Let’s face it: everyone gets stressed out now and again. Some more than others, depending on how we react individually to certain situations. There are many ways to help reduce stress, but they aren’t always good choices: binge eating, taking stress out on others, procrastinating, sleeping too much, withdrawing from others and more.
However, there is one that is always a good choice: exercise.
One of the greatest benefits of exercise is stress reduction. Sometimes, even a walk can take a load off of your shoulders. It’s similar to a meditation, by focusing on breathing, and can help clear your mind.
No matter what type of exercise you choose to do in order to manage your stress, you will see that it’s an amazing transformation of your body and mind from before exercise to after.
Bills pile up, job and family responsibilities are constantly on your mind, personal problems arise, and so on. The easiest thing to do is sit on the couch and dwell in it. But we all know that route doesn’t solve anything.
When we exercise, endorphins are released. These are basically feel-good chemicals the body creates that are similar to painkillers. Just 20 to 30 minutes of exercise can trigger the release of endorphins. It can boost your mood instantly. The stress is therefore reduced or sometimes eliminated after exercise.
Exercise serves as a positive distraction to your stressful situation and puts your mind in another place for a while. After you exercise, your mind is much clearer, and you’ve also taken up time with positive action to look back and reflect on your problem in a new light.
Another positive stress reliever is music. Guess what pairs very well with music? Exercise!
Music can take you from walking on the treadmill to jogging once your new favorite song comes on your playlist. From Zumba to BodyPump to RPM, all exercise classes are choreographed to music. The beat of a great song, mixed with the endorphins released during exercise, is a powerful combination.
On another note, the soothing sound of a slow, relaxing song combined with stretches and meditation-like movements found in yoga can also offer stress relief in an entirely different way. You don’t have to be an athlete to do any of these types of exercises. All you need to do is show up, follow along and prepare to clear your mind.
We all fall under stress at times. It’s human nature. But it’s how we react to that stress that determines the outcome of our daily lives.
We can choose the easy way out by eating and sleeping our worries away, but we’re still stuck in the same stressful situation at the end of the day. Or we can choose to take that walk or run (or that class with a friend) and deal with that stress in a positive manner.
How will you handle your stress today?
Someone once said, “A diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled stress exceptionally well.”
Heather Dykstra is an AFAA-certified personal trainer and has been a group fitness instructor for over 13 years. She is currently involved with the Plant City Family YMCA.