Working out is a great way to relieve stress. How many times have you had a terrible day, didn’t want to work out but dragged yourself into the gym, just to have the best workout of your life? On your worst days, pumping iron can be a great way to channel your anger and frustration into a productive and healthy activity.
We all process emotions differently, so having a physical outlet for your feelings can be absolutely essential. Just remember, we are all about you getting your frustrations out, with some heavy squats, heavy lap pulldowns, some extra grunting, but don’t let your stress compromise your form. The last thing you want is to walk out of the gym injured after a tough day.
If you find yourself feeling stressed out today, try pumping some iron. Try and aim for some good old fashion PRs.
Looking to PR your Deadlift?
Try these exercises to warm-up with before you jump into your working sets.
To activate hamstrings and glutes:
- Hip Bridges
- Banded Good Mornings
- Deep Goblet Squats
To activate core/stability:
- Bird Dog
- Planks
- Oblique Opener
If you’d like some research to back this up… Published in 2017 in the Journal Sports Medicine, found that lifting weights reduces the symptoms of anxiety. The second, published in May of 2018 in JAMA Psychiatry, found that lifting weights can help ease and even prevent depression. Both of these studies are particularly valuable because they are meta-analyses. This means that they are comprehensive reviews of multiple experiments aka they aren’t just one-off findings.
And maybe you just need a good cold shower to help wash the stress away.
