While most people struggle to get themselves to go to the gym, exercise addicts have the opposite problem. Exercise addicts may push themselves to work out for several hours each day and structure much of their schedule around exercise.

They may work out regardless of sickness, injury, or other health problems that would cause most people to take a day off.

The activity level of exercise addicts generally far exceeds the exercise guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which advise that adults need 2.5 hours of aerobic exercise per week (around 30 minutes per day), plus muscle-strengthening exercises two days a week.

McLean Hospital identifies a sudden increase in the amount of time spent working out—for example, from 30 minutes a day to two hours a day — as a warning sign for exercise addiction.