Could You Have an Exercise Addiction?

Exercise is generally a good thing. The benefits of regular exercise range from building stronger bones and muscles to having better energy, sleep, and sexual health. So exercising is always a good thing, right? 

The problem is that even a healthy activity like exercising can become negative when taken to an extreme level. Too much exercise can negatively affect your physical and emotional well-being. And, in some cases, it can be hard to stop working out or thinking about exercise when you’re not working out.

Can you be addicted to exercise?

The answer to whether or not you can be addicted to exercise really depends on who you ask. There are many mental health professionals, educators, and researchers who believe exercise can become an addiction with the power to create a lot of damage in your life. 

According to these experts, exercise addiction can have similar effects on your daily life as substance use disorders. Exercise addiction can result in:

• Spending a lot of time exercising

• Spending less time doing other activities you enjoy

• Needing to exercise harder and longer to feel accomplished

• Feeling bad when you’re not exercising

At least 3% of the U.S. population could have some form of exercise addiction, but the numbers are higher among elite athletes. As many as 42% of elite athletes could have an exercise addiction.

Even though exercise addiction is a notable concern, it is not recognized as an official disorder or diagnosis at this time.

What are the signs and symptoms of exercise addiction?

There are no standard symptoms for exercise addiction, so experts use symptoms of other addictions as a guide. Based on findings about other addictions, common exercise addiction signs and symptoms may include:

• Exercising at high intensities for long periods of time

• Trying but failing to cut down or moderate your exercise

• Spending a lot of your day thinking about or planning exercise, exercising, and recovering from exercise

• Struggling to do well at home, work, or school because of how much you exercise

• Getting into fights and disagreements with loved ones over exercise

• Continuing to exercise even when you’re injured

• Feeling anxious, ashamed, sad, or guilty when you don’t exercise

• Giving up friends and other activities to focus on exercise

At what point does healthy exercise become an addiction?

Some level of exercise is good for most people. To determine if your exercise habits have become an addiction, some experts look to four levels of exercise:

1. Healthy exercise: At this level, you are motivated to exercise and it improves your quality of life.

2. At-risk exercise: This level involves using exercise as a way to manage anxiety, stress, and depression.

3. Problematic exercise: Exercise can become a problem if you base your day around working out. Experiencing injuries due to overuse is another sign exercise has become an issue. 

4. Exercise addiction: Feeling intense guilt and shame if you miss a workout may be a sign of addiction. Exercising at this level negatively interferes with your life.

Staying in the healthy exercise category can be tricky. It’s important to track your degree of exercise and watch for times your workout habits become problematic.

Adults should aim for 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate intensity aerobic exercise, such as dancing or jogging, a week. In addition, 2 days a week of strengthening activities, like weight lifting, is ideal. If you are exercising more than that, your level of exercise could be at-risk or problematic. Or you could possibly be addicted.

What causes compulsive exercising?

Researchers have been looking at why some people are at greater risk of developing exercise addiction. Like other disorders, compulsive exercise is usually caused by a combination of factors. 

Genetics

We know that genetics partially explain why some people develop addictions to drugs and alcohol and others do not. Researchers believe that genetics also play a role in exercise addiction. 

Studies involving mice have found that genetics explain why some mice respond to a “runner’s high.” This feeling of elation may lead mice who experience it to be more vulnerable to exercise addiction. But more research is needed to fully understand whether this translates to humans.

Eating disorders

There is a strong connection between eating disorders and exercise addiction. People with eating disorders are about 3.5 times more likely to have an exercise addiction than those who don’t have eating disorders. 

Researchers are still trying to understand this connection. In some cases, an exercise addiction may lead to an eating disorder. In other cases, an eating disorder may come first and then lead to an exercise addiction. 

Mental illness

There is also a strong link between exercise addiction and other mental health issues. For example, excessive exercise can be a way for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to alleviate their anxiety. 

A healthy amount of exercise can be a good way to cope with stress and improve your mood. But exercising excessively or rigidly may actually worsen your mental health.  

External pressure

External pressure to perform at a high level or attain a specific body size can also contribute to developing an exercise addiction. This pressure may come from: 

• Family

• Peers

• Coaches

• Teammates

• Media and social media

Anyone can be vulnerable to external pressure, but athletes are at higher risk. And dancers may be at the greatest risk. 

What are the problems exercise addiction can cause?

Like other addictions, exercise addiction can negatively affect your mental, physical, and emotional health. It may contribute to the following issues:

• Relationship problems

• Ignoring other life priorities

• Injuries

• Higher risk of osteoarthritis and knee problems

• Withdrawal symptoms, like high levels of stress, guilt, or shame when not exercising

• Anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, which could cause or be caused by the addiction

What treatments are available for exercise addiction?

The available research on treatments for exercise addiction is limited. But, in general, therapy is an important part of treatment for behavioral addictions, like exercise addiction. Therapy can help you understand the role that exercise plays in your life and help you develop other ways to manage stress. 

Therapy approaches that may be helpful for treating exercise addiction include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): The goal of CBT is to help people understand the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and develop healthy coping skills.

• Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT): A form of CBT, REBT focuses on identifying and changing irrational thought patterns.

• Motivational interviewing: This therapeutic approach helps motivate people to change unhelpful behaviors. 

Support groups may also be helpful in combination with therapy. While there are no specific support groups for exercise addiction, groups for other types of behavioral addiction are available:

• Recoveries Anonymous (RA): RA is a 12-step support group for people recovering from any type of addiction. 

• SMART Recovery: Self-Management and Recovery Training (SMART) is an evidence-based group for people dealing with substance and behavioral addictions. 

While RA and SMART take different approaches to addiction recovery, both groups are free and available to attend in person and online.

If you have an exercise addiction that affects your physical health or you also have an eating disorder, you may need additional treatment support. Along with a therapist, specialists who can help may include:

• Physicians

• Licensed dieticians

• Eating disorder specialists

• Psychiatrists

While in treatment for an exercise addition, a person with an eating disorder may eat less or purge more to make up for decreased exercise. If you have an exercise addiction and an eating disorder, your treatment team should prepare you for this risk. 

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Emily Guarnotta, PsyD

Emily Guarnotta, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and certified perinatal mental health professional with over 10 years of clinical experience.

Edited by:

Renée Fabian, MA

Renée Fabian is the senior pet health editor at GoodRx. She’s worked for nearly 10 years as a journalist and editor across a wide range of health and well-being topics.

Reviewed by:

Mona Bapat, PhD, HSPP

Mona Bapat, PhD, HSPP, has 15 years of clinical experience providing therapy. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in Indiana and Illinois with treatment experience in individual, couples, family, and group therapy modalities.

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