How to Stay Sane With Exercise

5 WAYS EXERCISE WILL KEEP YOU SANE DURING TRYING TIMES

I don’t have to tell you that living in these trying times is extremely stressful. I think we are all worried that we, or someone we love, will get sick with Covid-19. And if they do, like my brother did, you worry constantly that they’ll be okay. Luckily, he is.

You may have already had the virus or cared for someone who had it. Maybe you or someone you love is a part of a medical team or a 1st responder. A whole other set of worries.

Add financial issues to the mix. Are you or someone in your family out of work, or concerned about paying bills? Or are you worried about how to keep your business going? We’re surrounded by uncertainty.

And then there is the added stress with helping kids with e-learning, working from home, 24/7 family time, and little “me” time.

Living alone, or social isolation in general, can cause loneliness and depression.

Are you feeling like this!?

We have all been affected by this virus in one way or another. If not directly, stress is all around us. We’re all in this together.

Now, more than ever before, it is important to keep our bodies and minds healthy and strong. Not only for ourselves, but for all who depend on us.

As a fitness professional with 15+ years in the industry, I have seen the benefits of exercise on body and mind firsthand. I’m passionate about the importance of everyone, no matter how young or old, spending some time each day moving their bodies. 

Have you ever thought about how exercising regularly can make a difference in your life? Not only physically, but maybe more importantly now, mentally? 

I am not going to spend a lot of time talking about the physical benefits of exercise. You probably already know why it is good for you.

So much has been written about how exercising can make you stronger, leaner, more flexible. It can improve your cardiac function, balance, stamina, and bone density, and your ability to walk for long periods of time.

It also combats health conditions such as:

• • • Obesity
    • Type II diabetes
    • Arthritis
    • High Blood Pressure
    • Osteoporosis and Osteopenia.
    • It has been shown to help ward off mental decline and dementia.

• • • •  

But, what I really want to talk about are the mental health and emotional benefits of exercise.

Are you anything like me? Does going even a week without some kind of exercise make you crazy? Even if you have never exercised on a regular basis, I’m sure you know how good you have felt in the past after a hike or bike ride or an energetic romp with your kids.

I think we all see anecdotal evidence supporting the idea of exercise being good for our mental health, but there is extensive research showing the beneficial effects of exercise on our brains. 

I firmly believe that the mental health benefits of exercise are just as important, if not more so, than the physical health benefits. Especially in these trying times.

Table of contents:

Here are 5 ways exercise will keep you sane during difficult times. Exercise:

1. 1. 1. Increases endorphins—a giant mood lift.
      2. Helps with depression.
      3. Eases anxiety.
      4. Helps with sleep.
      5. Increases a feeling of control.

1. Exercise is a giant mood lift

Have you ever wondered just why people go to the gym and sweat? Or run a marathon? You may think it’s crazy to spend hours doing laps in a pool or biking 50 miles. And why do kids spend all day playing basketball in their driveway? Bottom line exercise makes us feel good.

Ever hear the expression “runners high”? It refers to feelings of pure elation, reduced stress, and a decreased ability to feel pain.  It’s the well-being that runners experience during or after a run. It is caused by the release of endorphins, chemicals in the brain. that make us feel good when we feel pain so we will forget about the pain. And it works! Not only for runners, but for us when we exercise.

If you exercise on a regular basis, you know what I’m talking about. If you’ve never exercised on a regular basis, trust me, you’ll love this feeling of well-being when you get in a groove moving your body.

2. Exercise helps with depression

There is growing evidence that even very moderate levels of physical activity (e.g. walking 20-30 minutes a day, which adds up to just over two hours per week) can prevent future depression. 

This is low-intensity exercise sustained over time. That kind of activity spurs the release of proteins called neurotrophic or growth factors, which cause nerve cells to grow and make new connections. The improvement in brain function makes you feel better.

When you exercise your mind gets away from negative thoughts. You’re thinking about what you’re doing at the moment, giving your mind a rest from worry. As you build up more endorphins during your exercise, you feel a sense of well-being and catastrophic ideas have no room in your mind.

For more information on the effects of exercise on depression, Check out this article from Psychology Today.

3. Exercise eases anxiety

Is this happening to you? You wake up in the morning in a good mood. You decide to check the news, even though you promised yourself you wouldn’t. So you grab your paper or go online or turn on CNN or whatever morning show you watch. You might check the latest updates on your phone. The next thing you know you are sure that the sky is falling and you can’t do anything about it.  I’ve been there. It can be so easy to fall down that rabbit hole. 

Now what if instead of starting your day this way, you took a few minutes to be grateful for all you have, put on some workout clothes and spend the next 15-45 minutes getting your body moving and your brain filled with endorphins? 

The news is not going away. All your concerns are still there. But what a difference it will make in your ability to cope with your world! With exercise, your body calms and your anxiety eases.

When you are in this feeling of well-being, your creativity will soar. You will be in a far better place to find solutions to your problems. Minor annoyances that you’ve inflated, won’t seem so overwhelming. It’s a lot easier and more fun to interact with your loved ones when you’re happy, in a good mood. The filter through which you look at life will be positive.

