Can You Exercise Too Much?

By John Swartzberg

Most of us wish we exercised more.After all, fewer than half of us get the recommended amount of physical activity, and we know it. But is it possible to get too much of a good thing?

[2] It turns out that the answer is yes. Exercise provides many health benefits, but at some point working out too hard or too long increases the risk of injury and other adverse effects.That usually only happens with intense exercise, like training for marathons or endurance activities. Such challenging activities are perfectly fine, maybe even laudable endeavors, but if you’re looking for optimal health benefits, research suggests that more moderate workouts are generally the way to go.

[3] True, it’s a problem relatively few Americans need to worry about, since inactivity is far more common and also more harmful. And not all the research on “extreme” exercise has found increased risks—but overdoing exercise can be a problem.

大多數(shù)人都希望能多運(yùn)動(dòng)，畢竟我們當(dāng)中能達(dá)到推薦運(yùn)動(dòng)量的人還不足一半，大家都清楚這一點(diǎn)。但好東西過了頭會(huì)不會(huì)適得其反呢？

[2]答案是肯定的。運(yùn)動(dòng)于健康大有裨益，但如果運(yùn)動(dòng)太劇烈或運(yùn)動(dòng)時(shí)間過長，則會(huì)增加受傷風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，產(chǎn)生負(fù)面效果。一般來說這種情況只出現(xiàn)在劇烈運(yùn)動(dòng)后，比如馬拉松訓(xùn)練或者耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)。此類有挑戰(zhàn)性的運(yùn)動(dòng)固然不錯(cuò)，甚或值得提倡，但研究認(rèn)為，要達(dá)到最佳鍛煉效果，還是要選擇更溫和的運(yùn)動(dòng)。

[3]的確，很少有美國人會(huì)擔(dān)心運(yùn)動(dòng)過度，因?yàn)橄鄬?duì)來說，不愛運(yùn)動(dòng)是個(gè)更普遍、更有害的問題。另外，不是所有研究都發(fā)現(xiàn)了過度運(yùn)動(dòng)會(huì)增加風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，但運(yùn)動(dòng)過量的確會(huì)帶來不良影響。

[4] Here’s a look at some of the latest research, a guide to help you search for the sweet spot in your personal fitness.

What do the data show?

[5] In a British study of more than a million healthy middle-aged women in Circulation, those who were physically active at least once a week were less likely to have heart attacks, strokes or venous thromboembolic events (blood clots in the legs or lungs) over a nineyear period than inactive women.Moreover, any type of physical activity,includ ing gardening and housework,had pretty much the same effects as strenuous activity. But what made headlines was that the women who exercised every day didn’t benefit more than the less frequent exercisers. In fact, they were at greater risk. The women who exercised at least two times a week, and no more than six times, had the lowest cardiovascular risk, compared to infrequent or daily exercisers.

[6] Similarly, a large Danish study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which compared the mortality rates of 1,098 healthy joggers and 3,950 sedentary people, found that those who did light to moderate running (in terms of pace, duration and frequency)were less likely to die over a 12-year period than non-exercisers. But strenuous joggers—fast pace, more than 2 1/2 hours a week, or more than three times a week—had a mortality rate similar to sedentary people. The researchers concluded: “…h(huán)igher doses of running are not only unnecessary but may also erode some of the remarkable longevity benefits conferred by lower doses of run ning.”

[4]來看看下面這幾項(xiàng)最新研究，能幫助你選擇最有利于自己健康的運(yùn)動(dòng)量。

這些數(shù)據(jù)說明了什么？

[5]《循環(huán)》雜志中有一項(xiàng)為期九年的英國研究，該研究調(diào)查了超過100萬名身體健康的中年女性，發(fā)現(xiàn)每周至少運(yùn)動(dòng)一次的女性患心臟病、中風(fēng)或者靜脈血栓栓塞類疾病（腿部或肺部血栓）的概率比不愛運(yùn)動(dòng)的人低。該研究還發(fā)現(xiàn)，任何形式的體力活動(dòng)——包括園藝活和家務(wù)活都能和劇烈運(yùn)動(dòng)達(dá)到一樣的鍛煉效果。然而值得注意的是，相比較少運(yùn)動(dòng)的女性，那些每天都運(yùn)動(dòng)的女性在健康方面并不占有優(yōu)勢(shì)。實(shí)際上，每天都運(yùn)動(dòng)對(duì)女性反而危害更大。與不常運(yùn)動(dòng)或者每天都運(yùn)動(dòng)的女性相比，那些每周至少運(yùn)動(dòng)兩次、最多不超過六次的女性患心血管疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)最低。

[6]發(fā)表在《美國心臟病學(xué)會(huì)雜志》上的一項(xiàng)丹麥研究得出相似的結(jié)論。該研究比較了1098名健康的慢跑鍛煉者和3950名久坐不動(dòng)的人12年中的死亡率，發(fā)現(xiàn)那些跑步適度（根據(jù)速度、時(shí)間和頻率來衡量）的人比不愛運(yùn)動(dòng)的人死亡率更低。但是那些跑步劇烈（速度快，每周跑步兩個(gè)半小時(shí)以上或超過三次）的人的死亡率和久坐不動(dòng)的人相差無幾。研究人員得出結(jié)論：“……跑步過多不僅沒有必要，還可能會(huì)逐漸破壞適度跑步給延長壽命帶來的顯著益處?！?/p>

[7] Other studies have found that sedentary people are at higher risk than daily exercisers, but moderate exercisers fared better than both. For instance,a German study in the journal Heart looked at 1,038 people who had stable coronary heart disease and found that both those who were sedentary and those who exercised every day (or did more than about 15 hours of strenuous activity a week) were more likely to die over a 10-year period than those who exercised several times a week—but the risk was greatest for the couch potatoes.

