Are You an Exercise Perfectionist?
While plenty of people struggle to exercise on a regular basis, there is another group of people (or "freaks" as my husband calls us) who actually struggle to take breaks from exercise. For this type of exerciser, completing every workout with 100% effort is the norm. In fact, working at 100% is something this exerciser comes to expect.
But what happens when he catches a cold, or he doesn't sleep well or he's just tired? He may still push himself to the usual levels of intensity despite the fact that his body (and, perhaps, his mind) just isn't up for it. That can lead to unsatisfying workouts, poor performance and a feeling of failure. Over a period of time, it could lead to other problems such as overtraining, depression and burnout.
If you're an exercise perfectionist, you may find it hard to back off of your workouts or take recovery days. You may expect nothing less than perfection, even when perfection is out of reach. You may constantly worry about failure and ignore even your smallest successes.
Does any of this sound familiar to you? Are you an exercise perfectionist? If you're not sure you can take this quiz to, perhaps get some insight into what makes you tick.
Be sure to leave a comment and tell us about your perfectionist tendencies and how you overcome them.
Are You an Exercise Perfectionist? originally appeared on About.com Exercise on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 07:00:46.