When you haven't exercised in awhile and start back up again, you may wonder what the heck people mean when they say exercise makes them feel better. I used to wonder also when I got back into working out, but now I'm to the point where I do feel the benefits.
It won't happen right away, but over time when you exercise regularly, I do believe you will experience some if not most of the feel good benefits exercise offers. The feel good benefits may include:
- Stress relief
- Improved moods
- Better sleep
- Reduced anxiety
- Decreases depression
- Increased confidence
- Improves circulation (feel refreshed)
- Improved social life (meet others who workout at your gym, etc.)
- Look better
Personally, I find that I have more energy, I'm in better moods, and I feel stronger. I even get bummed out when I have appointments that cut into my gym time. Missing a workout makes me moody which I think is a good thing.
If you think exercise is just a chore and it is keeping you from working out, just try it for a few weeks and see if it doesn't improve how you feel mentally and physically.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree. Make sure you stick with it too. It takes 3 weeks to build a habit but 3 days to break it. After you start working out consistently it is very important to continue. I can come up with an excuse of why I can’t/shouldn’t work out everyday so why even bother with that. Just exercise.
Exercise can help you feel strong, energized, confident and well in a variety of ways. I’m also old enough to appreciate how exercise makes me NOT feel. It makes me not feel lots of little, inexplicable aches and pains, out of breath after minor exertion, stiff and tight, wary to leap over small obstacles in a single bound, prone to pulled muscles or generally groggy and irritable. I know it’s more politically correct to focus on the good yet sometimes it helps to jog our memories back to what started us thinking about exercising in the first place…
Great post.
I absolutely agree that for me, personally, going to the gym regularly has curbed depression, lethargy, etc. I feel better and more energized. Actually, I would even go so far as to say that exercising has drastically changed my life. I now have a healthy self conscious, not due to more muscle, but due to more intrinsic forces. I just feel more balanced.
You hit one of THE key points of fitness. Consistency and frequency. You got to do it and do it regularly. Starting and stopping will not send the messages you need to send to get the results you want. Its nature at work.
Great blog! Often times we forget that we need to invest in ourselves. We shouldn’t “squeeze a workout in”. Something always comes up, so get it done early. Or if you are not a morning person, schedule the time later in the day and hold yourself accountable to it. Nothing should distract you from taking time out of your day for self-improvement, both mentally and physically.
I work as gym intructer and i find it amazing the amount of people that come in hating the exercise and then 4 weeks later totally addicted. The feel good factor seems to be one of the main reasons that people to continue to exercise, even if they’re not achieving there goals.
Good post. I can’t agree more. Some people think that exercising is a waste of time but once you get in the habit of doing it, you will feel all the benefits both physically and morally. Exercising makes you break out of your lethargy and makes you more dynamic. Definitely right on, on the mood thing.
If I haven’t exercised for quite awhile, sometimes I feel lethargic and moody. You need to follow a routine consistently at first, then with time you can take a small break to come back even stronger. Once your body get used to a routine, you can easily get back on track.
People who exercise on a regular basis will feel better and younger even when they get older which is to say that all the efforts you’re putting in exercise now, will pay off today and in the future also. All the benefits of exercising are worth it more than you can imagine.
I’ve lost 30 or so lbs from just doing the treadmill. 150 lbs at 5’1. I started slow. but was persistant! Took about 3 to 5 month to notice any significant difference. 3 yrs later I am currently 112 lbs now(: I eart nothing but salads.fruits and veggies, and stuck with low cal things.. I even took a break for a month and pigged out on chocolats in the beggining, that didnt even seem to hinder my weight loss at all. Anyways I was treadmilling allong time and I kinda havent been able to get past 112 for about a year a swear. SO I keep on taking breaks and getting lazy. Any junk food I eat is ussual from the healthfood store. I’ve been feeling kinda like crap though. SO I decided to kick my ass again and burn off this week junk food rampage…I burnt 130 cals..I feel abit better.(:
The reason I wanted to get in shape was because of a relationship with an older man. I wanted to look good for him. Well.. long story short it turned out I was just doing it for me.A few month after that, I had another relationship with an older man and even when THAT ended I didnt feel as bad as I thought I should have. I KNOW that is cuz of my weight loss and that I’ve finally felt good in my own skin in 10 years…(: