ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we aim to differentiate between healthy commitment to sport or exercise and dysfunctional exercise behavior manifesting in various symptoms of addiction. The general subject focuses on concepts that could foster a confound between commitment and addiction to exercise. First, similarities and differences between the two motivational characteristics in exercise behavior are examined to illustrate their very different impact on exercisers’ mental health and subjective feeling states. Second, since a high level of commitment is an index of well-adjustment to various changes, including exercise volume and schedule, we advocate that committed exercisers maintain control over their exercise behavior. As a result, they may not experience painful withdrawal symptoms when they must reduce their exercise volume or temporarily stop exercising for a reason. In contrast, addicted exercisers lose control over their exercise and experience severe psychological hardship. This section then leads into the next chapter, which discusses the psychological symptoms of exercise deprivation.
