I won’t go into my long history of, first, disordered eating and, for the last decade plus, struggles with not always feeling “in control” of my training/exercise schedule here. But, from other fora with devotees to strength and endurance sports, it’s clear that while for the general population, not moving enough is a huge factor in reduced quality and quantity of life, for some of us who are very dedicated to training and physical activity, feelings (transient or less so) of depression, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation can occur when we deviate from our usual schedules or when we face declining performance for a host of reasons.
I’d love for BBM to put out some content on this issue. Existing literature I’ve seen is often limited to, say, the dangerous outcomes of excessive training stress and insufficient recovery for female athletes that can shade into disordered eating, or a few fluffier mainstream press confessional pieces on being “addicted to exercise.” (E.g. ‘I Was an Exercise Addict’ - When Working Out Becomes a Problem) I feel that these often are accounts of those in exclusively endurance-based disciplines, too.
I’d like to hear about higher-quality research on compulsive/addictive elements in strength sports (though I’m not sure much really exists), and also some sound advice for how to navigate what can be a fine line between being highly dedicated and consistent versus becoming an emotional hostage to how many hours I can spend in the gym a week/day.
Thanks!