Most of the time, exercise is healthy. But occasionally, exercise can be harmful.
Exercise, like all good things in life, reminds us of a common saying: too much of a good thing can be bad for you. To understand why you need to understand how our bodies work.
Your body wants two things: energy and nutrition. Nutrition is the stuff that’s usually eaten. Energy is all the stuff your body does when you aren’t eating. Exercise is the stuff that you do to get energy, while you’re eating.
Sometimes exercise can be good for you. When you lose weight, for example, you burn calories. If your diet is high-fat, exercise can help burn the calories. Some people believe exercise can even help you lose weight in the first place. But usually, it doesn’t make much difference.
Exercise is healthier if it burns calories. Exercise is also healthy if it makes you feel better, but that feeling should be secondary to the energy you get from it.
Exercise often makes you feel better. People over 30 complain that exercise makes them feel old. That’s because exercise is taxing. When you exercise, your body uses up energy. If you don’t replace that energy, you will feel tired. If you don’t replace that energy, you will feel old.
Exercise can also be harmful. If you exercise heavily, you can hurt your muscles and bones. Exercise can also damage your heart. People who exercise a lot are more likely to have a heart attack.
Exercise can be harmful in two other ways. Exercise can be harmful because it can make you do things that are unhealthy. Exercise can make you eat too much. When you exercise, your body burns calories. If that calorie burn is higher than your intake, you will lose weight. But if your workouts cause you to eat more than you burn, you will gain weight.
