The Addiction Of Exercise

The Addiction of Exercise

There are many dimensions to health, and each aspect should be given adequate attention in order to maintain it optimally. However, certain substances like drugs can cause us to not only neglect our health, but even put it at risk. Today’s episode brings in the expertise of Dr. Maksim Tsvetovat, a full-stack developer and data scientist, to shed light on holistic health and to set the record straight regarding the effects of exercise on addiction.

Why constant care should be both curative and preventive

As the co-founder of Open Health Network, Dr. Maksim Tsvetovat emphasizes the concept of “constant care,” wherein healthcare should not only be curative but also preventive as well. This begins with building healthy behaviors. In a study he is currently conducting at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, he works closely with children diagnosed with Friedrich’s ataxia, a genetic disease that causes paralysis. Using recumbent trikes with custom software and sensors, scientists are able to monitor these children’s activity level and help them to exercise regularly by keeping their heart rate in the right zones. Preliminary data shows that there may not be improvement for the children, but they appear to have become addicted to exercise. A similar study in Ohio aimed to assess the dropout rates of opioid addicts who participate in marathons. Currently, the dropout rate is more than 50% for patients in rehabilitation facilities or outpatient programs, and more than half of that number will extend or relapse. The goal of engaging these addicts in marathon training is to cut the dropout rate as much as possible.

How exercise gets you ‘high’

Like drug addiction, exercise triggers the same chemical release, providing that “high” feeling just after working out. A problem with this is that people tend to take that addiction and instead of trying to get rid of it, they redirect it somewhere else which may sometimes be unhealthy. On the positive side, opioids reduce stress by reducing the stress hormone cortisol. This makes one “immune” to stress and more capable of dealing with the demands of daily life. The problem is that the brain adapts and eventually learns to ignore this signal, such that when the drug is removed, the body is suddenly flooded with cortisol, causing negative withdrawal effects.

Exercise helps by clearing cortisol, with recent data showing that aerobic exercises seem to mitigate cortisol better than high intensity interval workouts. HIIT tends to produce more endorphins, resulting in a greater post-exercise “high.” Addicts would greatly benefit from this, such as Catra Corbett, who tells her story of overcoming her addiction through running in her book called Reborn on the Run: My Journey from Addiction to Ultramarathons.

Healthy change should come from within

Dr. Maksim shared that he lived an unhealthy lifestyle when he was younger: eating mostly pizza and other unhealthy food in college and spending most of his time sitting while programming computers. Later on, although he was making a decent living, he felt depressed and would drink more than one to two drinks per day. He was also becoming aware of his peers in their late 30s and 40s who were starting to have blood pressure issues and liver trouble. He would avoid his annual physical exam because he knew exactly what the doctor was going to say and simply did not want to hear it. It was on his 40th birthday, with the awareness that might be his last celebration with his 70-year-old father who was suffering from cancer, when he realized that he did not want to continue living unhealthily.

He credits his success to his son, who would invite him to his swimming lessons. He would initially feel winded after swimming only 400 yards in an hour, but by going to the pool everyday after that, he had made huge progress six months later. This sparked his interest, making him wonder what other healthy habits he could build. He then began riding his bike to the office. It was his co-worker Jim with an Iron Man tattoo on his calf that encouraged him to sign up for a triathlon. He was initially hesitant as his last athletic event had been in middle school, but Jim signed him up and the rest was history. Six months later, he had to take care of his father in hospice. Dr. Maksim grappled with a lot of emotions at that time, and it was during his breaks that he would go to the gym to manage those emotions. It was after his father’s funeral that he ran his first half marathon. Fast forward three years, he finished his first triathlon, then did an Olympic double distance the year after, followed by the half Iron Man. He eventually finished his first full Iron Man in 2019, among other marathons, and cycling from DC to New York.

It’s okay to seek help

For anyone struggling with addiction, it is recommended to seek professional help now. There are numerous ways to get off drugs which would be less painful than going cold turkey. Medications and outpatient support programs are readily available. There is no stigma. It happens. There is no need to be ashamed of yourself. Also, consider both your physical and emotional needs. Seeking help from a therapist specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is recommended. This aims to change one’s maladaptive thinking patterns and reframe to be more constructive and positive. Once those negative thoughts have been reframed and the tone of one’s inner voice changes, that will also change your identity. This might be the hardest part of the journey. One’s old identity might have been an unhappy, overweight person that does interesting things at work but does not feel fulfilled. The new identity might be completely different in that they require a certain amount of exercise, self-awareness, and self-documentation. Typing on one’s phone might help to understand what makes a person think certain things, what affects one’s choices, and explain why people react in certain ways. The biggest and most difficult change however is emotional more than physical. It might be possible to take an overweight individual off the street, force them into boot camp, and they will come out in much better shape physically in a few months. However, you cannot force somebody to change their mind. You have to change your mind yourself. The only person who can help you is you.

We know what it is like to feel unhealthy, depressed, and downright defeated. We want to show others there is a right way. Through fitness, you could do anything you set your mind to. Fitness can give you that motivation, confidence, and energy you need to bridge that mental gap and prevent you from missing important life events. We understand it is about feeling better, living longer, and being good examples for our kids. We understand this because we live in and for us. That’s the Redefined difference.

About the Speaker

Dr. Maksim Tsvetovat grew up in St. Petersburg, Russia and immigrated to Minnesota, USA when he was 16 years old. He played several instruments during his college days, including bass, piano, flute, saxophone, and percussion. After completing his Master’s degree in the late 90s, he became interested in digital health and began working for a mobile health company. When this opportunity did not come through, he ended up working on national securities. He eventually became completely jaded by the system and did not enjoy working in government agencies. It was during this period in his life when he met his co-founder Tatyana Kanzaveli. At the time, she was undergoing several tests in preparation for her cancer surgery. Together, they had an idea to come up with a service that gathers a 360-degree picture of a patient’s life and focus on the different causes of cancer through advanced algorithms, thus Open Health Network was born.