subject: Exercise Will Help You Create A Zero Tolerance Level For Stress [print this page] Exercise Will Help You Create A Zero Tolerance Level For Stress
As we become more health conscious and the importance of proper exercise is being more and more recognized there is an increased focus on the fact that it is a crucial part of our modern lifestyles. Many people already exercise for body weight control, to get in better physical condition and to become healthier but exercise and the management of stress is also closely linked.Stress is one of the most common and widespread problems in modern-day life. Most everyone suffers from it in their day to day busy fast-paced lives. But many do not recognize stress for what it is until it affects their physical, mental or emotional health in a negative way. It can be a major issue for them but they often are not aware of it.Left unmanaged stress produces cortisol which is a hormone that can make you fat, tired and old before your time. It is associated with almost every disease known to man. One of the main problems though is if you are stressed and time is tight proper exercise is often the first thing to disappear from the totem pole of priorities. Yet this is a mistake as exercise is powerful anti-stress medicine and reduces worry and anxiety like no pill, drug or mediation ever can. Proper exercise that engages the body's muscles can play a major role in the reduction of stress by decreasing cortisol and increasing 'feel good' hormones - the endorphins that improve mood and enhance relaxation for up to several hours after a workout. These soothing calming chemicals induce a general feeling of well-being dissipating and 'chasing away' anxiety and worry. Think of them like medicine to help the body and mind counter and repair the harmful effects of stress and busyness.So not only are you getting all the other benefits of strength training such as weight management, better body shape and more strength and energy you are also getting the de-stressing benefits as well. You will find it will re-set your stress/anxiety/panic/worry mechanism so triggering it is harder and recovery is quicker when 'set off'.Once you get started on your program you will look forward to the magic of not only improving how you look but how you feel as well. And like a wheel turning when you feel good you will have more motivation to eat better and be more active in general. This will in turn help you manage stress better as well by improving your general health.If you do nothing and let your stress impact on your life you may be forced eventually to lose days, weeks or even months off work due to stress related illness. Just 2-3 sessions each week of your exercise program will not take up much of your time and will return benefits to you one hundred fold both in the short term and long term.
