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There are more and more fitness maniacs. Among them are not only politicians, actresses and models, but also "mere mortals" who devote themselves to improving own body too much time - so that it becomes an obsession. Everyone knows that physical activity, whether it's a long walk, a half-hour run or a fitness session, brings noticeable benefits to the body: from weight loss and body improvement to maintenance of cardio-vascular system, prevention of osteoporosis and other pathologies caused by overweight, and general well-being. Not to mention the beneficial effect on our mood: due to the release of endorphins into the bloodstream during exercise, sport is one of the natural antidepressants.

However, in some situations, going to the gym is not limited to the desire to improve well-being and turns into an obsessive desire to achieve physical perfection. As a rule, women are trying to lose more and more weight and model their body in the image and likeness of stereotypical and unattainable ideals. Men are chasing increase muscle mass and muscle relief. Ineradicable dissatisfaction with one's own body and readiness for any sacrifice for the sake of its improvement is called bigorexia or the Adonis complex.

How to recognize a sports addiction?

An increasing dependence on sports can manifest itself in compulsive behavior or in the need to perform strictly defined actions in order to feel good. For sports addicts, going to the gym becomes an integral moral duty, the violation of which causes a feeling of guilt and a sense of failure.

Why is this happening?

The basis of such behavior is the rejection of one's body, that is, its altered perception, which can lead to body dysmorphia: the inability to objectively assess the state of one's own body. Therefore, in the pursuit of physical perfection, there is a need beyond all measure to increase the number of hours devoted to figure modeling and muscle building. To suffer from bigorexia means to react painfully to everything related to aesthetic perfection, including worrying about the lack of noticeable results based on the results of training and constantly working on changing your proportions. As a rule, people who are addicted to sports have low self-esteem, and fitness achievements become almost the only reward for their efforts. In this sense, bigorexia can be a manifestation of a protective mechanism: low self-esteem is compensated by the appearance of the body, which is worthy of admiration by others. And if anorexia is usually by everyone possible ways hides and hides, then bigorexia, on the contrary, is flaunted in every possible way.

What to do?

If it seems to you that you have a similar problem, if you notice that going to the gym has become your daily duty and every skip makes you feel dissatisfied and guilty, try asking yourself: what role does fitness play in your life and what lies behind it dissatisfaction? It is possible that it is better to understand its true causes and solve problems with the help of a psychologist, and not a coach.

For more information, see the Psicologi-italia website.

Every generation and century has its own diseases. Today's advanced level of medicine allows you to have a healthy body and live longer than ever. But at the same time, people began to experience much more stress.

If in the past diseases were more often physical ailments, now psychological disorders are more common. Due to crazy schedules, people simply do not have time to take a breath and calm their minds and thoughts. This exacerbates the situation and increases the risk of psychological illness.

Despite the spread of the idea of ​​body positivity, there are still general ideas about beauty. And almost everyone, pursuing the dream of being more beautiful and better, strives to live up to these ideas. Therefore, people start playing sports and, unfortunately, often do not notice how the idea becomes obsessive. After all, such a popularization of a healthy lifestyle through sports leads to a false belief “the more the better”.

This situation is not always easy to deal with. When everyone around is talking about the benefits of sports, it is difficult to find an objective line, the intersection of which entails excessive physical activity. And at the same time, sports addiction and dependence on training.

What is sports addiction and training addiction

Sports addiction is a special form of addictive behavior that is non-chemical. Being addicted, a person is overly involved in sports and constantly overloads himself in training. This condition is characterized by an obsessive, irresistible desire to play sports.

Like many other forms of addiction, sports addiction interferes with the normal functioning of a person in all areas of his life.

Some scientists divide sports addiction into two forms: primary and secondary.

In primary addiction, the physical activity itself is the object of the addiction.

Secondary arises on the basis of food addiction. In this case, the irresistible motivation for physical activity is associated with the need to reduce weight or change the shape of the body.

American scientists were able to identify two criteria that define the disorder. They manifest either as a hostile reaction to a lack of exercise or an inability to maintain an adequate amount of exercise.

Causes of sports addiction

Basically, the causes of sports addiction and training addiction can be classified into three categories.

Hormone of happiness

It has been scientifically proven that during exercise, the hormone of happiness is produced. In half an hour, its concentration increases by 5-7 times. Also, training is accompanied by the release of adrenaline, serotonin and testosterone. Their concentration increases in the body during exercise several times. These hormones cause a storm of emotions. And in order to experience this high spirits again, the person continues to go to the gym. So, physical exercises become a kind of drug.

In addition, some of these hormones, such as the endomorphine group, are themselves narcotic and addictive.

