Regular exercise is excellent for your health, and don’t let anyone persuade you otherwise. However, too much exercise is a possibility as well, and it can even harm your heart and body. Consequently, increased periods of strenuous activity can quickly nullify the benefits reaped from regular exercise. Moreover, too much exercise can be detrimental if you suffer from chronic heart disease, such as atrial fibrillation.
How Can You Define Normal Exercise?
As an adult, try to work out moderately for no more than 150 minutes per week or intensely about 75 minutes per week. Furthermore, you can also benefit from a mixture of both intensities.
Moderate level of exercise includes walking, hiking, playing golf, or home workouts. On the other hand, vigorous exercise includes running, swimming, or biking. Hence, if you stay within the recommended limits and refrain from going to extremes, you are good to go.
How Does Excessive Exercise Affect Your Heart:
Many studies linked a higher risk of CAC development with people who exercised more than the recommended amount (about three times the advised limits).
In CAC (coronary artery calcification), the body starts to dump high amounts of calcium in the arteries and heart’s walls. Consequently, over time it can result in thick walls of the heart and arteries. Eventually, in the long run, demanding activities can “remodel” your heart with thick walls and scar tissues.
Moreover, it can also boost the risk of irregular heart activity, such as AFib. Due to AFib, the heart’s atria start to beat out of sync with ventricles. Therefore, AFib impairs the normal rhythm of the heart. Now, along with thickening walls, the heart cannot effectively pump blood around the body.
Studies also found increased stroke occurrence in women who decided to push boundaries.
Too Much Exercise And Body:
We already know how too much exercise affects your heart. However, it doesn’t stop here, as extreme workouts can also damage your immune system, brain, and limbs. Here is what excessive exercise can do:
- Overuse injuries such as stress fractures or tendon rupture.
- Physical fatigue requiring longer rest periods.
- Feeling anxiety, having mood swings, and being depressed.
- Lower testosterone level in men.
- A compromised immune system that leads to a higher chance of catching an illness.
- Loss of menstruation and a loss of bone density in women.
The bottom line:
Too much exercise has a heavy toll on your heart. Nonetheless, before that, your body begs you to stop. However, even after experiencing visible symptoms, many can work themselves to a point beyond exhaustion. Such extreme compliance can arise due to addiction, where one can feel guilty for missing a day of exercise. Similarly, they continue to work out even though they feel down, unhappy, or under the weather.
Moreover, if you are suffering from any chronic heart disease such as AFib, you should exercise as advised by your doctor. Therefore, visit Atrial Fibrillation Center for a complete checkup where our doctors can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle. In addition, you can call us at 832-478-5067.