Suzanne Savill: Excessive exercise is bad for your health
Is there an equivalent to anorexia when it comes to exercising?
I found myself wondering this on a blustery afternoon last week, when I was walking near Temple Meads station and saw two blokes in T-shirts.
It seemed strange that they were dressed in such a manner when everyone else was wrapped up in coats and jackets.
Then as they got closer I realised there was something else rather odd about them.
They both had enormous arm muscles, which their T-shirts were displaying to best effect.
Presumably they were on their way to do weight training at a gym, or were heading home after a body-building session.
In the gym, any second glances they received would have been because of envy at their pumped-up physiques.
But on a pavement, surrounded by people going about their business in the real world, they looked odd.
Why would anyone want to exercise in the same compulsive way that some people obsessively count calories? Do people who hyper-focus on their appearance have deeper psychological problems? Is there something missing in their lives? Or are they just incredibly vain?
These questions came to mind as I watched the musclemen in T-shirts. And they resurfaced again this week when I saw the photographs of Jane Fonda in a wheelchair.
The woman credited with helping inspire the aerobics craze in the early 1980s is now 71. She has an artificial knee and hip, and has undergone a number of back operations. Many of my relatives are now in their 70s and, thankfully, none of them have needed to undergo so much surgery.
It's hard not to wonder whether the short-term gain during those years in pursuit of a body beautiful could have left a legacy of physical problems.
Don't get me wrong, I know it's important to exercise and that there can be all sorts of health benefits.
However, while hospital cardiology departments have demands put on them by the chronically unfit, those fixated by fitness can put pressure upon orthopaedic departments.
There seems to be something rather unhealthy about those who become so obsessed with exercise and fitness that they end up with an unnatural looking body.
And while sagging flesh isn't particularly alluring, there's also something unattractive about bulging Popeye-like muscles.
Having seen the photo of Jane Fonda, I'm beginning to wonder if regularly placing unrealistic physical demands upon your body is potentially as damaging as adhering to an anorexic eating regime, or gorging upon junk food.
The woman who exhorted a generation to 'go for the burn' is still slim – but now she is, inadvertently, demonstrating that excessive exercise may not always be good for your health.
11 Comments
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by hannah, bristol
Friday, November 27 2009, 8:58PM
“I think it is true to say too much exercising is bad for you, especially weightlifting and body building, at the end of the day muscle weighs heavier than fat and its bound to put a strain on ones heart carrying all that extra weight. as someone else said, eat right and moderate exercise is all we need. someone who is a keep fit fanatic is more likely to end up with RSI and joint problems.”
by Vic, Bristol
Thursday, November 26 2009, 5:29PM
“One person's idea of excessive is not the same as another's. Those who exercise to achieve a certain body shape do it for themselves, it's about the image that they want to project.
In a way it is no different to a woman showing a lot of cleavage, or dying their hair orange to cover up the grey. Whether I want to look at woman with her baps hanging out or with orange hair has nothing to do with it. In the same way that the sight of 'bulging Popeye-like muscles' has nothing to do with Suzanne Savill (except to source a story airing her prejudices).”
by Nikita, bristol
Wednesday, November 25 2009, 3:30PM
“swimming is good”
by Martin, Clifton.
Wednesday, November 25 2009, 1:41PM
“The amount of people who chronically overexercise palls into insignificance compare to those who are chronically under-exercised. There maybe a few people who have health problems because they exercise all the time, yet there are millions who never do any.”
by Mike Ford - Berate Slayer, Bristol
Wednesday, November 25 2009, 11:17AM
“"On another subject, Mike Ford, I thought your column came out today?"
4pm according to the homepage, but you can read it right now in the BEP.”
by Alex, Redcliffe
Wednesday, November 25 2009, 11:17AM
“Oh yes, I forgot he said we would see his face. Mike, is this true? Or is it going to be photoshopped? surely you are not going to show us exactly who you are?”
by FutureBristolian, East of here
Wednesday, November 25 2009, 11:12AM
“"On another subject, Mike Ford, I thought your column came out today? "
Ye gods, I thought he was just going to show his face!”
by Rob, Knowle
Wednesday, November 25 2009, 10:52AM
“On another subject, Mike Ford, I thought your column came out today?”
by Alex, Redcliffe
Wednesday, November 25 2009, 10:33AM
“Dare I say it? OK, the ¿C¿ word c c cy cycl cycling! There I said it, and believe me it was hard. As much as it pains me to admit it, cycling is probably one of the best forms of exercise you can do as it can be hard work but low impact (except when the cyclist is hurtling head first towards the side of a pulled out car!).
I have to agree that the whole bodybuilding thing is plain stupid and serves no purpose. Like you say, all people who do it are either incredibly vain of have major deep-rooted psychological problems stemming from low self esteem (although you could argue that vanity itself is a manifestation of major issues as you have to be a bit weird to care that much about what everyone thinks of you).
Not a bad blog this week and much better than the last one about that damn aquarium.”
by Mike Ford - Berate Slayer, Bristol
Wednesday, November 25 2009, 10:15AM
“Agreed with Mark. Anyone who does all that muscle training generally always has a few screws lose. A bit of sport and one meal a day is all you need to stay in shape.”