79: Jill Colangelo – Is Endurance Training Ruining Your Mental Health?

In this Episode

We’ve been told for years that 120-150 minutes a week of moderate exercise is not only good for our physical health, but also our mental health.

So, more exercise must provide more mental health benefits, yes?

No, says the research.

Here to dig into this topic is Jill Colangelo, a writer and researcher who studies the relationship between mental health and ultra endurance sport. Jill is currently a Research Affiliate in the Department of Forensic Psychiatry at the University of Bern and writing mental health-focused articles at Triathlete Magazine and across Outside Media.

Today, she and Sara discuss the delicate balance of mixing ultra-endurance training and mental health and ask, “Do the positive effects of exercise stand up through volume and intensity?”

They cover:

• The type of person who tends to get overtrained
• Drawing the line between healthy and unhealthy
• The concept of having an off-season and why it’s vital to health
• What should your mindset be when it comes to exercise?
• What do we mean by “ultra-endurance culture?”
• The pitfalls of glorifying and mythologizing ultra-endurance athletes as “heroes”
• Jill’s work in the world of social media and mental health
• What do you wish people knew about mental health?

As Sara says, “At the end of the day, people go through a lot worse than running a marathon and we have to ask who are the true heroes. Jill’s research is extremely helpful and relatable and I think we can all learn from her wisdom.”

Jill Colangelo’s Website

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