Body & beauty

Endurance Exercise: is it Harmful for your Health?

Avoid the risks of excessive exercise, over-training and endurance running with our useful tips.

Avoid the risks of excessive exercise, over-training and endurance running with our useful tips.

Avoid the risks of excessive exercise, over-training and endurance running with our useful tips.
According to a recent study by James O’Keefe, preventative cardiologist at St. Luke’s Hospital Kansas, excessive training can “erase some benefits you get from moderate exercise, so that your risk of heart disease, of dying of coronary disease, is the same as a sedentary person”.

This shouldn’t discourage you from running, but it’s important to know about the risks involved when overdoing it.

What are the risks?

Walking and running are by far the cheapest and easiest ways to exercise (all you need to get started is a decent pair of shoes), yet you can reap amazing benefits from them. Regular running strengthens the bones, the muscles and the cardiovascular system. People who run regularly can expect to lose weight, build up their self-esteem, reduce minor stress symptoms and lower the risks of type 2 diabetes. But as with everything in life it is important not to overdo it.

Individuals who run excessively are prone to plaque build-up in coronary arteries, heart attacks, wear and tear of joints, heart rhythm problems and structural heart damage. O’Keefe’s study shows that male marathon runners, who had been training and running for 25 years, had 62% more plaque build-up in their coronary arteries when compared with men of the same age and of similar physique.

How much is too much?

Not exercising altogether is clearly not the answer. The most health benefits can be gained by exercising regularly but in moderation. You should for instance allow for two complete rest days during the week to give your body the chance to recover. Otherwise you run the risk of overtraining and sustaining injuries. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that adults should moderately exercise for 150 minutes a week or exercise vigorously for 60 to 90 minutes.

Running is not for everybody but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t exercise. There are other ways in which a person can increase their endurance. Other sports which bring equally good results are skipping, kettle bell swings, burpees and rowing. All these exercises help to keep the cardiovascular system healthy, increase lung function and keep cholesterol levels low.

But, as with running, it’s important not to overdo it. It can help to mix up your workout. Rather than focusing on cardio exercises all the time, it might be worth mixing it up with weight lifting and interval training. Both are very helpful when it comes to increasing your endurance and they help to make the workout more varied.