Sports addiction affects people with a certain type of psyche. Those who gravitate towards any other type of addiction - drug, sexual, alcohol, chemical.

Professional sports

At some point, a hobby can turn into a desire to do professional sports. This can lead to sports addiction. The athlete begins to train longer and more actively than before. The usual way of life is replaced by constant training. And if a person misses at least one of them, there is a lack of energy, lethargy, loss of appetite, emotional disorders such as anxiety, depression, apathy.

Also former athletes who have completed their careers are subject to sports addiction. The inevitable end of a career in this case is perceived as a loss of status that the athlete is not able to accept. For him, this is synonymous with a complete loss of himself and a possible fall into a social vacuum. Low self-esteem and depression occur. Moreover, the higher the level of the athlete, the more vulnerable he was and the more likely he was to become addicted.

Self dissatisfaction

But the most common cause of sports addiction and training addiction is dissatisfaction with your body and the inability to objectively evaluate it. This causes complexes and discomfort. People literally live in the gym in pursuit of the body of their dreams. Afraid of getting fat, they exhaust themselves in gyms, believing that the body is a quirky and lazy creature that needs to be forced to work to exhaustion.

Sports addiction and, such as or anorexia, often go together. Such people, although the ideal body, can never achieve it. They are unable to adequately perceive human body and think they just need to lose some more weight or gain some more muscle mass.

So they go to the gym to build a good body and can't stop doing it. They get angry when they miss a workout, because it takes them away from the goal and is perceived as a step back.

Symptoms of sports addiction and training addiction

Many people are so eager to be in good shape that sometimes it is difficult for them to take a break from training. However, if instead of energy after playing sports, a person constantly feels tired, then this is a reason to be wary.

So that the amount of load does not become excessive, you need to understand when to stop. The load is excessive if present:

• decreased activity, fatigue;
• lack of coordination;
• recovery takes a long time;
• palpitations in the morning;
• high blood pressure at rest;
• headache;
• loss of appetite;
• muscle pain;
• weakening of the immune system;
• increase in the number of injuries of the musculoskeletal system;
• sleep disorders, insomnia.

Usually, physical activity and sports relieve stress and improve health. However, overtraining has the opposite effect. People should keep balance in their lives and not go to extremes.

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For three months I rushed about like crazy: after work, I went to the gym and there until night. Waking up at seven in the morning to catch the pool. Completely abandoned flour in favor of vegetables and fruits (see). The mode was worn out, but the kilograms were leaving, so the advice of the instructors to slow down was ignored.

It all ended right at New Year when, dancing the rumba, I suddenly collapsed on the floor: the anterior cruciate ligament was torn, the meniscus cracked. For two months I could not walk. The doctors were perplexed: how could I get a professional sports injury while dancing (about other fitness dangers - in the material)?

It turned out to be very simple. The meniscus was worn out from the loads, and the rumba just became the last straw. Upon learning of my troubles, the fitness instructor sighed sadly: “I got addicted to drugs ...”

What is fitness addiction?

“Addiction is when a person subordinates his life to something or someone,” explains psychologist Ilya Kotlov. “Mania comes first, crowding out all other needs.”

Fitness addiction is easy to recognize: a person hangs out in the gym more often than with friends and family, workouts become more intense and longer. But the "sick" stubbornly ignores the problem, continuing to explain his behavior to himself and his close desire for health.

“During physical exertion, the brain is produced,” says Ilya Kotlov, “so fitness acts like a drug, or gambling. A person goes to the gym for a portion of endorphins more and more. In addition, people often try to heal personal problems with fitness - loneliness, family disorder or divorce.

How to recognize fitness mania?

As with any other addiction, the rule of thumb for fitness mania is hard to recognize in the early stages, difficult to treat in the later stages. And, like any other addiction, fitness mania has several signs.

The first is systematic. Narcologists say that addiction is when a system appears: every day, or once a week, or even less often, a person drinks (or takes a drug). The problem with fitness is that it inevitably involves consistency. Therefore, in some degree anyone who conscientiously goes to the gym three times a week for several years is a fitness addict. But it's not scary.

Much worse when the second sign appears - antisocial. If fitness becomes an obstacle to a full-fledged personal, family or social life, this is already a clear wake-up call. For example, if you prefer training to gatherings in a pub after work, this is a sign of a healthy sports spirit. If you prefer training family holiday- there is reason to think. And it’s really bad when you start hiding from family and friends that you prefer fitness to any other vacation.

