Day 21 Max Phase (Using Workouts the Battle Stress)

Day 21

Stress is bad, very bad. That is what we have all heard for pretty much our whole life, and some in our society have bought into this false notion so deeply that we try at every turn to calm ourselves with pills or boos, or whatever. In don’t know where this idea of stress being inherently evil comes from but today we are going to turn stress into our ally much like a kite uses the opposition and stress the wind places on it to fly. Now, I’m not advocating that we go on a quest seeking for the fountain of eternal stress because that would be evil, and our kite would be ripped to shreds. All I am suggesting is that you take the stress that naturally comes to you and use it to your benefit.

In my life I have identified that when I get overly stressed I eat. This obviously doesn’t help my fitness, or my waistline. Like the other day when I was woken up early and couldn’t get back to sleep, and the house was crazy with toys and kids and fruit flies. By the way fruit flies are just about the most annoying thing ever, because they never go away. If you have the silver bullet against them let me know in the comments. Anyways that day my wife taught me something as I went to the fridge to find something to eat, and she probably had no idea she was teaching me. All she said was, “Why don’t you go for a run?”

I took her advice and when I came back I felt so much better and I’m sure I was much nicer to be around. My wife can verify that in the comments if she likes. The point is once we find out what our unhealthy stress reliever is we can use fitness to fight it. This way you can avoid yelling at your kids or the dog or life in general and you can channel that frustration in a way that will better you. Next time you feel like you are about to lose your mind, try it.  If possible excuse yourself from the situation, get ready for a workout and go.  If you can’t get away do some push-ups or sit-ups.

Fitness is all about feeling good and balanced. When we are overly stressed it is usually because that balance is off, and I believe you will find that exercise will clear your head and when finished the stress will be gone, smaller and more manageable, or you will have had time to sort out the problem while working out. This is have we turn negatives into positives.