I taught fitness classes for over a decade and I saw it every week. One night though, it really scared me. That was the night when we got off the spin bikes to stretch and she fell over.

She got off the bike and next thing I knew, she was on the ground. She had a friend with her. For this I was glad, because the friend was the only one able to give me any information.

“Are you okay? What happened? Can you breathe?” I’d been trained in CPR and First Aid but never had to use it. My brain raced. Should I be telling someone to call 911? Start the Heimlich maneuver. Wait. She wasn’t choking . . .

The friend filled in the gaps. “She’s been working in the yard all day and she did another class this morning.”

“Did you eat before you came tonight?” I asked the woman on the floor.

Feebly, she shook her head no.

“When’s the last time you ate?” I continued.

“This morning.” She mumbled.

I looked for her water bottle. It was empty. Likely, she wasn’t dehydrated, but under-fueled.

Rushing to my gym bag I pulled out a packet of kid’s gummy snacks. I asked the lady to start eating them. Her blood sugar was likely low, thus causing her to almost pass out.

***
Exercise is healthy. It’s good for us. But, even “good” things must also be done in moderation.

I know this won’t apply to everyone watching. Some of you are thinking, “I wish I could get up the energy to go for a ten minute! Over-exercising is hardly an issue for me.” If that’s you, then skip this one. I get it.

But, others of you may make too much of exercise in your life. Over-training is a real “thing” and is not healthy for your body or your soul. If over-exercising is a way you’ve tried to control or “fix” your body image, then I hope you’ll listen to today’s episode.

Have you ever over-exercised? In what ways do you think you may have looked to exercise as a “cure” for your body image issues or sought out exercise as a potential savior?