Passion and Addiction in Sports and Exercise

Passion and Addiction in Sports and Exercise is about the bright and dark aspects of sports and exercise behavior and revolves around two closely related yet distinct concepts. Passion is a joyful and healthy reflection of one?s enjoyment and dedication to an adopted sport or exercise. At the same time, exercise addiction is an obligatory and must-be-done training regimen. This book is the first to attempt to explain the significant differences between passion and addiction in sports and exercise, as well as the relationship between the two.

This book presents an overview of three dimensions of passion and offers a new frame to contextualize exercise addition. The work also addresses the misinterpretation of certain aspects of training (e.g., intensity, frequency, and commitment) often related to the risk of exercise addiction. After introducing the health benefits of exercise, the book looks at the passion for sports and exercise training and the transition into maladaptive practice. Then it presents definitions and theoretical models for exercise addiction. It then examines exercise addiction cases while also illustrating how excessive or high exercise volumes could be beneficial instead of problematic. The last chapter offers a new approach for a better understanding of exercise addiction.

Passion and Addiction in Sports and Exercise is helpful for students, researchers, and clinicians interested in sport and exercise psychology, athletic training, behavioral addictions, and physical education. As well as being valuable reading for all regular exercisers and physically active individuals, including athletes competing at various levels in different sport disciplines.

"Szabo and Demetrovics have written a very clever book that clears up some conceptual ambiguities and methodological weaknesses in exercise addiction research. Passion and Addiction in Sports and Exercise is compulsory reading for anyone interested in the subject, whether as a researcher, coach or athlete."

Dr. Robert Gugutzer, Professor for social sciences of sports, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany