How Do You FEEL?

Hey Motiv8ers!

I don't talk much about it but one of the largest reasons for me getting into personal training and HIIT training has to do with my OWN desire for better mental and emotional health.  

It is the #1 thing on my list of reasons why I get up every morning to help you all and also the #1 reason why I run the crazy races I do.  Anyone who thinks I do it for the competition or to be faster or stronger than other people just doesn't really know me.  How I FEEL is my barometer for whether I've succeeded in ultramarathon running.  It's how I judge whether what I'm doing is contributing to my best health!

So....how do YOU feel?

Do you have days when you just don't want to talk to anybody?  I have!

Do you have days when you feel really bad about yourself?  I have!

Do you have days when you just want to beat yourself up because of something you ate?  I have!

Do you have days when it's just hard to do daily tasks because you feel run down or overwhelmed?  I have!

If any of this sounds familiar, you are NOT alone and I will always be here for you. 

Because I've been there too.

I can tell you firsthand too that there's a lot of positive hope for you if you ever feel overcome by some of these feelings!  And Motiv8 is the PERFECT place to be for you! 

Exercise has been proven in multiple studies to have an anti-depressant effect on those who stick to a consistent, goal-based training plan.  There are multiple ways that exercise can make you feel better.  Not only by LOVING what you see in the mirror after a few months but in MUCH more immediate ways.  So...forget for a second about where you are in comparison to where you want to be and consider these incredible benefits to staying committed to a healthy diet and lifestyle with regular (ahem: Motiv8 SETs) exercise!

Exercise enhances mood

There have been 3 major experiments since 2006 that have illustrated the remarkable impact exercise has on patients with Major Depression.  In one study, exercise was found to have a nearly equal effect as some anti-depressant medications.  The reason:  When you exercise your brain releases endorphins, adrenaline, dopamine and serotonin all of which are "feel good" hormones/chemicals.  In addition, muscles used to exhaustion are easier to relax...releasing tension and strain.

Exercise reduces anxiety

Fight-or-flight is a response mechanism our bodies have evolved to deal with stressful situations.  In the primitive world that translates to survival of predator/prey situations.  BUT, we aren't being chased by predators anymore and often live our lives in a bubble of routine and moderate-level stress.  

How do you think we have adapted to that change?  Well recent research has proven that we HAVEN'T!  

The natural reaction to people with high-sensitivity to this anxiety in the modern world is fear and panic.  Fear and panic are debilitating.  They keep you from making important decisions and progressing in life.  But those who exercise regularly have been found to reduce their fear and panic when they experience fight-or-flight because well...you are simulating the same symptoms (sweating, increased heart rate) during your workout!  You are teaching yourself to deal with fight-or-flight from a position of safety and control vs. danger!  

Exercise is confidence building
 

When you develop a goal and smash that goal it creates a feeling of accomplishment.  Pair that with changes in your body that you couldn't achieve based on diet alone and you start to hold your head a little higher and approach problems with the increased energy you have gained from your new diet and lifestyle.  You change the balance of power that problems used to have over you.  The impossible doesn't feel impossible anymore.  The events in your life that used to defeat you, whether they had to do with your fear or your body or your self-esteem can't control you anymore.  You have a sense of power and control over your life because you've proven to yourself that if you can change ONE thing (your mental state) you can change ANYTHING!

Motiv8ers, if you ever get discouraged because you aren't where you WANT to be...remember the effects that your lifestyle is having on you that will BUILD YOU UP to the person that WILL get to where you want to be.  Celebrate the little milestones that make you feel good (if even for a few moments) because those milestones will snowball into an unstoppable force of change.


Focus on how you feel and forget the body standards, the measurements and the comparisons because in the end it's how you function in your everyday life that really matters!

Have a great weekend!

Coach Joe