The ‘Strenuous Physical Activity = Healthier Life’ Myth to Be Destroyed?

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Even if in past years everyone has associated strenuous regular exercise with a healthy life and, implicitly, better looks, it seems that too much high-intensity physical activity can become harmful for an individual and even shorten his/her lifespan. Could the myth of ‘the more you exercise, the healthier and fit you become’ be destroyed? With so many adepts of the myth, who have made a second religion out of going to the gym and training strenuously almost every day…it would be difficult to make the population worldwide become aware of the fact that too much physical activity can become harmful for one’s health. Staying active is a must for a healthy life, we all agree on that, but no one should exaggerate with any type of activity, including exercising. Whether too much exercise is harmful or not for an individual’s general health and wellbeing is a very controversial subject nowadays. There are scientists who strongly claim that the effects of physical activity can only be beneficial for humans and, on the other hand, there are experts who firmly back up the idea that exaggerated levels of physical activity may lead to health disorders in convinced adepts. However, people worldwide should not get the wrong idea that sport and moderate exercise is bad for the health. Physical activity within normal limits is great for our health, keeping us fit and in shape. Previous studies also showed that physical exercise is also beneficial for the brain, not only for the body. But we should not become sports fanatics, because this can only bring about negative outcomes. Balance and equilibrium in one's life is everything, experts say. We should also keep to this rule when it comes to physical effort: try exercising moderately, but do not overestimate the benefits of physical activity.