Wife addicted to treadmill - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

John55 · 11-07-2006, 01:55 PM

My wife walks seven miles in about two hours on treadmill, seven days a week. To protect her knee, she never runs, using a treadmill with cushions. Her heart beat is 190 during exercise. I feel this is too much for her age (47) but she has been doing it for 11 months and she has no physical problem from it, so far. She was walking about 4 miles a day for 5 years prior to this. She seems to be deeply addicted to exercise and she wouldn't listen to me. Any advice to this kind of addiction?

Naxis · 11-07-2006, 04:05 PM

That is pretty excessive. In general, 1 hour of any kind of cardio a day is about the max. Unless someone is training for something like a marathon, there's no reason to train that long or that often.
The problem is that if you're dealing with exercise addiction, it is usually closely linked to some kind of body dysmorphia and maybe an eating disorder. Treat this very seriously and with as much tact as you can muster. If she really refuses to consider that she's doing something that may ultimately become unhealthy, then you may need to find out what other issues she's dealing with. Usually obsessive (maybe irrational) fear of weight gain can lie at the core of it, but it can go much deeper.
Has she indicated any reason for exercising so much?

Willapp · 11-08-2006, 03:03 AM

Also, a heart rate of 190 is extremely high for only walking, and at 47 should be almost impossible to reach - the general 'rule of thumb' is that your max heart rate is 220 minus your age, so hers should be closer to 173. This isn't an exact science though, but it does indicate that she is really stressing her cardio system out by doing this.

If she's been doing it a while, her heart rate should gradually improve I would think, from improved fitness levels. How much does she weight and how tall is she? I'm guessing to get that sort of heart rate by walking, she must be quite heavy, or seriously unfit.

John55 · 11-08-2006, 11:15 AM

Many thanks to both of you, Naxis and Willapp.
She is not training for marathon or any thing. She is just obsessed with her figure. She has been underweight (90 lb. she is about 5') for about six years and has practically no periods for all these years because of this. Somehow she feels more energized than, say ten years ago. She looks at least ten years younger than her age, buying jeans from teenage section, wearing short skirts in the summer, etc. She did a lot researches on diet, always careful about the food she eats. She really enjoys food, a big serving of ice cream EVERY night.

The 190 heart rate could be off a bit. It's based on the treadmill that reads from your palms, not chest. Her running speed is only 4.5 mile/hour, but she is soaked in sweat completely every time. Her resting heart rate was in 80's many years ago. Now it's in 60's.

I am new here, maybe posted in a wrong board. I looked at Addiction section. That doesn't fit either.

She seems to be OK so far, but I want to make sure it's ok for her to continue this way.

Naxis · 11-08-2006, 05:59 PM

Well, it's not exactly healthy and if she is anovular from being underweight, it's definitely unhealthy - any doctor will tell her this. It's definitely overkill to do so much cardio and will almost certainly end up being a detriment to her overall health in the future. At her age, she should place some focus on resistance training for hormone regulation and bone density as she gets older. It will help her keep her figure without damaging her health. She really should address the situation. Based on all the info you provided, I'd be very concerned about her long term health.