How does everyone cope with the stress of exercising?
betsycech
Posts: 12 Member
How does everyone cope with the stress of daily exercise? The time to think and the non-stop brain chatter during my workouts are driving my stress levels sky high. How does everyone calm their minds while working out? This added stress cannot be good for me.
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Replies
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I tend to either do sports which require my full attention so that I can’t think of other stuff, or I listen to music / podcast if I’m doing something boring. Maybe you need to set aside some time for your brain to whirr separately? Sounds like you’re really busy and maybe need to give yourself a break?9
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Have you considered some workouts that you don't do on autopilot but where you have to concentrate on your movements? I find that weight lifting or bodyweight exercises require all my concentration and there's no time for my thoughts to wander. Something like climbing, belly dancing in a group to choreographies, martial arts?7
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I've found in the past using Headspace has helped me to train myself to focus on what I'm doing. It doesn't stop the intrusive thoughts but allows me to observe them and then bring my attention back to what I'm doing. It's been really helpful for me as I used to really struggle with intrusive thoughts bringing me down.7
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I would change it up until you’re too focused to think about anything else. I run and do intense cardio as I find that stops my mind. I also do resistance and weights but can be easily distracted.2
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I listen to music and am either listening to that, or working so hard and concentrating on what I'm doing that I don't have time/space to think about much else. Also find the endorphins from my workout generally lead to a sunnier view of the world, and actually helps with my mood and mental space in general.1
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I like lifting weights and swimming, because both of those take all of my attention to maintain proper form. On cardio days, I like to walk with a podcast on or I pick a specific thing to work on/think about (like an upcoming essay or a painting idea) during my walk. You might also want to consider meditation if you feel like your thoughts are out of your control.3
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I mostly run or bike, so technology is helpful. A podcast or video (if on my bike trainer) is a great distraction.
What kind of exercise are you doing? Do you enjoy it? Might give us better direction to go for suggestions.0 -
I don't find exercise stressful, personally. If you do: perhaps try a different form of exercise? Or focus more on being more active overall for now instead of 'exercise'.
I do have a problem in that I need to occupy my mind, else I think of other things that I could/should be doing. So I read on the treadmill or listen to music while walking outside. If I am able to walk with another person, that can be helpful as we chat during. But that is not really happening these days.How does everyone cope with the stress of daily exercise? The time to think and the non-stop brain chatter during my workouts are driving my stress levels sky high. How does everyone calm their minds while working out? This added stress cannot be good for me.
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Podcasts. Only drawback is, I’m addicted to the true crime ones and my neck is getting an extra workout spinning back and forth to make sure no ones following me!
Yoga. You cannot get through a yoga class without giving it your utmost attention. There is little room for random thoughts. (Unless it’s a Yin, relaxation, or meditative class.)13 -
Find a workout you like. I exercise to take a break, if the exercise has the opposite effect, you need a different routine, sport, class etc4
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That sounds like general anxiety to me.
Intrusive thoughts can be managed...exercise is actually good for that in the long-run, but in the short term I would highly suggest breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga. That mind chatter is exhausting, and if you've spent your life trying to quiet that with staying busy or watching TV or whatever you've been doing to keep it knocked back - - - - it's time to give yourself a break. ((hug))
There are a lot of meditation apps, someone mentioned Headspace above...also look up breathing techniques like the 4 7 8 technique or Box Breathing.
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I lift weights and listen to music—counting sets and reps and focusing on my form keeps me from thinking about anything. For cardio I listen to suspense novels/thrillers via my free library app or podcasts when outside, right now walking on treadmill I am browsing MFP forums!3
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What kind of workouts are you doing?
My preferred exercise is just going for a run. Doing that helps me drain out all my anxious thoughts from life in general. Biking or sometimes walking can do the same.
