There are times when I am talking with someone and they find out I am a trainer. At this point, they will proceed to elaborate on the “hours” that they spend in the gym. One example was awhile back when I was introduced to a nice, young girl who told me that she went to the gym twice a day, an hour each time. While she didn’t elaborate on her routine, instead of being impressed by her exuberant enthusiasm for working out, I was concerned that one of those hours might be better spent in a counseling office. Excessive exercising is unsafe and a sign of other deep-rooted problems. So, how much time should you spend on exercise, and what compels a person to go way overboard in their exercise routine?

The most common problem with over-exercising is injury to muscles and joints. The idea of regular exercise is to appropriately stress the muscle during exercise and then give yourself a day or two of rest. The stress placed on the muscle creates small tears in your soft tissue, which upon repair grows in size and strength, also known as hypertrophy. When the muscle is over-exercised, it goes beyond what is healthy and can actually damage the muscle. Common areas of injury are legs, feet, back and shoulders as well as joints problems that include knees, ankles, elbows and wrists – and I guess that just about covers your whole body! Unfortunately, injuries to any of these areas can lead to a lifetime of discomfort from recurring injuries.

And then you have compulsion. First, if you are a body builder and even more so, if you are fast-approaching a competition - you are going to spend atleast a couple hours in the gym...but, we are not talking about you. I am talking about women (and more and more men) who are obsessed with their body and weight. Many times there are other negative consequences that go hand in hand with over-exercising. Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and other body starving diet tactics are dangerous enough by themselves, but when you add an addiction of too much exercise you are destroying your body. What starts as frequent headaches, loss of coordination and various stomach problems can become organ (especially your heart) and cell damage resulting from insufficient fuel and nutrients to sustain the workout, and even more so, normal bodily functioning.

Over-exercising is not a physical disorder. While it will affect you physically, it is usually a symptom of depression or other mental illness. And if you think about it, over-exercising, eating disorders, feelings of inadequacy due to poor body image and poor judgment when evaluating priorities are all symptoms of depression. The bottom line here is when your choices begin to compromise your health, happiness or safety it is time to seek out effective counseling.

A lifestyle incorporating exercise is nothing but beneficial in many aspects. People exercise with a goal in mind whether it is to feel better, defuse stress or build muscle. Luckily, in addition to using an appropriate weight (intensity) during your workout, over-exercising can easily be detected with a simple time evaluation. I advise my clients not to go beyond one hour a day, up to five days a week in a formal gym-type setting; and that is generous. (Experts agree that even twenty minutes of exercise a day is good for your health.) It is also easily controlled when you follow a specific routine. With the Mom Looks Great Fitness Program, you are guided to work different parts of your body throughout the week and have a variety of activities within your exercise regime.   Learn more about the Mom Looks Great Program Now...

And just for good measure, remember that you cannot possibly “overdo it” by simply strolling your baby in the park or having a vigorous game of tag with your older kids. These forms of exercise are a most welcomed treasure to all involved at any time.

One afternoon after getting my son from school and running our usual flurry of errands, I extended the excursion to my local gym. I checked my son into childcare and crammed a quick stress-reducing workout onto the end of my long day. Afterward, my son and I emerged upon the parking lot and ran into his teacher. I noticed my son to be extraordinarily quiet during this particular encounter while the teacher and I exchanged a few kind words. As we parted ways and my son and I advanced on toward our car, I asked him why he was so quiet and not his usual friendly self as in the classroom. From my own memories of after-school chance encounters with teachers, his answer came of no surprise – “it’s weird to see Mrs. Denny at the gym”.

While this discovery may have unsettled my son, it is highly beneficial for teachers to spend their fair share of time at the local health club. Aside from stress-reduction and weight control tactics, exercise can help avert the bountiful supply of neck irritation that accompanies being one of the most valued professionals in our children’s lives. Proactively strengthening the muscles in the cervical area is key in eluding soreness. Whether grading papers or writing on boards, a teacher’s neck angles to various extremes daily. It is crucial to develop the neck muscles, including the Trapezius (a forward flexion muscle) and a true spelling bee stumper, the Sternocleidomastiod (a side tilting muscle) to improve upper spinal health. And, the time to start is now since 50% of the population begins to experience degenerative spine issues by the age of fifty.

Amazingly, abdominal exercises meet the need for neck strength. While one usually performs these exercises to effectively tone the mid-section, a dual benefit includes resilience in many of the associated spinal muscles. For instance, as you perform the well known “crunch” in an array of positions (straight-legged, crossover, wall crunch, etc.) for your core, your neck is holding an isometric contraction in order to assist with the lifting of the upper body. When you begin the set with your index fingers in each ear, your cervical muscles engage. This is the alternative to resting your head in your cupped hands, which does not lead to neck strength. Only after your neck muscles fatigue can you then hold your head in your hands and continue to completion. It may take some practice to finish the entire set in correct form. You may also encounter a little soreness while your cervical muscles acclimate to the controlled exertion. But eventually, it will also alleviate the urge to seek out ibuprofen after a day’s work.

While it is always best to be examined when experiencing unusual neck pain, pro-actively pursing strength in your core area can keep you from actively seeking pain relief, such as that found in the drugstore and even the chiropractor’s office – another one of those “weird” places for your students to run into you.

This article was written by Sherri Dodd for Edutopia Magazine.