How Exercise Effects Your Mood

Ever experienced the Runner’s High? I have – when I used to run. Do not do that anymore.

Instead I walk for fun and workout 7 minutes every two days. That’s it.

Why do I do this? Because I like happy. I like to “feel good.” I loathe to “feel bad.”

Feel Good and Not Feel Good Hormones

Doing the right kind of exercise can lift your mood; doing the wrong kind can send you in the dumps.

Have you ever asserted to oneself after exercising? “I hate exercise.” You can bet your life you are doing the wrong kind.

What precisely is the wrong type? The type that over-trains you and results in trauma. Working out each day, or 3 times per week for extended amounts of time is wrong. I know, that’s what you’ve been taught at the gym or in your school’s gym class. But it brings the “not feel good” hormones to the front.

What you need to do is exercise one or two muscle groups at a time with weights sufficiently large to help you experience positive momentary muscular failure. To paraphrase, you can’t do even one more rep. Your muscle just gives up on you.

What do you do then? Stop. You do Not exercise that muscle group again for at least 10 more days. Why?

Catabolic and Anabolic States

When you workout a muscle, that muscle is being broken down, which means you are in a catabolic state. You hurt. When you stop feeling pain you move to an anabolic state, where the muscle reconstructs itself.

At this point, your muscle becomes stronger. If you exercise the muscle again before the10 days, you will remain in the catabolic state.

Continuing in the catabolic state results in the release “feel bad” hormones such as cortisoI, while moving to the anabolic state creates the “good feeling” ones.

If you over exercise you stay in the catabolic state, which exhausts the body of epinephrine and L- dopamine. Here’s where the “I hate exercise” begins.

During recuperation, the time away from exercising, your body realeases anabolic hormones like testosterone and increases L-dopamine.

So workout less, do more and, to top if off, feel good.

Gloria Reibin is a Fitness Counselor who practices and teaches the 7 Minute Workout, whereby you can get in the best shape of your life by working out only 7 minutes a day 3 times per week. VIsit her Fitness Success Blog for continuing support. For posts on how to achieve permanent weight loss, go here.

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