meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Ben Greenfield Life

Is It OK To Be Addicted To Exercise?

Ben Greenfield Life

Ben Greenfield

Education, Fitness, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness

4.65.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2013

⏱️ 59 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Do you feel like you're just not normal when you miss your workout?

Do you get grumpy when you skip your planned physical activity?

Do you sometimes sacrifice work and relationships to be able to squeeze in an exercise session?

Are you addicted to the feeling you get during or after a long run or bike ride or weight lifting workout?

Is this stuff normal, and is it OK to be "addicted to exercise"?

In today's podcast episode with "The Long Run" author Mishka Shubaly (pictured right), Mishka and I explore exercise addiction, and whether it is OK to be addicted to exercise.

mishka shubaly

Who is Mishka Shubaly?

After receiving an expensive MFA in Fiction from Columbia University, Mishka realized he was more interested in playing music in dive bars than writing. He lived out of a Toyota minivan for a year, touring nonstop, and has shared the stage with artists like The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Decemberists among others.

His Kindle Singles for Amazon have all been bestsellers. He writes true stories about drink, drugs, disasters, desire, deception and their aftermath. His work has been praised for its grit, humor, fearlessness and heart. The book "The Long Run" is his mini-memoir detailing his transformation from alcoholic drug abuser to sober ultrarunner.

Mishka Shubaly lives in Brooklyn where he writes music and plays bass for a band called the Freshkills.

During our interview, I ask Mishka:

-How does the experience you feel during, say, a run compare from a psychological standpoint to how you felt when drinking or using drugs?

-Because of things like the runner's high and endorphin release, do you think that people with "addictive personalities" have a greater predisposition towards endurance sports?

-Do you think that positive addictions like exercise can be taken too far?

-What are your top tips for people who find themselves potentially addicted to exercise, or working out to the extent to which it might damage their body or detract from their relationships or job?

Do you have your own questions, comments, feedback or thoughts about whether it is OK to be addicted to exercise? Leave your thoughts at http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/?p=14483 and be sure to grab Mishka's book for $1.99.

long run book

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome to the Ben Greenfield Fitness.com podcast.

0:07.1

We provide you with free exercise, nutrition, weight loss, triathlon and wellness advice

0:13.0

from the top fitness experts in the nation.

0:15.9

So whether you're an Iron Man triathlete or you're just trying to shed a few pounds,

0:20.7

get ready for non-runner-of-the-mill cutting edge content from Ben Greenfield Fitness.com.

0:30.0

Hey folks, Ben Greenfield here and I have a guy on the call with me whose book I literally

0:46.2

just finished reading this month and it's not a super long book.

0:51.8

It's actually available as a Kindle single and that's kind of a cool deal where you can

0:59.1

get almost like, I guess I would describe it as a short story, it's not super duper short,

1:04.0

but really, really interesting stories.

1:06.0

You can find over on the Kindle singles website on Amazon and the guy with me on the call

1:12.0

today is named Miska Shibali and Miska wrote a book called The Long Run and The Long Run

1:19.8

and we'll kind of be talking a little bit about Miska's story today but in a nutshell,

1:24.1

it's about kind of his personal growth and his discovery of running and how it could actually help

1:34.8

turn him the way that he describes in the book description from an irreverent young drunk

1:41.0

and drug abuser to someone who learned how to tame self-destructive tendencies through ultra-running.

1:47.9

So today we're going to talk about this kind of thing.

1:51.1

The whole link between exercise and addiction and addictive personalities and running and

1:57.1

the difference between running and something like drugs or alcohol or other positive or negative

2:03.3

addictions and just kind of delve into this stuff and explore it in a little bit more detail and

2:08.6

all of course put a link over to Miska's website at MiskaShibali.com so you can check that out

2:13.0

and also to his book The Long Run which is a good read but Miska, thanks for coming on the call

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -4288 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ben Greenfield, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ben Greenfield and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.