Before you rush to sign up for your first marathon, you may want to reconsider after new research showed that too much exercise is bad for you. Although exercising has long been considered a healthy habit to have, it's been revealed that excessive workouts can wreak havoc on your body much like having a bad diet.
See, even too much a good thing is bad for you! But why does extra exercise cause your more harm than good? The answer may surprise you…
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The Wall Street Journal broke the news that there is such thing as "exercise overdose" and that there have been many marathoners who have had to retire due to cardiac issues. The latest research has shown that endurance athletes tend to have enlarged aortic roots as well as high levels of coronary plaque.
The myth has generally always been that exercising a lot is good for you, but new data suggests that the health benefits are eliminated if runners exceed more than 30 miles a week. John Mandrola, a cardiac and columnist for TheHeart.org explains that the reason why excessive exercise is bad for you stems from healing. "Heart disease comes from inflammation and if you're constantly, chronically inflaming yourself, never letting your body heal, why wouldn't there be a relationship between over exercise and heart disease?" he said.
Sports medicine has been known to neglect the dirty side of exercising and encourages runners to go longer and harder. Generally when running a marathon or triathlon, the praise goes to those who push themselves to keep going the distance. But now this information reminds athletes to focus on listening to their body when they feel they've had enough.
However, this doesn't mean you SHOULDN'T exercise. Regular cardiovascular workouts improve blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and heart problems as long as they aren't overdone. So if you were looking to challenge yourself with exercise then by all means train for a marathon, just keep in mind to listen to your body's signals.
The concept about feeling like your heart is going to pop out may not be that far-fetched then for those always competing for marathons or triathlons. At least this is new information can remind them to put their comfort first as opposed to pushing themselves too hard and putting their health at risk. And it also gives me a little more leeway at the gym…
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