Let’s be honest—stress is something we all deal with, and it’s not fun. But have you ever thought that it might actually help improve our physical fitness? Our expert today offers some simple DIY relaxation tips and explains how stress can sometimes be beneficial.
Has anyone ever asked you if you’re stressed? If so, the answer is probably yes. This stress often comes from a mix of poor sleep, a bad diet, and the pressures of work and family life.
Stress can also come from physical injuries. For instance, if you get a cut, the injury and subsequent inflammation stress your body. Over time, if you heal properly, your body will recover and become stronger. As a Fitness Trainer, I intentionally add stress through exercise to help people get fitter and stronger.
The way our bodies improve is by repairing themselves after being stressed. Without any stress, the body becomes weak. A sedentary lifestyle can result in bad posture, muscle loss, and reduced bone density. Weakness, bad habits, and poor diet can then lead to diseases. Many of us also impose the wrong kinds of stress on our bodies.
For example, refined sugar and smoking cause negative stress. Who’s still smoking and trying to live a healthy lifestyle, anyway? These bad stresses cause inflammation, which combined with emotional stress can wreak havoc.
Some stress, however, is not only good but essential. The right kind of stress encourages repair and recovery, making us stronger and better.
Here are two ways to balance stress and recovery:
1. **Emotional Stress from Work**: Learn to breathe diaphragmatically. Breathing is something we do both automatically and voluntarily. Think of an infant breathing deeply while asleep. This is how you should breathe most of the day. Practice by placing one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. Breathe in deeply through your nose and out through your mouth, with your belly doing most of the movement. Try to exhale for twice as long as you inhale. Controlling your breath helps control your emotions. You can then try activities like Tai Chi or Yoga.
2. **Strength and Conditioning**: The key is to move properly and often. Always remember the Hippocratic Oath: “Do no harm.” Whether you work out alone or with a group, injury prevention should be your top priority. If you sit a lot during the day, your upper back, hips, and ankles might be tight, causing mobility issues. A great exercise to combat this is the Lunge Stretch with T-Spine Rotation. Push yourself in your workouts but be careful not to overdo it.
Strength and conditioning offer a lot of benefits, such as improving pain and function, increasing strength, and boosting endurance. However, these benefits are best achieved when combined with good nutrition, proper sleep, and the right mindset. Otherwise, you risk overloading your body with stress, hampering its ability to recover.
Top professional athletes might train up to four hours a day, but they spend the other twenty hours focusing on recovery. While we may not train as much, we can still find the right balance between stress and recovery. This helps us move away from a life of disease and towards optimal health and function.