Do you still workout even if you're super stressed?

sassypear

I feel so stressed out with school and work. Now I find myself making excuses to skip a day because I feel like crap.

FrankWhite27330

Gym is a stress reliever for me.. nothing like hearing weights clank

emhunter

Yes!!! Stress does not stop me. My busy schedule will stop me more than anything. But not stress. A good sweat melts away that stress feeling even if only temporarily!

erimethia_fekre

sassypear wrote: »

I feel so stressed out with school and work. Now I find myself making excuses to skip a day because I feel like crap.

I use running as a way to release my stress. It's about time you made working out your way to relax

kiela64

I let school stress me out so much I've missed nearly a month of working out. A day or two isn't a big deal, but it's really distressing to get to this point and think I'll be at square one when I get back. It also feels worse to be stressed and not move. My muscles cramp up and I get really sore. If you need to miss a day to finish an assignment miss a day, but don't let that day turn into a week into weeks. It's not fun

oh_happy_day

Yes! If anything, I exercise more. When I was doing grad school in addition to working full time and purchasing a house I was still hitting the gym morning and night. Endorphins = sanity. And lack of time isn't really an excuse for me. I'd fit in an intense 15 minute workout at home, ran hill sprints the next street over, five minutes of burpees etc. I also broke up my study time with yoga poses to keep myself moving. I functioned so much better - more energy, slept more soundly, managed my stress better generally,

Machka9

As above ... Yes! If anything, I exercise more.

I work full time and I'm also in an extremely heavy grad program at university. I've taken a lot of courses and have acquired certificates, diplomas and degrees, but have never encountered anything quite this heavy before.

And yet, I walk and climb stairs every day, and on weekends my husband and I get out for fairly lengthy, strenuous bicycle rides.

If I didn't do that, I think I'd be a whimpering ball in the corner.

samthepanda

Same here, exercise is my stress reliever. When I'm having a bad day chucking sandbags around can really help! Timetable it in so it is as important and class or work. I work, and have young kids so gym time is limited, so I do those stick to my times as much as possible as I know it will be hard to go any other time. Also have a back up. If I really don't want to or can't go, I might run or do a long walk which I can do with the kids.

MeanderingMammal

Running long distances is more socially acceptable than tearing people a new one at work...

tomteboda

Every day I walk between 2.5 - 5 miles, averaging 4 mi / day. I absolutely treasure the time out on the trails because I can sort through my thoughts, relax, clear my mind, catch up on the news, or basically have time that's 100% at my discretion.

Karen_can_do_this

Yep if I've had a crappy day at work, I go smash out a workout. I feel happy better afterwards

Machka9

tomteboda wrote: »

Every day I walk between 2.5 - 5 miles, averaging 4 mi / day. I absolutely treasure the time out on the trails because I can sort through my thoughts, relax, clear my mind, catch up on the news, or basically have time that's 100% at my discretion.

Yes! And I find that when I'm walking or cycling, I often figure out possible solutions to a work or university problem. At the very least, having the time to really think it through helps a lot.

amusedmonkey

Yes. The endorphins from running are proven both in theory and in my personal practice to be a great stress reliever.

patrikc333

absolutely, with my stress level and without running I'll be prob in jail

relaxing while sweating, getting rid of bad thoughts and tidying up the day, before the crap (commuting, work, boring repetitive stuff) starts

fobs13

Find running a great stress reliever!

yesimpson

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

Running long distances is more socially acceptable than tearing people a new one at work...

Absolutely. I am more chilled out when I'm exercising frequently.

sandsofarabia

Sadly no... I know working out would make me feel better but as a college student I get stressed out too much to the point where I feel that I need to dedicate every minute to catching up with homework. I should still dedicate even a small time to working out though...

callsitlikeiseeit

the gym is what keeps me from going on murderous rampages. so i would say yes.

Pawsforme

It depends on the type of stress.

Had a really bad day or worrying about something -- exercise definitely helps. Sometimes a LOT.

Stressed due to time constraints/way too much that needs doing -- finding time to exercise can just make that worse, and thinking about/worrying about what other things I could be doing instead of exercising negates any stress relieving effect I normally get from the exercise.

mbaker566

yes, definitely. i find aerial yoga and conditioning to be huge stress relievers.
and running? well this shirt explains it all

yusaku02

FrankWhite27330 wrote: »

Gym is a stress reliever for me.. nothing like hearing weights clank

Yeah this. You're going to feel worse if you DON'T work out.

sllm1

Yep - the workout will help if you can drag yourself out of the house. Just tell yourself that you'll get dressed for a workout. Once you're dressed, you might as well go. Once you get started, you'll feel better. It all starts with putting on your workout gear.

lmr0528

Working out relaxes me. The only days I don't work out is if I just plain don't have the time in my day for it, or if I'm sick.

arabianhorselover

Pawsforme wrote: »

It depends on the type of stress.

Had a really bad day or worrying about something -- exercise definitely helps. Sometimes a LOT.

Stressed due to time constraints/way too much that needs doing -- finding time to exercise can just make that worse, and thinking about/worrying about what other things I could be doing instead of exercising negates any stress relieving effect I normally get from the exercise.

I agree with this.

nyponbell

Even though I know that working out relaxes me, I sometimes do let the stress take over -- or, not the stress itself, but the feeling that I "don't have the time to go to the gym". But, usually (at least currently) I can get through that -- because I'm doing rehab for my back and not only does it only take 30 minutes if I skip the exercises I added myself (whole body, for extra umph) and focus, but I know that if I don't do it I will be in pain and be miserable.

The one thing I've not yet managed to work through is if I'm feeling tired; then I will skip the gym --- and is the reason why I prefer to go in the morning if I'm able to, because then I've not got the "had a horrible day at work today, need to just veg for a bit" excuse.

It's something I'm working on though!

JustMissTracy

Depends on the stress for me too...if it's sad stress, I find I can't workout...proven after two recent deaths...if it's anger stress, or worry....running or heavy lifting usually bring me out of that funk. Good luck! Its true what they say tho, "you only regret the workouts you DIDNT do!"

loki621

When my ex ditched me for another guy a few months ago, I forced myself to go to the gym. It was rough but the gym turned out to be therapeutic. Now, if I don't go for a day, the feels return. It's kind of kept me focused.

urloved33

especially when i am super stressed

jeffd247

Usually when I'm really stressed, working out is the last thing that I want to do. I really get the urge to just say F%$& it. Recently though I've forced myself to work out when I was really mad. It turned out to be a pretty good tension reliever. Partially, because when I exercise I get a little shot of endorphin, but also because I don't have the guilt of pounding a whole pizza

Unknown

This content has been removed.

WickedPineapple

Pawsforme wrote: »

It depends on the type of stress.

Had a really bad day or worrying about something -- exercise definitely helps. Sometimes a LOT.

Stressed due to time constraints/way too much that needs doing -- finding time to exercise can just make that worse, and thinking about/worrying about what other things I could be doing instead of exercising negates any stress relieving effect I normally get from the exercise.

x2

During a particular hard time two years ago, I remember having stressful phone calls with my mom and going straight onto the elliptical after. It helped a lot. However, when I'm stressed because I'm working 12-16 hour days and trying to juggle social events as well? Or having a bad bout of insomnia? Exercise tends to take a backseat.