At this stage, the clinical picture of drug addiction unfolds in all its glory. As the laboratory experts told me physical education and practical psychology of FGU VNIIFK, fitness maniacs experience withdrawal syndrome, that is, withdrawal, after a missed workout: their head hurts, their body aches. From chronic overload, fitness maniacs suffer from a lack of. Often they are nervous and withdrawn people.

How to cure a fitness addict?

Here, as with any other addiction, the main thing is awareness. The sooner it happens, the better.

The second step is to get off the fitness needle and learn to control your passion for exercise. Unfortunately, my story is very typical: only a serious injury can cool the sports ardor of a maniac. But there are other examples as well.

“My patient realized that she had a fitness mania when she began to dream about training,” says Tatyana Titova, sports doctor of the Planet Fitness club network. “I went to a psychologist because I got so involved that I couldn’t stop.”

I, too, would rather go to a psychologist than cripple my leg. Now for me, not only simulators and dancing are over, but even.

Another option is when loved ones are saved. One of my friends, her young man literally cheated with the gym. Naturally, he canceled dates, was late and generally behaved as if he had another girlfriend. The apotheosis was the moment when he declared that he should limit himself in sex, because from this "a man spends a lot of protein." Honestly, that's what he said. After a long and difficult conversation, it turned out that he had no other, he really spends all the time in the gym. A friend acted like a real psychotherapist: she didn’t make scenes and put the guy before a choice, but gradually, day after day, she made him understand that she didn’t particularly like pitching and she loves him not for relief, but for various spiritual qualities. And it worked.

In general, fitness mania is not a disease, but a symptom of a deeper problem. It is desirable to understand which is desirable before you erase the meniscus or break something for yourself.

Every self-respecting man in one way or another tries to keep his body in shape - he goes in for sports at home or, if he has time, goes to gym. We have already said more than once that the main thing in this matter is not to overdo it, although we welcome great zeal and striving for success. But today the habit of going to training has become a dangerous trend. Already in 2012, 0.5% of the world's population became addicted to going to the gym. We think that now this figure has increased several times. We all need to know the signs of an emerging addiction in order to prevent it in time and prevent it from ruining us.

How to know if you are addicted

The symptoms of addiction, according to Clive Jones, professor of sports and psychology, are fairly obvious and easy to recognize. The first and main sign is the obvious anxiety that you experience at a time when you cannot get to the gym for a long time. Also dominated by irritability, the inability to consider the importance of rebuilding the body after a series of grueling workouts. Sports come to the fore, completely controlling the emotions, behavior and thinking of the addicted athlete. It can also lead to great conflicts with loved ones, since the obsession with physical activity puts it in priority over family, personal life or work.

As in the relationship of a drug addict and a prohibited substance, an athlete develops tolerance for the gym. That is, each time, in order to achieve complete satisfaction from training, the load has to be increased. This is a normal practice in sports in general, but you should not go too far. And a decrease in load can cause withdrawal symptoms, which will lead to great discomfort, tremors in the whole body or some of its parts (can be compared with breaking), drops. Therefore, when starting classes in the gym, remember these symptoms in order to stop them at the first stage.

Psychological and chemical effects

If women desire perfect body can cause a disorder such as anorexia, then men often develop dysmorphia. This is a mental illness that is caused by excessive concern about not meeting the standards of a beautiful male body in society. A prime example of what this does to people is bodybuilding. According to Dr. Jones, as a rule, addiction to sports can be associated with a low assessment of oneself, one's body, as well as self-doubt.

Another reason for developing addiction in a person is chemical substances. As you know, when playing sports, endorphins are produced in the body, which helps a person feel much happier. Plus, it helps to cope with stress, but when training becomes too much, the trainee becomes dependent not only on them, but also on his hormone of happiness, which he needs more and more, like a drug addict.

What addiction does to your body

Australian professor Aaron Coates says it's difficult to determine how much time a person needs to spend in the gym before they can be considered addicted. For each, this number will be individual, and a greater tendency to it is manifested in those who do endurance exercises. It is especially dangerous, even from a health point of view, to practice every day without giving yourself proper rest. Also at risk of addiction are men who take on heavy physical activity but do not combine it with diet and proper recovery.

The consequences of sports addiction can be as follows. Firstly, due to inadequate rest, which is almost non-existent, joints, bones and ligaments suffer, which at one moment may not withstand. Secondly, in such extreme conditions the metabolism in the body can change, which is also not very good for you. There is also a high risk of hormonal failure, due to which hormones will no longer enter the body in the usual way and in the right amount, which will lead to a decrease in testosterone levels, an increase in cortisol and estrogen. The latter, by the way, can cause the transformation of yours into a woman's. In addition, immunity suffers - you will get sick more often and it will be harder to endure even the most common cold. And the loss of muscle mass that you are so eager to gain will not please you.

How to fix it

Of course, we are not talking about any magic pills, but if you follow some simple rules, it will help you. First, your carbohydrate intake must become adequate. It is the most accessible source of physical energy. Despite the fact that today one of the main trends in fitness is low-carb, you should not forget about them, leaving their usual portion in your diet.

The second thing you must do is change your thinking and behavior. This begins the struggle with a possible or already obvious dependence. To prove to yourself that this is not so, you have to forget the way to the gym for a couple of weeks. And if you are going on vacation and are looking for a hotel where the hall will be located, stop doing it. It is this behavior that gives you addiction.

It's also important to remember that, apart from sports, there are many other things that can lift your spirits and combat your stress. Plus, it's important to make sure that your good mood does not depend only on how well you pumped up your abs today or how much chest pressing you did this time.

And one more thing to remember is the purpose for which you go to the gym. Naturally, many of us go there to keep the body in shape or bring it into it. But we must set goals that are realistic, not going beyond, because of which we will not have to spend every day in the hall, striving for an unattainable ideal. You just have to remember that beautiful body doesn't always mean pumped up. It is time for us to reconsider these stereotypes.

Better to undertrain than overtrain. A short exercise is sometimes more beneficial to health than intense training. An excessive training program leads to severe physical overwork and even to "sports" illness. And you need to say to yourself “Enough!”

Text: Alevtina Ivanova

Where is the critical point beyond which fitness and sports not only do not contribute to the development and training of the body, but have a negative impact on it? For each person, this point comes at a different time. For example, most people can only dream of the endurance of Olympic triathlon athletes. Needless to say, not everyone can swim 1.5 km first, then ride a bike for 40 km and run another 10 km. And no rest breaks!

And for someone, the limit of the physical capabilities of the body is just an additional “pancake” on the barbell or a trip to the fitness center “over the program”.

Many people are so eager to be in good shape that sometimes it is difficult for them to moderate their ardor and take a break from the training program. However, if after playing sports, instead of a surge of energy, a person constantly feels tired, physically overtired, then this is a reason to be wary. Perhaps he overtrained, becoming a victim of physical overload.

The main signs of overtraining

In order for overtraining not to become pathological, it must be recognized in time. Here are the main signs:

Decreased activity, fatigue
. Disorder of coordination
. Needs more time to recover
. Rapid heartbeat in the morning
. High blood pressure at rest
. Headache
. Loss of appetite
. Muscle pain
. Gastrointestinal Disorders
. Weakened immune system
. Increase in the number of injuries of the musculoskeletal system
. Sleep disorders, insomnia

Some of the signs are physiological in nature, but not only. Usually, physical education and sports relieve stress and improve our well-being. However, excessively intense activities and training have the opposite effect and can cause irritability, aggression, apathy and low self-esteem.

Causes of overwork

What to do if you notice one of the signs of overtraining? First you need to understand what is its true cause, and honestly admit it to yourself. You can understand professional athletes who, in an effort to get better results, deliberately increase the load on training. But if an excessive training program threatens health, then it is worth considering whether it is really needed?

The easiest way out is to reduce the intensity of training to the previous level. The fact is that the body needs time to get used to new more high loads. Even professional triathletes cannot suddenly and immediately complete the Olympic triathlon program, not to mention the outrageous Ironman program (“Iron Man”). This is also a type of triathlon - truly a "survival" sport: swimming - 3.8 km, cycling - 180 km and running - 42.195 km. To achieve such results, athletes gradually increase the intensity of training, allowing the body to adapt to new physical loads.

Another important point. It happens that overwork is caused not by physiological, but rather by psychological reasons. When a person exhausts himself for hours in the gym, trains with increased physical activity, then one can hardly speak of his desire to "improve his form." Rather, it is a real addiction. Exercising to the point of exhaustion, with the risk of injury, and a shift in values ​​from the scale of "health, well-being" towards "sport" are all signs of a real addiction. It is no coincidence that addiction to sports and fitness is recognized as the same real problem like eating disorders. Only recognizing sports addiction is much more difficult.

Regular overload can lead to serious problems with mental and physical health. By locking themselves in the gym, people risk their health.

Everything is good in moderation

Moderation is the key to solving the problem. To lead healthy lifestyle life and feel good about it, it is best to exercise to the best of your ability. You should not train for two hours a day, since that is how much time a friend spends in the gym. The body needs time to adjust and adapt to stress, and time to recuperate. And training to the limit can be called the “one step forward, two steps back” tactic. Frankly, not the most effective tactic.