Perhaps you know someone who will continue to train even when injured. Perhaps you know someone who feels anxious when he or she misses a workout. Perhaps you know someone who talks constantly about his or her sport. Perhaps you know someone who neglects important areas of his or her life to make room for exercise. Perhaps you know someone who justifies excessive exercise as necessary for his or her sport. Perhaps you know someone who has lost perpective about what’s important.
If you do, you may know our favorite New York Times science writer, Jane Brody, or you may know someone else who is addicted to exercise. In this remarkable and disturbing piece, Brody confesses her (former) addiction to exercise, and lays out many reasons why, no, we really do not want to be that way. For starters, she warns, excessive exercise can damage tendons, ligaments, bones, cartilage,
joints and muscles. And for enders, it can release
loads of free radicals, which can cause mutations and may increase cancer risk.
How much is too much? Brody says aerobic activity that burns 2,000 to 3,500 calories a week is what you need to attain and maintain optimal
health. In time invested, that would be 40 to 60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise
four to six times a week. Beyond that, Brody says, there are no added health
benefits. Only pain. Geezer says listen to Jane. And chill.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Sports Geezer:
I read Ms. Brody’s piece and feel sorry for her and others like her. The issue of overtraining has been well established in exercise literature for several decades. Unfortunately, runners seem to be the most likely candidates for over training. I work with many young men athletes who work out 4 and 5 hours a day five days a week and have no training problems. I am 55 and I work out five days a week at 80 to 90 minutes per session and have no difficulties.
Runners, and Ms. Brody is a classic example, just keep on running and running, thinking that they will be able to work through the pain, anxiety, sleepless nights and joint and tendon problems.
The keys to eliminating over training are variety of activity, alternating heart rates for workout events, diet, hydration, rest and fun. If you systematically build all of these listed ingredients into your workouts, over training will not be a problem.
Ms. Brody’s article is the type of thing that can scare people away from exercise. And that should not happen. But, as a former runner, I know exactly what Ms. Brody talks about.
But, overtraining is not a complicated problem to solve.