Beware the dangers of over-exercising

Vinh Lam, a fourth-year economics student works out up to three
hours a day, six days a week.

His exercise regimen is divided between weight lifting, cardio
and ab exercises.

Jessica Reid, a third-year political science and Spanish
student, visits the gym up to five times a week.

Her workouts consist of resistance training, work on an exercise
ball, and cardio.

Lam refuses to sacrifice his workout routine for his social
life. After a party, he might still head over to 24-Hour Fitness
for a late-night workout.

Meanwhile, Reid puts pressure on herself to stay fit because of
her job as a physical trainer, and becomes depressed when she is
unable to work out.

Are these fitness-minded college students models of dedication
or bordering on obsession?

Over-exercising can be a result of an unhealthy obsession with
fitness. The factors which can cause this condition are becoming
increasingly prevalent.

According to the Student Nutrition Awareness Campaign Web site,
75 percent of college-age women and 43 percent of college-men are
dissatisfied with their bodies.

Some feel that societal pressures added to this dissatisfaction
may be just enough to push someone over the edge.

Under the shadow of Hollywood and neighbored by Bel Air, UCLA
students may be especially susceptible to these pressures.

“Los Angeles is the hub of physical attraction,”
said Elisa Terry, fitness instruction and training manager for UCLA
Recreation. “There’s an emphasis on how you look
here.”

Over-exercising may also be a result of an unawareness of the
recommended levels of fitness and the way to exercise
effectively.

“If they don’t know the effective way to exercise,
it’s like they’re spinning their wheels,” Terry
said. “This could lead to an injury which could devastate the
person even more.”

The most dangerous aspect of compulsive exercise is the ease
with which it can go unrecognized. The condition can be easily
hidden by an emphasis on fitness or a desire to be healthy.

“We can disguise our obsessions under the guise of being
fit because it is a socially acceptable way to purge,” said
Sheri Barke, a registered dietician at the Arthur Ashe Center.

“It’s like a drug that gives you that short term
quick fix, but it’s not really dealing with the underlying
issues.”

For the over-exerciser, those endless hours at the gym may not
only indicate an insecurity in body image, but deeper emotional or
spiritual problems.

“Over-exercising is a symptom of something else that the
student might be struggling with,” said William Parham,
associate director of clinical services at Student Psychological
Services.

“It can be problematic, but rarely is it the
problem.”

Excessive time spent in the gym may become a means of
self-affirmation or a way to avoid dealing with problems in other
aspects of their life.

“It’s a coping mechanism or an escape used in order
to numb themselves from the stress in their life,” Barke
said.

“It’s important to use exercise as an outlet to
stress, but not to the point that you’re using it to the
extreme.”

Over-exercising is placed in the same class as eating disorders
like bulimia and anorexia where individuals deny themselves of
adequate nutrition by restrictive eating behaviors.

For males, the term “bigorexia” describes a
condition known as muscle dysmorphia which arises from a delusional
preoccupation with body image and size.

“Bigorexia is a kind of reverse anorexia,” Barke
said. “The person views himself as not being big enough even
though to everyone around him, he’s obviously very
muscular.”

Hidden psychological issues which may lead someone to compulsive
exercise are also paired with physical consequences.

Someone who over-exercises may experience a loss of
coordination, irregular sleeping patterns, gastrointestinal
disturbances, and a weakened immune system.

“The body just gets rundown and overused so that the
exercise program becomes ineffective,” Terry said.

“All you’re doing is tearing the body down and
you’re not giving enough time for it to recover and build
back up.”

Women who exercise an unhealthy amount may have irregular
periods and severe bone loss due to a drop in estrogen.

Too much exercise can lower testosterone levels in men,
resulting in problems with sexual function.

Individuals who exercise compulsively often ignore injuries and
bodily warning signals that they are going too far.

The symptoms of over-exercising can be assessed by clinical
counselors from SPS, or health advisors in the Ashe Center’s
MindBody Program.

“Exercising a lot may be a sign of some kind of eating
disorder or body image disturbance,” said Christina Miller,
coordinator of the behavioral medicine program at the Ashe
Center.

“It would be good to talk to a counselor to see what their
motivations were for doing it.”

The physical and academic pressures of college may lead to
health problems in students trying to achieve too much.

“We try to get people to move their bodies and exercise
not for what they can do to change their physical appearance, but
for what they can learn about themselves,” Terry said.

“Physical activity provides a huge amount of confidence.
We try to get people to see that.”