5 tips for creating a fitness routine that supports your mental and emotional health

We all know that regular physical activity comes with a lot of beneficial benefits, including longer life, reduced risk of health problems (such as heart disease, diabetes, and even some types of cancer) and improved brain health.

Exercise can also be a recovery when it comes to mental health and emotional well-being because it “can improve an individual’s mood by increasing serotonin through increased physical activity,” says certified mental performance counselor Hilary Cawthen, PsyD, co-owner of Texas Optimal Performance. & Psychological Services, LLC in Austin, Texas, and Executive Board Member of the Society for Applied Sports Psychology. “It lowers stress hormones and leads to lower stress and anxiety.”

Unfortunately, for some, the activity does not always come with an aspect of happy feelings. In fact, it can cause anxiety and stress, especially if you already suffer from these types of mental health issues, according to a small pilot study in February 2018 published inClinical practice and epidemiology in mental health.

It’s not exercise that can cause mental health symptoms, Cauthen says, but rather the idea or meaning one makes about the activity (think: high-pressure competitive environments or fear of failure) that can affect mentality. health.

“As positive as exercise outcomes are, for many, starting and maintaining an exercise program can create their own set of negative mental health issues,” says Carlos Davila, PES, an instructor and diversity inclusion officer in the Fhitting Room and assistant professor of psychology at John Jay College. “For many, fitness as a space hasn’t always been a welcoming space.”

According to Davila, issues such as toxicities in physical fitness and social norms regarding how “beauty” and “health” look can mitigate the positive impact that exercise can have. “If we’re in places where we don’t feel seen, heard, valued, or desired, that makes it more difficult to engage in an activity that actually causes stress.”

It’s important to do some digging to find out what exactly is affecting your mental health, as this is integral to knowing what to change. Here’s why: If you’re going into space already stressed or with negative expectations, it will be more expressed in an environment that will also increase inherently inner activity, says Davila.

In the meantime, here are some tips to help ease your anxiety and improve your mental state during your next fitness quest.

Davila suggests setting the goals you set around a SMART “why,” which are:

• sPrivate: What do you want to accomplish?
• MEasy: How will you determine if you are achieving your goal?
• aCrackable or Doable: Do you have the tools to make it happen? Also, is the goal written in a way that requires you to take action?
• sAdequate or realistic: Does the goal focus on something important to you?
• TTime bound: Do you have a realistic schedule for achieving your goal?

“Especially as you enter a new space, it’s essential to keep in mind why you are there and what you need from that space,” Davila says. “This ‘pre-work’ allows you to have a clear focus that can ease the anxiety that fitness spaces may create.”

Cawthen says that thinking about a daily post-diary activity can help, too. Her suggestion: Write about things that went well, where you could improve them and what your plan is for the next day.

When it comes to in-person classes, there can be a lot of exercise and a lot of exercise or equipment that you’re not sure about if you’re new to the class. It is common for frustration and inner anxiety to arise if you experience this type of confusion.

“One of the things that can be frustrating as a coach is knowing that someone is confused but doesn’t want to ask the question,” Davila says. “I intentionally create space in my classes for questions that can create clarity. You pay a coach to teach you how to do something – so it’s your right to ask questions that help you better understand and reduce your anxiety about movement performance.”

We also tend to think that people are watching us while we exercise, which leads to a fear of failure or a fear of evaluation — two things Cauthen says may affect your mental and emotional state when participating in exercise. But the truth is, no one really cares about you, says Davila.

“Part of the worry we have is that we think that if we do something wrong, we will be the laughingstock in class and ostracized for life,” he says. But that’s not really the case, so “take a breath and focus on you and why you showed up today.”

It takes just over 15 minutes — 15 minutes and 9 seconds to be exact — for exercisers to experience an emotional lift once they begin an exercise session, according to ASICS’ Uplifting Minds Study, a global study of thousands of participants.

“This was evident across people of all genders, ages, and geographies, regardless of sport or intensity,” mental health and physical activity researcher Brendon Stubbs, who led the ASICS study, told LIVESTRONG.com.

Stubbs points to several reasons that potentially cause emotional enhancement during exercise that are biological (such as stimulating the hippocampus and other emotional processing areas in the brain, as well as serotonin release) and psychological (improving self-efficacy and sense of accomplishment).

ASICS research showed that a week of lack of exercise reduced confidence, positivity, energy levels, and the ability to handle stress. So in the long run, pushing through your session may be your best bet. Or, says Stubbs, switch to an exercise or activity you enjoy with a strength that you enjoy.

If your workout routine is causing you any bad feelings, Stubbs suggests switching up the pace. “Remember, exercises are supposed to be fun and challenging,” he says. “If you don’t have this, sit back, wait, and/or try an activity that you enjoy.”

If you love to dance, start taking some dance lessons. If walking is your thing, take plenty of time with the kids, a pet, a partner, friends, or even on your own. If you’re a former athlete, find a class that includes some of the skills you’re used to working in that sport. Or, if you’re a parent, find a class that allows your children to participate.

“The most important part of this shift in the perception about fitness as a space is finding entry points, things you’ve done before or have an interest in doing,” Davila says. He also notes that digital fitness classes allow access without common obstacles such as moving around, carrying extra clothing, or other people watching over you.

However, if you’re using exercise as a coping mechanism for a problem and it’s not helping, Stubbs advises seeking professional help.

That’s right: Some of the physical changes that occur with exercise — shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, sweating — can also mimic symptoms of anxiety. But these physiological changes that accompany exercise are also “a proportional response to the demands placed on the body to meet activity needs,” Stubbs says. “You must remember that when you exercise, these changes in our bodies are expected and required.”

If that doesn’t help, learning how to regulate your emotions and finding ways to root for more in the moment can help, Cauthen says. It recommends the implementation of deliberate breathing and grounding signals.

Practice nasal breathing and abdominal breathing in non-stressful situations until when [you] start doing an activity that increases your heart rate, [you] He can breathe and organize [your] emotions,” she says.

She also suggests identifying three things in your environment and repeating them yourself. This “will allow you to stabilize yourself, breathe and regulate your emotions in the present moment and feel more in control and aware of the activity.”

You may also want to avoid stimulants, such as caffeine, and focus on sleep, which Stubbs says can improve both your brain and your performance.