Your San Jose personal trainers have some advice for you when it comes to relieving stress. If you’re like the many people we talk to, you might take this advice as extra stress and added pressure … but NO WORRIES! One of the best things you can do to cut stress is add some exercise to your daily routine.
It’s been proven in numerous clinical trials to be an effective treatment for depression and anxiety. That’s because it works on a hormonal level in two different ways. Exercise naturally lowers cortisol and adrenaline, the stress hormones. It also boosts your body’s productions of endorphins, which in turn helps boost your mood. Did you know endorphins are a natural painkiller too.
The other health benefits of exercise include lowering blood pressure, decreased risk of chronic diseases, and cholesterol levels. The reason we said this news stresses some people out is that the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that most of us get 150 minutes of moderate cardio exercise a week. Don’t let that number scare you.
Feel Good Through The Week
We’re going to do the math for you. 150 minutes a week works out to only 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. And that 30 minutes doesn’t have to be done all at once – you can rack it up in shorter bursts of activity over the course of the day.
We know for some people (especially those who have been inactive or are coming back from illness/injury), even 30 minutes over the course of a day can seem like a lot. What you want to do is just start doing some form of cardio exercise.
Walking is a good bet, but so is biking, dancing, swimming or any other exercise you enjoy. Depending on your experience and fitness level, you can start out with 5-10 minutes. You can start out with just a few sessions of cardio a week, and then build up over time.
Boost Those Endorphins
There’s something called the 10% rule to help people improve their cardio fitness. Here’s how it works: if you’re working out for a total of 60 minutes a week (15 minutes, 4 times a week), you would add 10 percent to that (6 minutes), so you are spending a total of 66 minutes working out the next week.
You can break that up however you want: you could do 3 x 15-minute sessions and 1 x 21-minute session, or whatever works for your schedule and how you feel. Once you get to the point where you are able to go for 20-30 minutes at least 3 days a week, start adding little intensity boosts to your routine. Basically, you just start walking/cycling a little faster for a set period of time, and then slowly back down so you can recover.
Looking for a great way to add intensity to your cardio? Load up a music playlist with some of your favorites. Every time a song gets to the chorus, that’s when you pick up my pace! It makes it fun – and that’s always a hallmark of a good workout!
Stronger for Today,
The Method3 Fitness Team
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The Method3 Fitness blog is updated weekly. All content is designed to improve the way you move, eat, and think so you can achieve your goals and live stronger for today. Check back here each week and LIKE our Fan Page, to stay up to date on the latest tips, strategies and methods to get fit, lose fat, and build confidence. Ready to get started with us? Click here to get a free week of workouts!