Exercise Compulsion

“Are you coming out tomorrow night with us?”

“I don’t think so, I have to go to the gym tomorrow night. Tomorrow is hams and quads”.

“Really? You’re ditching us again for a workout? We went to the gym this morning. You never come out anymore”.

I am a competitive runner and a personal trainer. Health and fitness is my work, a huge part of my life and something that brings me joy, but it has not always been so. When I first became competitive I devoted my entire life to exercise, cutting weight, nutrition knowledge, and eventually an obsession with body perfection that led me down the path of an eating disorder. My exercise regime and eating disorder behaviours came before my work, my social life and most importantly, before my mental and physical health.

Now, several years later, I have found balance. My training is no longer compulsive: Now, it’s invigorating. My gym-time is about me trying new things and learning about what it is I can do with my body. It’s about me spending some time with my physical self, and respecting it.

Unfortunately we are only now entering a time where eating disorders are acknowledged as not only a women’s issue, but as affecting men as well. What is even less recognized for all genders is exercise compulsion, which can be part of an eating disorder, or a problem in itself. Much of the fitness industry promotes itself with images of bodybuilders and fitness models.  Every gym has it’s own “weight loss” program advertised at its front step. Key words such as “slim down, bulk up, tone” are bolded in just about every workout pamphlet. This only helps to add pressure to look a certain way. Admittedly, I work in this industry helping many people in ways that result in gaining or losing weight (amongst other things), but I focus on shifting people’s goals away from aesthetics, towards goals of health, activity, or sport benefits. I believe it is important to find your balance when it comes to physical activity. The question is  - - what is “balanced”?

What makes exercise compulsion hard to recognize is that exercise is positively associated with health and self-discipline – a highly valourised characteristic in our society. Generally, when someone starts going to a gym or exploring different modes of exercise it is seen as a positive change to their lifestyle, and for most people it is. The problem is that compulsive exercisers, whose exercise regimes are harmful, can be hidden in plain sight for a long period of time. In my opinion, we cross the line into compulsive exercising when it begins to compromise different aspects of our health. Excessive exercise can lead to many different health complications such as stress fractures, an abnormally low heart rate, amenorrhea, osteopenia, chronic fatigue, etc. People with a compulsion to exercise will often put their workouts before all else in their life, and when unable to do so will often experience anxiety, anger, sadness or any number of negative emotions.

If you feel that you may be compulsively exercising, take the time to ask yourself a few questions. How do you feel when you miss a workout? Are you exercising when advised not to by a professional? Do you exercise when you are ill or injured?

Ask yourself, “Is my exercise is adding to, or taking away from other aspects of my life?” If you think that your exercise regime is a problem, there are ways to both keep being active and find balance with other aspects of your life.  And people who can help.

Exercise has the ability to add a lot to a person’s life, but it is important that many other things do as well.