During May (13th) I posted a blog entitled 'its a lifestyle not an obsession'. So I was interested to read an article in 'Running Fitness' of a recent study carried out in Canada and titled 'To much of a good thing?'
The study looked at people dedicated to exercise in order to determine when does enjoyment of exercise become an unhealthy obsession?
Examining the relationship between passion for exercise and exercise dependence. The study suggests that passion, for example, has two components:
- harmonious
- obsessive
Those of us, therefore, who can comfortably fit our running into other aspects of our lives have a harmonious passion. While those who are obsessive about running develop an unhealthy dependence comprising of the following elements:
- time; spending most of ones Free time exercising
- tolerance; increasing exercise frequency
- continuance; exercising even when injured
- lack of control; exercising for longer than intended
- withdrawal symptoms (such as anxiety) when not exercising
- reduction in social activities
I must admit that over the course of my running I have dipped into the above elements on occasion but I guess like everything, its just a question of balance.
Which, by the way, seems to be the conclusion of the study.
The study was conducted by Dr Kyle Paradis and published in the journal Physchology of Sport and exercise
The study looked at people dedicated to exercise in order to determine when does enjoyment of exercise become an unhealthy obsession?
Examining the relationship between passion for exercise and exercise dependence. The study suggests that passion, for example, has two components:
- harmonious
- obsessive
Those of us, therefore, who can comfortably fit our running into other aspects of our lives have a harmonious passion. While those who are obsessive about running develop an unhealthy dependence comprising of the following elements:
- time; spending most of ones Free time exercising
- tolerance; increasing exercise frequency
- continuance; exercising even when injured
- lack of control; exercising for longer than intended
- withdrawal symptoms (such as anxiety) when not exercising
- reduction in social activities
I must admit that over the course of my running I have dipped into the above elements on occasion but I guess like everything, its just a question of balance.
Which, by the way, seems to be the conclusion of the study.
The study was conducted by Dr Kyle Paradis and published in the journal Physchology of Sport and exercise
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