Exercise is one of the most widely accepted methods for improving one’s overall health and wellbeing. While the benefits of physical activity are seemingly infinite, too much exercise may actually indicate a larger problem at hand. Excessive, compensatory, and compulsive exercise are problematic patterns of exercise that are commonly associated with eating disorders.

By: Aliesha Bryan

The benefits of physical activity are many. According to the Center for Disease Control, regular physical activity is one of the most important things a person can do for their overall health. Physical activity can contribute to improved sleep and brain health, strengthen bones and muscles, increase a person’s capacity for everyday activities, reduce the risk of depression and anxiety, and improve cognition, among others.

However, what happens when there is too much of a good thing? While exercise itself has known benefits, some of which we have named above, when taken to the extreme, exercise can have negative results, including exhaustion, injuries, increased anxiety, and more.

A cursory online search about “too much exercise” will yield terms such as “overexercise”, “excessive exercise”, “extreme exercise” and even “compulsive exercise”. Let’s take a look at this last term. The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) notes that while compulsive exercise may not be a recognized clinical diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5), there are many people who struggle with its symptoms.

When a person is struggling with an eating disorder, there is often a strong emphasis on calorie elimination. And, because exercise is known as a weight-management tool, individuals often use exercise as a method to achieve both. Here are some of the warning signs and symptoms of compulsive exercise, according to NEDA:

Exercise that significantly interferes with important activities, occurs at inappropriate times or in inappropriate settings, or when the individual continues to exercise despite injury or other medical complications
Intense anxiety, depression, irritability, feelings of guilt, and/or distress if unable to exercise
Maintains excessive, rigid exercise regimen – despite weather, fatigue, illness, or injury
Discomfort with rest or inactivity
Exercise used to manage emotions
Exercise as a means of purging (needing to “get rid of” or “burn off” calories)
Exercise as permission to eat
Exercise that is secretive or hidden
Feeling as though you are not good enough, fast enough or not pushing hard enough during a period of exercise; overtraining; and
Withdrawal from friends and family.

NEDA also lists a number of consequences that may come about as a result of compulsive exercise, including:

Bone density loss (osteopenia or osteoporosis)
Loss of menstrual cycle (in women)
Female Athlete Triad (in women)
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)
Persistent muscle soreness
Chronic bone and joint pain
Increased incidence of injury (overuse injuries, stress fractures, etc.)
Persistent fatigue and sluggishness
Altered resting heart rate; and
Increased frequency of illness & upper respiratory infections.

Knowing how problematic compulsive exercise can be, let’s now take a look at a couple of ways to combat it. One way is to begin to curate the information taken in on any given day, prioritizing materials — especially on social media — that will reinforce healthy, rather than unhealthy, attitudes around physical activity. Another way might be to explore intuitive movement. This is a process that requires some experimentation, but in connecting with internal cues in order to determine the kind, duration, and intensity of the desired movement, it is possible to identify a range of activities that, when practiced, lead to joy. Such joyful movement encourages a positive experience and greater self-awareness and turns the idea that exercise must be a struggle on its head.

With the help of a specialized treatment team, individuals struggling with their relationship with exercise can work to develop a healthy and balanced relationship with intuitive movement and their bodies. At BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™, we treat the spectrum of eating disorders as well as concerns related to overexercise or compulsive exercise, disordered eating, and body image concerns. Our admissions team would be happy to answer any questions that you may have about our programs & services. Sign up for a free phone consultation below!

This post was written by BALANCE intern, Aliesha Bryan.

Aliesha is a second-year graduate student at Sarah Lawrence College pursuing her Master of Science in Dance/Movement Therapy. She completed her undergraduate education at Barnard College, majoring in French and Francophone Studies. She previously worked as a translator for a variety of organizations within the UN system, including UNESCO, United Nations Headquarters, and the Pan-American Health Organization. Aliesha is also a professional Flamenco dancer who has had the opportunity to perform live at venues and festivals here in the United States and internationally. As a Dance/Movement Therapist in training, Aliesha believes that the body is a repository of extraordinarily valuable information — often symbolic and potentially difficult to express in everyday language — but nonetheless vital to healing. She is passionate about eating disorder recovery and is excited to be a part of the BALANCE team.

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