When Sport Becomes Harmful: Finding Your Fitness Sweet Spot
Updated: Sep 20
In the high-stakes leadership, every decision feels like a life-or-death gamble. And so midlife entrepreneurs, and business owners often overlook one fundamental truth: your health is your greatest asset.
Drawing insights from Prof. Holger Gabriel’s illuminating interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung, this article delves into the science of stress, fitness, and recovery.
Gabriel’s expertise sheds light on why self-leadership begins with respecting your body and why balancing stress and recovery is crucial for long-term holistic success.
The Science of Stress: How Controlled Pressure Builds Resilience
“Sport causes stress and inflammation,” Prof. Gabriel explains.
At first glance, this might sound alarming, but he quickly clarifies: “The opposite is true. The body strengthens itself when exposed to stress. Without it, it deteriorates.”
He links this to the example of a leg in a cast. When immobilised, muscles shrink and weaken. Conversely, activities like climbing stairs or jogging a few kilometres maintain the body’s fitness.
The key, Gabriel emphasises, lies in dosage. Stress, when applied correctly, strengthens the body.
This concept mirrors the business world. Leaders thrive under pressure, but only when it’s managed well. The right amount of stress can push you to innovate and grow, but excessive stress, whether in the boardroom or the gym, leads to burnout.
Warning Signs: When Stress Becomes Too Much
According to Gabriel, the body sends clear signals when it’s overwhelmed. Ignoring these can lead to long-term damage.
1. Physical Overload
Untrained individuals who suddenly adopt rigorous exercise routines risk injuries like Achilles tendonitis or shin splints. Gabriel warns, “It can take weeks or months for the body to adapt to regular stress. Overdoing it weakens the immune system, making you susceptible to recurring infections.”
2. Psychological Stress
Many CEOs turn to exercise as a coping mechanism during stressful times. While this can be beneficial, Gabriel cautions against piling physical stress onto an already strained system. “People with extreme stress often think, ‘I’ll do something good for myself by exercising.’ But in these cases, sport can backfire, becoming counterproductive.”
Recovery: The Underrated Pillar of Success
Gabriel’s advice is simple yet profound: recovery is not optional. “In both elite and recreational sports, the most important source of good performance is regeneration. Training is easy; knowing when to pause is difficult.”
After launching a demanding new project, Alex, a 52-year-old tech entrepreneur, started waking up exhausted despite his daily workouts. His trainer introduced active recovery, yoga and light walks, alongside rest days. Within weeks, Alex’s energy levels soared, and his focus sharpened.
Two critical risks of ignoring recovery
Sudden Cardiac Death: Exercising while ill, particularly with a fever or upper respiratory infection, can lead to myocarditis (heart muscle inflammation), causing fatal heart rhythm disturbances.
Chronic Infections: Overtraining weakens the immune system, leading to persistent conditions like tonsillitis or sinusitis.
How to Recognise When to Stop
Prof. Gabriel offers clear guidance on when to skip the gym:
• Fever, swollen glands, or severe fatigue
• Pain in the throat, ears, or sinuses
• Muscle aches, joint swelling, or headaches
For mild symptoms, such as a slight cold, light activity like a 20-minute walk may be beneficial.
But Gabriel stresses, “Sometimes, the best choice is a long walk outdoors, staying active without overburdening the body.”
Building Stress Resilience Through Fitness
Physical activity triggers the release of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, as well as inflammatory markers.
While these sound negative, they’re essential for building resilience. Gabriel compares this to preparing patients for surgery: “In the months before an operation, we train patients physically to make them more stress-resistant.”
“Sport trains the body to handle stress,” Gabriel explains.
However, this resilience doesn’t develop overnight. Gabriel notes, “It takes weeks, months, sometimes years. The balance between stress and recovery must align with the body’s capacity.”
Finding The Balance
Gabriel offers practical advice for finding the right balance:
1. Aerobic Exercise: Aim for 30–45 minutes of activities like running, cycling, or swimming most days.
2. Strength Training: Incorporate resistance exercises twice a week.
3. Personalisation: Gabriel acknowledges that not everyone can meet these standards. “These are guidelines, not mandates. Find your personal optimum with professional guidance if needed.”
Maria, a 48-year-old CEO, started a fitness journey after two decades of inactivity. With a sport physician’s guidance, she began with 15-minute walks and gradually progressed to weekly strength trainings. Today, Maria reports feeling more energetic and confident than ever.
The Role of Nutrition in Recovery
Gabriel also emphasises the importance of nutrition for recovery.
He advises:
Vitamin C, Magnesium and Zinc: Boost immunity and speed recovery.
Light, Fresh Foods: Prioritise fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Avoid Overdoing with Supplements: Gabriel warns against relying on expensive pharmacy products, advocating instead for a balanced diet.
The Role of Self-Reflection
Even the most successful leaders understand the importance of recovery. Consider Jeff Bezos, who prioritises 8 hours of sleep every night, or LeBron James, who invests heavily in recovery techniques to maintain his athletic edge.
As you reflect on your own habits, ask yourself: Are you trading health for ambition, or are you leading yourself with respect and care?
1. Listen to Your Body: Pain and fatigue are warning signs, not obstacles to overcome.
2. Plan Recovery First: Schedule rest days as non-negotiable appointments.
3. Shift Your Mindset: View recovery as a strategic investment, not a setback.
Gabriel’s insights underscore a powerful question for leaders:
Do you respect your body enough to prioritise recovery, or are you depleting your health in pursuit of your ego-driven ambitions?
Leadership begins with self-leadership and mastering the balance. Just as you wouldn’t drive a high-performance car without maintenance, you can’t sustain optimal performance without caring for your body.
The choice is yours. Recovery is strategy. By balancing stress, fitness, and rest, you’ll not only enhance your performance but also set the tone for a healthier, more resilient future, for yourself, your business and people around you.
FAQ
Does exercise actually cause stress and inflammation in the body?
Yes, but Professor Holger Gabriel explains this is not inherently bad: the body strengthens itself when exposed to the right dose of stress, and deteriorates without it, similar to how a limb weakens in a cast.
What are the warning signs that exercise has become too much?
Physical overload, such as tendon injuries in untrained people who suddenly ramp up training, and psychological stress, where exercise is piled onto an already strained system as a coping mechanism until it becomes counterproductive rather than helpful.
Why does Professor Gabriel say recovery matters as much as training?
Because in both elite and recreational sport, regeneration is the most important source of good performance, and knowing when to pause is described as more difficult than training itself.
When should someone skip a workout due to illness?
Gabriel names fever, swollen glands, severe fatigue, pain in the throat, ears or sinuses, and muscle aches, joint swelling or headaches as signals to stop, since exercising through a fever or respiratory infection can risk myocarditis and fatal heart rhythm disturbances.
What does the article suggest for finding a personal balance between fitness and recovery?
General guidelines of around 30 to 45 minutes of aerobic activity most days and resistance training twice a week, while stressing these are guidelines rather than mandates, to be adapted with professional guidance to your own capacity.
What role does nutrition play in recovery, according to Gabriel?
He highlights vitamin C, magnesium and zinc for supporting immunity, prioritising light, fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and cautions against over-relying on supplements in place of a balanced diet.
What's next
Continue with 8 Ways Yoga Can Help Rewire Your Brain, a related read on this topic.
Explore our Fitness collection for more evidence-based perspectives.
For the wider picture on energy, sleep and hormones after 40, explore our Lifestyle Medicine for Women 40+ resource.
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