Yes, it certainly can. While even kids know that bad things are bad, it is worth knowing that even good things, when done beyond the extent of normalcy, can turn bad.
As per the recommendations of the American Heart Association, engaging in around 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week or 75 minutes of rigorous aerobic exercise per week or a combination of the two is ideal for an adult.
While no exercise or very little exercise obviously can lead to various problems like obesity and slow metabolism, too much exercise is also not beneficial for you. More than 300 minutes of exercise a week can lead to physical burnout and may adversely affect your health, instead of improving it.
The moment you begin to notice a drop of energy or lack of performance during physical activities like cycling, running, jogging, swimming, dancing etc. chances are that either you are not having a proper diet or pushing your body too much.
"There definitely is such a thing as too much exercise," Jessica Spendlove, accredited practising dietitian, nutrition consultant and accredited sports dietitian says. "Each individual will have an individual threshold for what constitutes too much exercise. It's about looking at how fit the individual is, what their goals are, how they're fuelling their body for the training they're doing, and what their medical history is."
"Over-exercising can cause an energy imbalance (between the amount of energy consumed and the amount of energy expended during exercise). If you're in an energy deficit for an extended period of time it can cause many health issues," Spendlove added.
Overtraining has a negative impact on the stress hormone cortisol, and this can lead to hormonal imbalance, emotional instability, bouts of irritability and lack of sleep. Hormonal imbalance can also lead to hunger and satiety processes in the body.
Another adverse effect of over-exercising is impaired metabolism. This means that not ample energy is available to the body over a long period. This can also impact organs and lead to iron deficiency and low bone density.
Additionally, it can also wear you down and impact your immune system, making your body more vulnerable to infections. More importantly, it also has an adverse effect on the heart and damages tissues which leads to a rise in the baseline heart rates.
So, exercise for sure, but do not go overboard.
