Bushwalk Australia

http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/ou ... eadly.html

The big, scary news over the last year for exercise aficionados is that “too much” exercise might be “bad” for you. The idea is that the stress associated with exercise and hormones like adrenaline released during exercise can do micro-damage to the heart. Over time, too much stress and too much adrenaline can cause the heart to get stiff and its pumping function declines.

Wayno, you should have read past page 1...

The Bottom Line
The conjecture and case reports about too much exercise don’t seem to hold much water when evaluated against these very large data sets. Beyond the data, the discussion raises a philosophical question: Do we exercise and do extreme forms of phsyical activity just for some sort of health "return on investment," or is there more to it? What about the outcome of getting your mind, body, and spirit out of our ever more cubicalized world.

yeh i've read it all. i just copied the start of the article for an intro...

Define "too much". If it kills, then it's too much.

.......Maybe.....

I havent much knowledge of the specifics mentioned in that article, although I thought calcification is more likely to occur in valves and such.
But taking into account....
Cortisol dysregulation
Sleep disruption
Lean tissue breakdown from gluco neogenesis
and unsustainable amounts of inflammation ( the biggest factor in most common heart disease )

....theres no doubt that over exercise is a killer, particularly for those that try to sustain it with processed "foods" high in carbs.

Too much of a waffle in the article. Olympians and TdF riders live longer as suggestive evidence? Maybe that's because they have "good" genes that they are able to reach the peaks of sporting achievement. Or maybe because they are fitness focused that they have taken more care in their diet and weight. What we do know is that moderate amount of exercise is good for healthy living. When exercised too much or at excessive intensity, it's but common to see increased injuries, often turning chronic to debilitate for the rest of their lives. Quality of life is more than just longevity.

If too much exercise is deadly I'll live for ever.

SteveJ wrote:If too much exercise is deadly I'll live for ever.

You need to observe the "too much" bit. Sorry to break a dream.

pro cyclists spend long hours exercising, up there with a lot of bushwalkers in the hours they can put in in a day...
apart from drug abuse, they'll be less likely to drink heavily or eat badly. they have to still watch their weight, they get good lifestyles habits so there is probably going to be an above average chance they will maintain those habits.
if you've got unhealthy lifestyle habits your chances of having much if any of a career as a pro cyclist is debateable, its such a demanding sport if you're riding in tours like the tour de france.... riders are forced to live like monks (minus the wine consumption) on those tours and in training camps

there are other studies that show genetics has little influence as a whole on protecting you from degenerative diseases if you abuse your body.
japanese living in japan have a long life epectancy but its dropping as western food intake increases, in the states people of japanese origin dont have anywhere near the life expectancy of their relatives in japan...

Nor folk who live in Japan, or Fiji or Africa etc, who live on western fastfood stuffs.

I don't think full days at aerobic levels will do any harm down the track, provided loads are sensible.

Its the 5 day a week cross-fitters and the heavy endurance folk who will pay the piper. I guess thats ok if they love what they're doing and are aware of the cost.

Picaro wrote:I guess thats ok if they love what they're doing and are aware of the cost.

I think many will agree that there are a lot of people out there who haven't considered their down-the-track risks when they exercise.

wayno wrote:pro cyclists spend long hours exercising...

As the recent report correctly pointed out, there's a major difference in the rate of tobacco use b/n ex-TdF riders and the general male population there in France. That alone can easily explain the difference of 6 years. Those European studies can be a bit dodgy if not carefully read.

Like many studies you have to be careful when drawing conclusions over correlation. Such as the "flossing reduces heart attack rate" statistic ive seen. How on earth it would make a difference is beyond me and id guess people that floss in general take better care of their hearts

perfectlydark wrote:Like many studies you have to be careful when drawing conclusions over correlation. Such as the "flossing reduces heart attack rate" statistic ive seen. How on earth it would make a difference is beyond me and id guess people that floss in general take better care of their hearts

I understand it's related to ginjivitis rather than floss. In other words, regular flossing reduces gum disease. But in terms of mechanism, I haven't read enough to understand deeper.

poor oral hygiene can lead to gum and or tooth infection, the infection can go on to spread through teh blood affecting your health in more general ways..
the pro cyclist mark cavendish had this problem, he had to sort out his mouth when his performance started suffering as a result...

Damn...more complex than I thought