ask yourself, is this by choice or necessity. If you still don’t think you are addicted to exercise, you’re kidding yourself.
14 comments:
Those warning signs could be applied to anyone who is into any kind of sport. At what point do you know the difference between pushing your limits for success and addiction?
2 hours a day! Wish I could do that ; )
Followed by an 1 hr massage....
I think she is WAY off-base, and frankly the same point could be made about marathon runners or anyone else doing endurance sports. The triathletes that I know that are doing Ironman's are VERY social and LIKE training in groups. And calorie-conscious/weight-obsessed? She hasn't been to a Tri Club event in a while! The competitive runners I see are WAY more fixated on maintaining weight.
I am far from showing any of those signs, ha ha.
I don't understand the mindset of extreme sports in general. I have too many hobbies and social engagements to spend THAT much time doing one thing. There's something to be said about living a well-balanced life.
Of course many of those signs fit just about anyone training for an IM. An IM event is a monumental undertaking that requires dedication, training and discipline. The large volume of training alone often requires solo training, and nutrition and weight management are also key factors. I would not even consider undertaking IM training if I did not have the time, energy and enthusiasm to train for 10 – 20 hours a week.
I think many of the same arguments could be made for a large number of goals that people choose to undertake. If you read and believe Malcom Gladwell's book where he discusses the necessity of 10,000 hours to achieve mastery of something, becoming great is not an easy task. Does a person who practices alone for hours on end to master a musical instrument have a problem?
Perhaps her list justifies her own inability or unwillingness to go beyond her comfort zone in life and seek out and achieve something beyond her present limits.
I think that people often may to try to lay their own agenda, limit and shortcoming templates on others in an effort to bring the rest of the world in line with their way of thinking.
Are we happy in our lives, our relationships and in our own skin? If so, let’s keep rocking in the direction that helps us continue this satisfaction. I, for one, do not want to be on my death bed remembering the words of the late, great Warren Zevon; “should of done, should of done . . .”
I got two out of six!
Thanks for your nice comments Anne! Friday was the worst of the trip.
BTW - sdon't do the Mafia War thing! It was a twitter application that sent out those invites without my permission. Stay away from it!
Yikes. Many people would argue with this list but I do see some truth and validity. My mom, who is not an athlete, always says, "Everything in moderation, Meg." She always has some wives tale to share and so far, she hasn't been too far off.
I think that the main point is the sacrifices and "out of balance" that can occur when training for long endurance events. Friends, and my husband, who have trained for 100 mile races struggle with trying to train and find a balance in their lives with their families. I know of at least five marriages that have been lost to running. Now, that's not to say that there haven't been weaknesses in the marriages before running threw life out of whack, but the long training hours and weekends given over to multiple races certainly exacerbated existing problems. In some cases, I suspect the desire to run long and far is really a desire to escape an already uncomfortable situation at home.
Eric and I work on trying to find the balance all the time. It really helps that we are both engaged in the running community and willing to support each other - and to consider our running time and events our social life!
Should be an interesting article! I don't necessarily agree with that list, but only because I there are other symptoms that I think are more indicative. Things like being secretive about training, sacrificing job or family opportunities, blocking out other relationships ... to me, that kind of stuff is more ominous.
(And yes, I'm guilty of many of those things.)
OK...I'm guilty of three of them...
I wonder where the line between addiction and dedication is...
I am not sure I agree that those are signs of addiction. Addiction is defined as being abnormally dependent upon something physically or psychologically. And I definitely disagree with the working out alone part, for me I know alot of times, especially when I first began endurance sports, working out alone was my only "ME" time and I made a conscious choice to work out alone simply because it was time to decompress from the day as well as build my own strength and confidence to actually work out with a group. It can be challenging finding a training partners at or near the same athletic ability.
I can relate, to at least some degree, with the first two and the last two. Yikes!
Are you doing freelance writing? And yes, don't we all wish we had 2 hours a day to work out? I'm lucky if I have 45 minutes in the morning before I have to get ready for work!
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