Once two patties on a burger lost it's novelty we upped it to three, with bacon, and extra cheese. The standard SUV wasn't big enough so we rolled out bohemouths with three rows of seating to transform soccer mom into a light duty transit operator. It not ok to own anything less than a dozen pairs of shoes (by count I have 14) and our closets are full of stuff we haven't worn in years.
So where am I going with this and how does it relate to fitness?
Although, much of what I alluded to was anti-health and fitness there is a sneaking movement within our culture passing along the same notion within fitness. Once everyone and their uncle did marathons they weren't good enough, we added 50mi races, 100k's and 100mi marches through death valley. Soon Iron man was for middle aged, middle class, and average individuals and the real hardcore people are doing double iron man's, ultimate endurance triathlons and the like. Even weightlifting, strength training, and conditioning has fallen victim. Why stick to only a few reps on Olympic lifts when you can put 5 min on the clock and see who can do the most before they collapse?
I wanted to write a piece about taking things too far. Although it may seem counter intuitive that a maven of health and fitness is cautioning you to take it easy there is a line to be drawn with the silliness. Let's discuss.
It is ok to run marathons, do an iron man triathlon, or participate in these lunatic events, just make it one of your "do this before I die" events and not a lifestyle. Just like with everything, there is a point where our body stops gaining and starts losing. If you are running 12 miles a day, lifting weights upwards of 2 hours, or trying to become the first person to swim from South Africa to Antarctica, I can assure you that your body will not be getting a positive adaptation in the long run.
The way our system works is that when we exercise we are turning on the stress response in our body. Hormones surge, cortisol, epinephrine, and the like. These hormones tell our body that we are under distress. To adapt to the challenges our body changes to suit towards the stresses placed upon it. Seems simple right? Just like with anything we can put too much of a tax on this system. Our glands produce so much of these hormones we are living in a state of flight or flight. Eventually, we develop fatigue, our body doesn't react to the hormones and we are left in a rut of obscurity. Our metabolism slows, we don't see the fitness results, and we push harder thinking we are just in a plateau.
Another issue here is the effect on our heart, our muscles, and our joints. In this state. Our body is extremely catabolic in this state. In other words, our muscles are in a state of wasting, our heart becomes scarred and enlarged, and joints loose their lubrication and begin to wear.
Don't let this deter you from taking on fitness as a lifestyle, there is plenty of leeway in reaping the fantastic rewards of exercise. You can certainly maintain an active lifestyle work out 7 days a week and prosper. It's the type and duration to be weary of. My general suggestion is to keep it varied, keep the duration between 30-90 min and listen to your body. If you are sore, fatigued, or have trouble sleeping, back off. Vary between endurance activities, sprint type intervals, and resistance training through a variety of disciplines. Keep it fun and engaging. Sprint sessions are short, endurance can be long just keep in mind that you do not need to always be pushing it to the max. A run at a comforting pace or a nice hike is just as good as lacing up the shoes and heading out on a death march sometimes.
Ok so I have laid out my opinion on the matter. What do you think? I am out of the realm of reality here? Am I just ashamed to admit I am not hardcore enough and am trying to justify my short comings with fake science? Let me know in the comments!
Run for your life, but not too fast, or not too far.
Andrew
I completely agree. No matter what it is, health is obtained in moderation. It all comes down to an energy balance. In order to improve, you must use energy to push yourself past what your body expects (example - body expects a 400 lbs deadlift but you push past and deadlift 405 lbs). Then you recover and gain that energy/muscle back so next time around your body expects that 405 lbs again. However, you push and get 410 lbs. Recover and repeat. This can only happen if you recover ENOUGH. Let's say you deadlift daily - you will never recover to see yourself improve. It takes at least days or more likely weeks to recover from a max deadlift. This applies to anything - running, biking, rock climbing, whatever
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