Working out is what I always believed to be my stress reliever. I put the headphones on, the 80′s bandana, the game face, and I am ready to rock and roll in my zone. The things that stress me out are the driving forces for my workout. However, there are times when I don’t want to work out and I feel stressed during my workout. On the other hand, if I don’t work out it stresses me that I didn’t. So it’s a damned if I don’t, damned if I do the type of situation. To add insult to injury, as I just mentioned, working out, especially intensely is a form of stress. So really, no matter what I do, I can’t win. But we all know exercising is essential, so naturally, I will keep working out.
When we stress our adrenal glands release cortisol, a hormone. Elevated cortisol levels can lead to an increase in body fat percentage, loss of muscle tissue, sleep disruption, fatigue, and digestive problems. Very very bad things and something that will compromise your athletic goals. If cortisol remains elevated the body stops burning fat as fuel and burns carbohydrates in the form of sugar. Therefore fat will be stored as fat. Improper hydration can also be an effect causing muscle cramping and eventually wrinkling. When the body lacks proper hydration delivery of nutrients to cells will also be compromised causing malnutrition.
You may have heard of the term overtraining. Which means exactly the way it sounds, when one exercises too much. You know you are overtraining from various factors and one is the inability to sleep soundly. When we sleep is when our body rebuilds and restores itself. If athletes do not get a good night’s rest, it will show in their poor sport’s performance. They will also have a harder time building muscle.
But sometimes we have to train hard, especially if we are an athlete getting ready for competition. So what we have to do is feed our body in a way to reduce stress and its effects. Not eating a healthy diet is a form of uncomplimentary stress and a form of stress we do have control over. Mensjournal suggests that you need to eat the right amount of healthy, natural whole foods in order for our body to regenerate completely and effectively to create a stronger, more resilient body. By eating a typical Standard American Diet of refined and processed foods you will cause more stress and wear down your organ’s ability to function properly, cause premature signs of aging to occur, muscle stiffness, fatigue, and illness.
Don’t let me deter you by any means of working out. Our body was created to move. You simply have to find the right amount and proper type of exercise and do so consistently. You will become fitter and tasks like walking up a flight of stairs will not induce a stress response as it does to those that are “unfit.” Exercising heals and activates the regeneration of our body which is what we want, not only for muscle recovery but also for anti-aging and just for being healthy.
We live in a society of constant stress, constant unavoidable stress, but eating right and exercising smart will help reduce the effects of stress and in turn provide you with a much more appealing body and mind.
