Although exercise is part of a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle, the style of exercise you are doing – whilst living a hectic, rat race lifestyle may be doing you more harm than good.
For example, most group-based classes – work at a somewhat high intensity. Which can leave you feeling full of endorphins afterwards but wrecked later in the day. I see this with clients constantly in practice, where we “feel” our workout has to be incredibly high-intensity – for it to be worth it. (Let’s save that topic for another day).
It’s important to understand that your body doesn’t know the difference between mental and physical stress. All stress does is compound on one another. If you’re undergoing a particularly stressful stage of life, or if you’re living in a constant state of “I never have enough time” constantly in a rush, then pairing that lifestyle with a high-intensity workout 4-6 x per week, it’s like pouring gasoline on an already lit fire.
High cortisol levels (your stress hormone) daily and for long durations can play absolute havoc on our health. Plenty of research suggests that high cortisol levels can affect sleep quality, play havoc on our digestive system, and lead to weight gain (especially around the lower stomach).
If this resonated with you, it may be time to reassess your relationship with exercise. Start by allocating one day a week for higher intensity, and swap the rest out for lower intensity forms of exercise like resistance training, pilates, and walking. Let us know the difference in how you feel!
Therrien, F., Drapeau, V., Lalonde, J., Lupien, S. J., Beaulieu, S., Tremblay, A., & Richard, D. (2007). Awakening cortisol response in lean, obese, and reduced obese individuals: effect of gender and fat distribution. Obesity, 15(2), 377-385.
Responses