2008 Woodie Awards
Avoiding the Perils of Overtraining
Advice to Help the Fitness Buff tread Carefully Along the Boundaries Between Dedication and Obsession
Jonathan Awotwi
Issue date: 3/25/04 Section: News
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With the end of winter and thoughts of warmer weather and days down the shore, health clubs, school fitness centers and gyms will usually see an increase in activity. Men and women will not only be trying to shed pounds, but improve their physiques and figures for days at the pool or beach. The compulsive exerciser, however, is the antithesis of society's "couch potato." He or she is interested in "looking buff," and having as little body fat and as much lean muscle as possible not only during the warmer months, but year-round, 365 days a year. The compulsive exerciser who misses a workout or daily jog may experience guilt feelings, depression, become moody, or be angry with themselves and others.
When the mind is over muscle and body image
The individual who is preoccupied with exercise, whether it be weight training and bodybuilding or aerobics or endurance training - to the tune of five, six or worse, seven days at the gym - has his or her mind set on one thing: Body image. For bodybuilders, the mind is focused on building as much muscle as possible, and the mirror becomes a partner in crime as the individual constantly examines his or herself at the glass - sometimes several times daily, without even thinking how often they look at themselves.
Other individuals may be obsessed with preventing obesity even if they are already thin with little body fat (particularly females) - the fear of adding a few pounds keeps them pounding their feet on the treadmill or bouncing up and down in aerobics classes every day. For these obsessed individuals, nothing will interfere with a workout or, in the case of bodybuilders, a missed meal - much to the dismay of relatives, friends, husbands or wives, boyfriends or girlfriends.
Harrison G. Pope, Jr., M.D., Katherine A. Phillips, M.D., and Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D. discussed in detail the body-obsession and a fixation of body image - particularly among males, in the book The Adonis Complex (Simon & Schuster, 2000). They referred to the phenomenon as 'muscle dysmorphia' - "an excessive preoccupation with body size and muscularity." According to Dr. Pope, females or males with anorexia nervosa "see themselves as fat when they're actually too thin; people with muscle dysmorphia feel ashamed of looking too small when they're actually big."
When the mind is over muscle and body image
The individual who is preoccupied with exercise, whether it be weight training and bodybuilding or aerobics or endurance training - to the tune of five, six or worse, seven days at the gym - has his or her mind set on one thing: Body image. For bodybuilders, the mind is focused on building as much muscle as possible, and the mirror becomes a partner in crime as the individual constantly examines his or herself at the glass - sometimes several times daily, without even thinking how often they look at themselves.
Other individuals may be obsessed with preventing obesity even if they are already thin with little body fat (particularly females) - the fear of adding a few pounds keeps them pounding their feet on the treadmill or bouncing up and down in aerobics classes every day. For these obsessed individuals, nothing will interfere with a workout or, in the case of bodybuilders, a missed meal - much to the dismay of relatives, friends, husbands or wives, boyfriends or girlfriends.
Harrison G. Pope, Jr., M.D., Katherine A. Phillips, M.D., and Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D. discussed in detail the body-obsession and a fixation of body image - particularly among males, in the book The Adonis Complex (Simon & Schuster, 2000). They referred to the phenomenon as 'muscle dysmorphia' - "an excessive preoccupation with body size and muscularity." According to Dr. Pope, females or males with anorexia nervosa "see themselves as fat when they're actually too thin; people with muscle dysmorphia feel ashamed of looking too small when they're actually big."