Deciphering the finer points

[8] All of these studies were observational—not randomized, controlled studies—so they can dem onstrate only correlation, not causation. Also in all these studies, there were differences in the way activity levels were categorized, and a relatively small percentage of people exercised at the highest levels. So the studies leave many questions unanswered.

[9] Notably, is there something about people who overdo strenuous endurance exercise that harms their health?Perhaps they are overly competitive or compulsive and tend to overdo other things as well. In contrast, do people who exercise moderately also do other things in moderation, which is generally a healthy way to live? Researchers try to control for such factors, but the likelihood that some such factors are not identi fied or adjusted for remains a concern.

[7]其他研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，比起每天都運(yùn)動(dòng)的人，久坐不動(dòng)的人面臨更高的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，但是適度運(yùn)動(dòng)的人比前兩者的情況都要好。例如，《心臟》雜志中一項(xiàng)德國研究調(diào)查了1038位有穩(wěn)定性冠心病的患者，發(fā)現(xiàn)相比一周運(yùn)動(dòng)幾次的人，久坐不動(dòng)的人和每天都運(yùn)動(dòng)（或者一周中劇烈運(yùn)動(dòng)超過15個(gè)小時(shí)）的人在十年內(nèi)死亡率更高。不過，久坐不動(dòng)的人死亡率最高。

細(xì)節(jié)剖析

[8]以上研究都屬于觀察性研究，不具有隨機(jī)性和對(duì)照性。因此，它們僅能證明運(yùn)動(dòng)量與患病風(fēng)險(xiǎn)之間有相關(guān)性，而不能證明二者有因果關(guān)系。同時(shí)，這些研究界定活動(dòng)量的方式也有差異，相對(duì)來說只有小部分人的運(yùn)動(dòng)量達(dá)到了最高級(jí)別。因此，這些研究也留下了很多未解答的問題。

[9]需要注意的是，是否有其他因素危害這些劇烈耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)過量的人的健康？這些人或許在做其他事情的時(shí)候也會(huì)爭(zhēng)強(qiáng)好勝、不加節(jié)制吧。做事情有節(jié)制通常有益于健康，那么相比之下，那些運(yùn)動(dòng)適量的人在做其他事情的時(shí)候也會(huì)適量而行嗎？研究人員會(huì)設(shè)法控制這些因素對(duì)研究的影響，但是可能仍存在類似因素未被發(fā)現(xiàn)或未經(jīng)調(diào)整的問題。

[10] How might excessive endurance exercise harm the body, especially when done every day? Besides increasing the risk of injuries, it may depress the immune system and increase inflammatory processes. Taking off a day or two a week gives the body time to recover from the stress of exercise.

[11] Also, some studies of endurance ath letes, usually marathoners, have found coronary changes that may increase the risk of arrhythmias, sudden death and other problems.

[12] Keep in mind, however, that running and other aerobic exercise—no matter how strenuously they’re done—help improve many cardiovascular risk factors, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and body weight. Thus it’s possible that “high doses” of exercise can benefit some aspects of cardiovascular health while negatively impacting others.

[13] What’s the bottom line? “Too much exercise” varies from person to person. Some of us can exercise strenuously for decades and not suffer any major physical or cardiovascular problems, while others are more susceptible to them, partly for genetic reasons, but also possibly because of differences in training.

[10]過量的耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)會(huì)如何傷害身體——尤其是在每天都進(jìn)行的情況下？除了增加受傷風(fēng)險(xiǎn)之外，它還可能使免疫系統(tǒng)功能下降，延長炎癥恢復(fù)時(shí)間。每周休息一至兩天可以讓身體從運(yùn)動(dòng)的壓力中恢復(fù)過來。

[11]同時(shí)，一些對(duì)耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)員——主要是馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)員的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，冠狀動(dòng)脈的變化可能會(huì)使心律不齊、猝死和其他問題的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)增加。

[12]但是請(qǐng)記住，無論跑步和其他有氧運(yùn)動(dòng)多么劇烈，它們都可以幫助改善許多影響心血管健康的問題，比如血壓、膽固醇和體重。因此可能的情況是，劇烈運(yùn)動(dòng)對(duì)心血管健康的某些方面是有益的，但對(duì)其他方面卻是有害的。

[13]到底怎樣才算是運(yùn)動(dòng)過量呢？運(yùn)動(dòng)是否過量因人而異。有些人堅(jiān)持劇烈運(yùn)動(dòng)幾十年，從未出現(xiàn)過嚴(yán)重受傷情況或患過心血管疾病，而另一些人更容易出現(xiàn)這些問題，這里面有遺傳的原因，但也可能和不同的鍛煉方式有關(guān)。

[14] There’s no way to say exactly what is the upper limit of exercise for everyone. Generally, any exercise is better than none, and more exercise is usually better within reason. But you certainly don’t have to keep intensifying your exercise regimen to stay healthy.For most people, moderate exercise is the sweet spot. ■

[14]我們無法明確每個(gè)人運(yùn)動(dòng)的上限是多少。通常來說，任何運(yùn)動(dòng)都比不運(yùn)動(dòng)好得多，只要不過分，運(yùn)動(dòng)越多越好。但你無須通過不斷給運(yùn)動(dòng)加碼來保持健康。對(duì)大多數(shù)人而言，適度鍛煉最有利于健康。 □