Mental Strength and Fitness Play Well Together

The world makes it hard for us to see eye to eye on anything, but there’s at least one thing everyone can agree on: life is hard. With work, family life, and hundreds of other stressors, simply making it through each day can feel overwhelming.

Dealing with so much every day can cause significant damage to your mental health. Continuously pushing yourself without any outlet may even lead to a serious mental health condition such as depression or severe anxiety.

Luckily, there is one simple thing you can do each day that will not only improve your mental health but also your life as a whole: exercise. Incorporating fitness into your daily routine is a great way to relieve stress and help you overcome even the toughest days.

Regardless of it your preferred outlet is boxing (fantastic aggression outlet), resistance training (great stress release), HIIT (awesome all around emotional valve), or any other type of exercise there is something for everyone.

Improved Self-Esteem

Even if you aren’t trying to lose weight or build muscle, regular exercise can help you feel more comfortable in your own body. As you exercise more consistently, you’ll find that not only do your clothes fit better, but you also have a better sense of self-confidence. 

Pushing your body can help you to discover your own limits, and gain a better respect for the vessel that carries you through this life. If you never test it, you will probably never understand how truly resilient we really are.

With this improved self-esteem, you’ll likely feel more comfortable in situations that would previously have been a source of anxiety for you.

Plus, this added comfort will improve your daily mood overall due to all the ‘feel good’ chemicals released from a good session. Every hear of the ‘runners high’? Yea, it’s a real thing.

Better Sleep

If you rarely get a good night’s sleep, you could be putting yourself at greater risk for depression and anxiety. Luckily, exercise can help you improve the quality of your sleep each night. 

Physical activity increases body temperature which in turn works to calm your mind.

Not only that, but it also helps regulate your body’s circadian rhythm, which is how your body knows when it should be awake or asleep. This works to improve the quality of your sleep while making sure you aren’t waking up throughout the night.

Stack the extra energy you will probably feel after a good nights sleep with the extra confidence and BAM! You might start feeling like you own every room you walk in to.

Brainpower Boost

Numerous studies indicate that exercise can boost brainpower in several ways. 

Cardiovascular exercise has been shown to promote brain cell development through a process called neurogenesis, which can improve brain performance overall.

Plus, it also strengthens the hippocampus (the part of the brain that handles learning and memory) to slow cognitive decline and memory loss. 

Not only this, but improved brainpower boosts energy, so you’ll feel more alert throughout the day.

All that extra oxygen you take in during and after exercise really can do wonders!

You know those crazy smart guy ancient philosophy dudes Plato and Socrates? Even they understood the need for a good exercise regimen.

“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” – Plato

“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” – Socrates

Don’t let them down, dude.

Decreased Stress

People always say that I am one of the most carefree, low stress, easy going folks out there. Honestly, the same can be said about most gym rats.

Stress is a large component of today’s mental health struggles. Luckily, fitness can help overcome this too.

Increasing your heart rate regularly has been shown to reverse the effects of stress-induced brain damage. This not only improves your mood but also clears your mind so you can think without stress clouding your head.

By helping you eliminate stress from your life, fitness also decreases your risk of developing anxiety and depression.

Our ancestors had to exercise just to survive. Granted, I am not a licensed therapist, psychologist, or any other type of medical pro, but in my honest opinion that stems from experience exercise and physical exertion is hard coded into us as a necessary function.

When we lead sedentary lives where we just need to go off to the store to buy food and otherwise don’t do much exercise, it seems we act against nature and that leads to stress of all sorts. We can see it manifesting today throughout the world.

The fact that a country so advanced that we don’t need to do much outside of going to work, paying our bills, and entertaining ourselves has such high rates of depression and mental health issues should speak volumes to what is wrong. Stack that with the obesity crisis we are facing as a nation, and you should be able to see my point.

Don’t fall into that trap today.

The world is tough, but luckily, you aren’t helpless to protect yourself. Plenty of folks out there are looking to help you reach the best version of yourself, including those that work on this site!

Let Us help You Out

At CONDITIONerd we are here to help you achieve better physical and mental health through exercise. Check out the plans we offer to our customers and see if you could benefit from working with our team. And if you have questions, you can always contact a CONDITIONerd team member. 

Personal trainers, like those found here, can help guide you on your pathway towards reaching your fitness goals, whether that is getting bigger, stronger, faster, more lean, or just generally feeling better.

We can get you setup with a periodized workout plan, supplement information, and advice on nutrition to help you reach your goals.

The only thing you need is some motivation and a willingness to change some old habits.

Get into contact with us to find out what membership is right for you. In a CONDITIONerd program, you’ll be surrounded by others who can help you to get where you want to be.

Generally, our clients start to see some pretty awesome changes in 2-3 months time, some sooner