Why People Are Still Stressed Despite Training Consistently
Why are People Still Stressed Despite Training Consistently?
Hint: We’re Doing the Wrong Type of Exercise
By Marco Augusto
Exercise is a great way to help with the stress of our day to day lives.
In a society that is becoming more and more switched on, and sleeping less, stress levels are rising, and even a go to method of reducing stress through movement isn't helping us.
So why are people exercising more, and yet still feeling stressed?
Have we been sold a lie with this whole exercise thing?
Having been in the industry a few 6 years now, and personally involved in training for 15 years, I've seen a few trends come and go.
And there are two which seem to be sticking around the most: social media and high intensity exercise.
Each has it's positives and negatives, but unfortunately there's a good chance the stress you can't seem to get away from is driven by the negative seen of these two things.
Stress is Okay
There are a lot of negatives about stress.
And like anything, it's all about quantity.
Too much stress is the problem, not stress itself.
Because some stress in our lives is kind of necessary.
Sure, you dream about drink alcoholic drinks on the sandy white beaches of the Bahamas without a care in the world, but do that all day, everyday for more than a month and I bet you'll lose your mind.
This is because we need some stress in our lives.
It keeps us moving forward, trying to solve problems.
Once a problem is solved, ideally we introduce a new one that is something we want to solve.
Learning a new skill for example, brings us stress.
No stress, no desire to keep learning.
Our exercise is stressful.
No stress, no adaption, no increased fitness and strength.
Exercise is seen as good stress.
Stress that benefits us overall, as opposed to stress from other areas of our lives which can make us feel worse.
So the aim isn't to remove stress completely, but to have the right amount of stress.
Social Media and Exercise
Years ago when I started training, there was no social media.
You didn't record your training session, and no one saw what you were doing except those training at the same time as you.
And even then, 99% of the time, they didn't care either.
And so there was no need to outdo everyone in the world.
You tried to outdo your training partner(s), or yourself.
This was important, because the training was done for the right reason.
Now, everyone is trying to show off the craziest exercises and training session to get the most likes and most attention.
This all tends to filter down into your day to day training.
All of a sudden, your trainer is applying a lot of these honestly shithouse exercises and training sessions into your training.
It keeps it exciting right?
When everything is done for the show, then what you need gets lost pretty quickly.
Yes, the exercise still helps your stress levels to a degree.
Moving is better than nothing after all.
But when the training gets more over the top and what you need is put aside for what's going to look good, then there's no doubt your stress levels aren't going to change a great deal.
High Intensity is Good...Sometimes
Just like stress is good in the right quantity, so is high intensity exercise.
For some people it works great actually, but that's a small percentage.
For the rest of us, high intensity exercise should be a supplement to less intense forms of exercise.
Even something as simple as walking is a better long term strategy for both health and stress than high intensity exercise on a regular basis.
But...
Walking doesn't sound exciting does it?
And you don't sweat as much, so surely it's not nearly as good.
Combined with social media, this "bigger is better" mindset, is probably making your stress levels worse.
Think about it: a highly stressed person goes and does the most stressful type of exercise on a regular basis with little to no focus on recovery; what could go wrong?!
Does this mean that high intensity exercise can't be done frequently?
Not at all, but the recovery needs to match the exercise.
And if you're stressed all the time, there's a good chance your recovery will be the last thing on your mind.
Otherwise, you wouldn't be stressed right?
And so the classic "fight fire with fire" mindset is being used in exercise these days.
And you're still stressed as ever
Exercise That Actually Helps Our Stress
I love a good session where you just go hard and sweat it out.
But for most of us (including myself), once or twice a week of this type of training is enough.
So what should we do more of?
As mentioned above, low intensity exercise should be the bread and butter for everyone.
Walking, jogging, cycling, swimming.
All of these are not only better for us long term (because we can do them over and over with little to no recovery needed, as long as the duration isn't too long), but they'll actually help you clear your head better.
You can actually think about things, solve problems, or just switch of and go into zombie mode, doing the simplest thing over and over.
Also, training with some long term focus.
Generally, this won't be a training program focused solely on fat loss.
Every time that's the only goal, the training goes towards high intensity and stress gets added.
Here at PEAK, the focus is on a long term improvement, so there's no need for every session to be as hard as possible.
And there's no need to try out the latest fad exercise because it's all simple, repeating key exercises to achieve excellence.
Walking every day is encouraged as well.
And at the end of some sessions, we do high intensity exercise.
The aim isn't to add stress, but to remove it over time.
While stimulating the body in a way that leads to improvement.
It's simple, and not particularly sexy, but it works, and will work for you too.
If you'd like to find out more about PEAK training CLICK HERE.
And if not, try putting away the phone for a bit, cutting back on the high intensity exercise and focus on long term improvement in your training and stress.
Until next time,
Marco Augusto
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