5 Health-Editor Approved Ways To Make Your Workouts More Fun
Exercise is always praised as the ultimate stress-reducer; after all, studies have shown that it can be a game changer for mental health, linked to major improvements in both depression and anxiety. But for many of us—as we drag ourselves to the gym on a Thursday afternoon and spend 45 pretty miserable minutes on the stationary bike before we dash to a work event or to dinner because we’re starving—we can’t help but wonder if our workout brought more stress than good into our day.
Wellness is all about listening to our bodies and honoring our truth, so what if we don’t feel better AFTER our workout? Could forcing ourselves to walk to the gym when we are tired, stressed, and overwhelmed actually hurt our health? Could it even contribute to adrenal fatigue, chronic cortisol production, and other hormonal imbalances?
When your workout makes you feel stressed out and overwhelmed.
For starters, the research on this is isn’t entirely clear. But what we do know is that exercise is, in fact, a form of stress on the body—and that cardio in particular spikes our cortisol production and lowers T3, which is an important thyroid hormone. We also know that especially strenuous exercise is associated with low libido, mood disturbances, and gastrointestinal distress and that many of our health experts recommend adjusting our lifestyle routines throughout the month for healthier hormone balance, sometimes even recommending that women refrain from any strenuous exercise right before or during menstruation. Other research, however, shows that even if you’re being cajoled into exercise (either by yourself, a doctor, or a significant other) you still receive the benefits. So even if you think your workout is stressing you out, you wind up feeling happier and less anxious in the long run.
The different between movement and “a workout.”
So what can we take away from this? Unfortunately, it’s hard to say for sure—and it definitely depends on the person and their relationship with exercise. For some…
