Exercise causes inflammation.
Endurance exercise could cause oxygen utilization 20 times higher than in the resting state. Here’s the thing: extra oxygen consumption also increases the production of free radicals, which are made as the oxygen converts energy into ATP for muscle contractions.
When you’re dealing with increased free radical generation, you suffer from oxidative damage to muscles and other tissues, too.
Here, we’re dealing with a paradox: while regular physical exercise can help build the antioxidant-free radical defense system, difficult and high-volume exercises can easily overwhelm the defenses, causing significant free radical damage.
Exercise is stressful.
You’ve never seen your adrenal glands, so let me explain it to you: They are two thumb-sized glands sitting atop your kidneys. They make hormones like cortisol, DHEA, and norepinephrine, which help your body respond and make the proper adjustments to physical and emotional stress.
If the intensity and frequency of the stress become way too much, the adrenal glands will become tired, and the hormones they make could become depleted.
Then, you will deal with serious imbalances that could cause different issues, like estrogen dominance in women and testosterone deficiencies in men.