If I’m doing workouts that requires switching between this or that exercise or 30 seconds of this then 45 seconds of that then 30 seconds of some other thing then some of yet another thing....I spend more mental energy trying to remember where I am in the workout/time/count and what I’m supposed to do next. I find those workouts “stressful” and I don’t enjoy them (they also aren’t necessary).
So if that’s your case, maybe don’t do workouts like that?1 -
I walk for 30-60 minutes a day and I’ve been listening to podcasts. They usually keep my mind from wondering too much and help the time pass quickly on the days I forced myself to walk anyway.
That being said, as a non medically trained person, it sounds like you may have some general anxiety and/or some issues you need to think through and solve. Depending on exactly what thoughts are causing you stress a therapist might help you deal with thinks so your stress levels can go back down.2 -
I've never been able to get my brain to shut up. Therapy has helped somewhat, at least learning to not set so much store in what my brain was saying.
I run and listen to a story app (Zombies Run!) at the same time. If that isn't engaging my brain (whilst the music playing), I have specific things I think about. Problem-solving, mostly. So if I find my brain loud, I'll say to myself, "ah, you're being chatty today. How about a discussion on that knitting pattern we've been having issues with. What do you think we should do?" And try to lead a conversation with myself about that. If lucky, I'll have solved an issue whilst running. At the least, I'm not angsting over things I can't control.7 -
I havent been able to get my hands on a treadmill (thought i did but amazon let me down)
So, ive not been doing any workouts so far and have simply just been using my daily walking at work for it.
Lost 40lbs so far.
Do what you need to do to be happy, if workouts are not your cup of tea, find something that is.2 -
KrissDotCom wrote: »I havent been able to get my hands on a treadmill (thought i did but amazon let me down)
So, ive not been doing any workouts so far and have simply just been using my daily walking at work for it.
Lost 40lbs so far.
Do what you need to do to be happy, if workouts are not your cup of tea, find something that is.
Have you tried Facebook marketplace? All of my cardio equipment came used from Facebook marketplace. I picked up an older concept2 rower yesterday for $100! I was super excited about that one.
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Regular exercise reduces my stress and anxiety. I mostly road cycle, mountain bike, and hike for exercise. I can't do a whole lot of anything right now because of injury from crashing my mountain bike pretty good...so my stress is actually higher right now...I'd love nothing more than to get out on a good ride. I went camping last week and that's when I usually do my hiking and wasn't able to do much more than walk/gimp around the campground.
If I really need to turn things off, I hit the trails on my mountain bike...it requires my full and undivided attention...or you crash....and sometimes I still crash even if I'm locked in.0 -
KrissDotCom wrote: »I havent been able to get my hands on a treadmill (thought i did but amazon let me down)
So, ive not been doing any workouts so far and have simply just been using my daily walking at work for it.
Lost 40lbs so far.
Do what you need to do to be happy, if workouts are not your cup of tea, find something that is.
Have you tried Facebook marketplace? All of my cardio equipment came used from Facebook marketplace. I picked up an older concept2 rower yesterday for $100! I was super excited about that one.
Yeah i looked but i dont drive, nor do i know someone with a truck, and none of them looked like they had been well kept enough to pay hundreds of dollars for
Like this one.. lol0 -
I like climbing, as I find sessions are so much fun that time just vanishes. I only really notice the passage of time by how pumped I've got - if I do a lot of slab, I can have 3 hours or so before I start to think ending.0
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What are you doing for exercise? Typically exercise tends to be something that reduces stress for people.
I love to listen to podcasts on my walks and I listen to all sorts of stuff on my runs. Maybe you need to listen to something while you workout?1 -
Exercise helps me manage stress, but if you are doing things that leave your mind focusing on stressful thoughts (I tend to go into more of a meditative state when doing something like running), maybe try music or podcasts? When I don't feel like doing a workout the thought of listening to a new playlist I've made or a favorite podcast is motivating.2
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cmriverside wrote: »That sounds like general anxiety to me.
I agree with this - I don't think it's the exercise that is the stress, it's just giving you time and space to think.