Here’s some good information about the relationship between exercise and anxiety (even panic attacks). Check out this article. 

4.Exercise helps you sleep

There’s a lot of scientific evidence showing that exercise can help improve your sleep. It may even help improve sleep issues such as insomnia.

How does exercise affect your sleep? 

There is a sleep phase called deep sleep. This is the time when our body restores itself. It’a during this time that we get a boost to our immune system. Deep sleep also helps to support cardiac health and helps to control anxiety and stress.

Exercise can increase the amount of time spent in deep sleep. It contributes to a more sound and restful sleep.

Exercise can also help you increase how long you sleep.

Because exercising requires expending energy, you will feel more tired by your bedtime. You will be ready to rest by the end of the day. Consistent exercise on a regular basis has been shown to improve both sleep duration and quality.

For more information, check out this research article.

You may even sleep like a baby!

5. Exercise increases a feeling of control

It can give you a sense of power.  In these uncertain times, it is common to feel helpless. And these feelings are there for a good reason. There are so many things right now that are out of our control.

We do everything we can to follow all the guidelines to avoid getting this virus. Wash our hands often, stay home and avoid crowds, etc. but we can’t always control if we get sick. And if we do, how sick we get.

We can’t control if we have to separate from friends and family. We may not have access to many of our favorite activities and can’t control if schools are closed. We can’t control what response our government has to the crisis. 

But, you can control your fitness level. You can take control of your physical body and mold and shape it into whatever you want it to be. And maybe being stuck at home is the kick-start you need to get to that long-desired result. 

• • Want to be flexible, you can stretch.
  • Want to be stronger? You can do weight training.
  • Want to increase your stamina? You can do cardio.
  • Want to lose weight? You can do cardiovascular training along with your strength training. (Yes, strength training can help you lose weight. But, that’s a completely different blog post).

When you’re exercising, you are in control, which in turn, can bring a sense of normalcy to your life. 

You may be like so many people who feel scattered without a normal routine. Your mind loves structure and without knowing what happens day to day or even moment to moment you feel out of whack. By setting a time of day, every day, to exercise you’ll put in place a routine. A first step to calming that feeling.

For some, no routine feels wonderful. It gives them a sense of freedom. If they want to take time off in the middle of the day to workout, they can. If you’re like that, embrace the opportunity to exercise whenever and however you want. Maybe try strength training or increase your cardio. Without outside obligations you may have more choices to step up your exercise time.

So, you know you need to exercise. You know it can help you physically, mentally, and emotionally. But how do you know what to do and where to begin?

And the longer you wait to start an exercise routine, the harder it will become to get yourself moving. 

You may be used to going to the gym and now all the gyms are closed. So what do you do?  What do you do without equipment; treadmills, ellipticals, spinning bikes and classes?  More importantly, what do you do without someone to push you, tell you what to do and provide motivation? 

And if you’re completely new to exercise, the whole subject may be totally confusing. 

Well, you can start with looking at some options. (Of course, during this time, your choices are more limited.) As you can imagine, they all have their pluses and minuses. I suggest that you find the activities you think you might like and try them out. 

4 Fitness Routine Options:

1. 1. 1. Go outside for a run, bike ride or hike. A great idea. It’s wonderful for body and mind to be getting a workout outside. I think we all are rejuvenated in nature. Obviously, you may be limited by weather. Yes, you will see die-hard runners out there trudging through snow and rain.  But, let’s be real here. Are you really going to run, or hike in the rain? Are you going to go for a bike ride if it is 45 degrees and windy? Unless you live in a year-round mild climate, you will want to add more options to this exercise routine.
      2. Take a class online or watch a YouTube video. There are hundreds of good classes online. You can find barre classes, Pilates classes, HIIT classes, Zumba classes. etc. All these methods are good if you know what you are doing and the teacher is good. But, if you are new to exercise or new to that particular type of exercise be careful, the last thing you want to do is injure yourself. Make sure you’re doing all the exercises correctly with proper instruction.
      3. Write an at-home workout plan for yourself.  This idea is directed more toward those of you who have worked out in a gym and want to continue the gym thing at home. The information is definitely out there through books and blog posts. I’ve combed through a lot of it. If you have the time or the desire to do that… great. Taking care of kids or working from home may make designing a workout plan a bit ambitious.
      4. Do online personal training with a professional. Let me be honest here…I have a bias. This is what I do day in and day out. My company provides clients with online personal training programs.  After getting to know you (your equipment, your current fitness level, your goals, your likes and dislikes) we write custom-designed workouts and training plans to get you in shape from the comfort of your own home. We deliver it all to you via the Irons Active app.   

                                  Click on the picture below to learn more.  

                                     

Conclusion:

Use exercise to keep you sane.

Make sure that the exercise you choose is convenient and workable on a regular basis. It has to fit into your lifestyle. And you have to enjoy it. Exercise should be fun, never a burden that you feel you HAVE to do. And remember, you are not limited to one form of exercise.

I would love to help you get through these trying times.. I’m happy to chat with you via email or leave a comment below.  If you want more information on Remote Personal Training click on the iPhone pictures above.