Since the semester has just begun, the stress load (hopefully) hasn’t been too overwhelming. However in the future when we’re all frantically trying to finish our midterm papers this post may come in handy. We all know that exercise is crucial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle but, often enough, people overlook the other amazing aspects of exercise, such as its ability to help relieve stress. Exercising helps us sleep better and produces endorphins in the brain which improve our mood. Overall, exercise is benefits the body and mind in countless ways.
So how do we get started? There are so many different forms of exercise so there is bound to be one out there that fits your lifestyle and really challenges you in the best way. Cardio, weight training and different forms of meditation (like yoga) are some great examples. Whether or not you go to the gym you can do various forms of each. It doesn’t matter whether your idea of cardio is hoping on the bike for thirty minutes or hiking up the stairs of the library to get to the fourth floor. They’re both getting your heart rate up and getting those endorphins pumping.
Weight training is another brilliant means of exercise which really provides an outlet for stress and allows you to strengthen parts of your body you may not necessarily love because, let’s be honest, we all have different areas which make us a bit self-conscious. With weight training you can target certain areas and see some serious change with a bit of time and determination.
Forms of meditation such as yoga are an unbelievable kind of exercise which helps clear your mind by incorporating varied breathing techniques and movements.
Keep in mind, some forms of exercise aren’t necessarily for everyone. You may love lifting but dread cardio. That’s alright! Once you figure out what type of workout which suits you, embrace it and set goals for yourself. Just keep in mind the endless positive effects exercise has on your life and take advantage of them and remember that exercise is not all about the time you put in at the gym. Now let’s get ready to rock this semester and manage our stress through exercise!