"The time to think and the non-stop brain chatter during my workouts are driving my stress levels sky high" - to me that sounds like exercise is just allowing your stress and anxiety to come to the forefront of your mind.
Really think you need to identify the cause rather than address or suppress the symptom.
During a particularly high stress period of my life the "non-stop brain chatter" resulted in appalling insomnia but that wasn't a sleep issue - it was the source of the stress I had to resolve and the insomnia went away.
For me exercise has always been a stress reducer, whether sports, cardio or strength training. Mostly because I enjoy my exercise and the me time. For me the most calming exercise would be relaxed cycling in beautiful countryside.5 -
I had to read the question twice to be sure I was reading it correctly - it's literally never occurred to me that exercise could be a source of stress. I find cardio so pleasantly escapist relative to all the stresses, strains, and s**t in my life right now that I can't wait to get on that machine each day, and I start to feel a sense of loss about 5 minutes before my hour is up LOL Maybe when this corona thing is in the rear view mirror I'll feel differently, but if I could just stay on my bike 16 hours a day I'd be pretty OK with that
I concur with the various above posters who suggest the exercise anxiety is probably a symptom not the cause & that the best thing here would be to get to the bottom of what's causing the anxiety.KrissDotCom wrote: »KrissDotCom wrote: »I havent been able to get my hands on a treadmill (thought i did but amazon let me down)
So, ive not been doing any workouts so far and have simply just been using my daily walking at work for it.
Lost 40lbs so far.
Do what you need to do to be happy, if workouts are not your cup of tea, find something that is.
Have you tried Facebook marketplace? All of my cardio equipment came used from Facebook marketplace. I picked up an older concept2 rower yesterday for $100! I was super excited about that one.
Yeah i looked but i dont drive, nor do i know someone with a truck, and none of them looked like they had been well kept enough to pay hundreds of dollars for
Like this one.. lol
lol I have a feeling you can do much, much better than that for $300
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I got that treadmill for $150, the arc trainer for $100, the bike for $100, and a concept2 (not pictured) for $100. You just need to be a savvy shopper 😜2
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Really good music
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cmriverside wrote: »That sounds like general anxiety to me.
Intrusive thoughts can be managed...exercise is actually good for that in the long-run, but in the short term I would highly suggest breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga. That mind chatter is exhausting, and if you've spent your life trying to quiet that with staying busy or watching TV or whatever you've been doing to keep it knocked back - - - - it's time to give yourself a break. ((hug))
There are a lot of meditation apps, someone mentioned Headspace above...also look up breathing techniques like the 4 7 8 technique or Box Breathing.
100% this. Yoga was the first sort of meditation that I ever tried, focusing on the positions really helped. Lots of people who are 'permanently busy' find that as soon as they stop for a second, everything catches up with them!
There are lots of mindful activities you could try, and in reality you could try any activity mindfully, but meditation is usually the most effective (and the hardest sometimes) practice of them all. There are lots of books and guided meditations, youtube videos, apps and so on, I'd suggest starting there rather than just sitting down and trying to sit. Daily Calm on youtube have some really nice ten minute ones. There are also 3minute breathing space meditations and that might be enough for you to work on if your mind is incredibly busy.
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Music, loud pump me up music 😂
Or, like others have said, try doing something that requires your focus..
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I struggle keeping my mind from wandering with music so I've switched exclusively to podcasts, mostly sports talk radio and it just let's me zone out really easily.3
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How does everyone cope with the stress of daily exercise? The time to think and the non-stop brain chatter during my workouts are driving my stress levels sky high. How does everyone calm their minds while working out? This added stress cannot be good for me.
I watch YouTube videos about stuff that I’m interested in. So I have to focus on what I’m watching. I essentially create a playlist with different videos. Sometimes I throw in music videos to switch things up, but it’s mostly videos.
I also listen to podcasts. They go through different topics so even if I do zone out and start thinking about my stressors, I tune back in when they switch topics.
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