Is too much exercise bad for your body?

It can cause more harm than good -- from minor aches and pains, to serious injuries that can lay you up in bed for a while.

Has exercise become an addiction for you?

Let's take a look at some risks of over-exercising:

Falling sick

When you exercise every single day of the week, the body doesn't get a chance to rest and recover. This lowers your bodies' ability to fight germs and you catch the flu.
The body requires at least one full day of rest in the week.

Aching muscles

Muscle soreness is common the day after you exercise. It is a good sign that the muscle has done its job well and is now responding to the exercise. However, if you work that same muscle immediately the day after, it will cause more intense aches and pains.

This is the body's way of telling you to rest. Any muscle group you work upon must have a gap of 48 hours before you exercise it again.

Sometimes, lack of rest can lead to the setting in of chronic pain.

Chronic joint/ muscle stiffness

This is caused by over exerting the body; either by not allowing rest of the same body part between two sessions; or by working at extreme intensity (lifting very heavy weights); or by not stretching out your muscles post workout.

Injuries

Pushing yourself beyond what your body is capable of puts you at immediate risk of hurting yourself. From a sprained back, to passing out, a slipped disc and worst case scenario of death, over exertion is very dangerous. Also, it does no good. It is in fact, abusing the body.

Stagnated progress

The lack of rest doesn't give the body a chance to repair and grow. Consequently you stop seeing positive changes. A well rested body will always respond positively to exercise.

Fatigue

Though the exercise may give you a high, not resting enough will make you feel fatigued when you are doing other things. It will affect your concentration levels and general mental state of well being.

If you feel any of the above symptoms, you need to take a break for a few days until your body comes back to a normal, pain- and discomfort-free state.

• Follow these simple rules to make sure your workouts are always safe and effective:
• Exercise the same muscle group only after a gap of 48 hours, between two sessions.
• If using weights, your heavy weights should be no more than what you can lift comfortably for eight repetitions.
• When doing cardio workouts, you should be working at an intensity where you can talk easily and are not out of breath.
• Give yourself a full day’s rest once a week.
• Stretch out your muscles after every workout.
• Round off your workouts with some deep breathing and relaxation.

Note: The photograph is used only for representational purpose

Photograph: SOMBILON PHOTOGRAPHY/Creative Commons