We, the 1%

They say that only 1% of the population is addicted to exercise.

I am part of that 1%. So is my 18 year old brother. And my mother.

I came across this article from the Ohio State University when I started researching about exercise addiction.

Exercise addiction has only recently begun to be studied. It is a compulsory need for some physical type of exercise. Addictions include commitment to jogging, running, jazzercize, stair-stepping, etc. Some people run on treadmills, spin, or stair-step for hours or participate in more than one exercise class per day. Like other addictions, people with exercise addiction have lives which revolve around their exercise. People feel controlled by their exercises and refuse to miss a session of their work out schedule. People will even exercise when they have physical injuries, thus exacerbating their wounds and creating further damage. Experts agree that 1% of the population suffer from exercise addiction.

Withdrawal is common among exercise addicts. They experience mood swings and depression when they must forgo their exercise routine

I know. Addiction to exercise is not something to be proud of. However, I try so hard to keep this commitment as I do not want to gain the unwanted pounds again.

I started exercising when I was seventeen years old. It was also then when I started to develop my addiction to exercise. Back then, I would spend at least three hours a day working out, never missing a single day. And so, I turned to this: (third one from the left)

But then law school happened. I never had the time to exercise because I devote my entire day to my assignments and my work, given the fact that I am a law student. Thus, I turned to this: (third from the left again)

Eleven  months after the last picture was taken, I lost approximately fifteen pounds, thanks to exercise. But unlike before, I regulate the time I spend at the gym. Nevertheless, I feel that I have developed an addiction to exercise.  All of the symptoms mentioned above are present. But then again, I feel that this addiction is actually something good and that there's nothing wrong about it. Yes Anj, that's what them addicts say. :D