Easter is a time of year when many of us get a few days off from work and spend some important time with family and friends, but with a relaxed schedule, it’s also a time when we tend to indulge in a lot of food and drink. For many people, the Easter holiday is the final blow to their already rambling New Year’s resolution, and when the seasonal fun is over and it’s time to get back to work, our levels of motivation can be left on the floor.
“The struggle is real,” says Dr. Jennifer Hayes, author of Move the Body, Heal the Mind: Overcoming Anxiety, Depression, and Dementia, and Improving Focus, Creativity, and Sleep. The acclaimed neuroscientist and exercise expert learned a lot about upping her fitness game as she embarked on a journey that took her from being a stable scientist to a stubborn triple player. “The brain is partly to blame. Our lack of motivation to exercise is a relic of our evolutionary past when we needed to expend a lot of energy searching for and gathering our food. At the time, energy conservation was essential to survival, so the brain evolved to see Any voluntary movement as a heavy expense, and that makes us lazy.”
Don’t worry about willpower
Of course, marketing Easter candy means we’re consuming a lot more energy than we actually need, but that doesn’t stop our bodies from wanting to store those extra calories for a later date. “Moreover, we often overlook the fact that exercise requires a lot of willpower,” says Dr. Hayes. Save yourself the time and energy you need to exercise by using a calendar to plan your workout ahead of time. Include as much detail as possible: What activity are you going to do? When are you going to do it? Where? And with whom? This will give you the willpower you will need to overcome The biological inertia of the brain so you can get up off the couch and start moving.”
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Crush those sedentary Easter break sessions
Whether you’re enjoying the Easter holidays on your couch, or getting back to work and spending hours sitting at the office, one thing that threatens to derail our progress is the amount of time we spend without moving. “Sitting is the new smoking,” Hays says. “When we sit for long periods, our body goes into hibernation; it limits our metabolism and increases blood pressure, blood sugar, and weight. High blood pressure damages the heart and blood vessels. This reduces blood flow in the brain, making it difficult for us to think clearly. focus, but it also increases the risk of dementia.
The solution? Every 30 minutes, take a two-minute movement break. Move in whatever way you feel is right for you. You can do jumping-ups, push-ups, or burpees at home if you need to. And if you need to start with something a little gentler, try walking or burpees. Stretch yourself.”
We shouldn’t let fear of challenging workouts stop us from getting started, says Dr. Heisz, who is also director of the NeuroFit Laboratory at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. “All it takes is two to five minutes of movement to counteract the harmful effects of sitting, and to replenish the brain with the vital nutrients it needs to think, focus, and thrive.”
Get out of your comfort zone and reap the rewards
The excuse we often tell ourselves to avoid exercise is that we are too tired or exhausted to exercise. In fact, the more we exercise, the fitter and more active we become. We also reap mental rewards from our physical investments. “Difficult workouts that push us outside our comfort zone not only help us grow physically stronger but also make us more resilient to life’s challenges, which is exactly what happened to me when I was training with Iron Man,” Heisz shares. “The training turned me into a more resilient person, and I became less reactive to daily stressors.”
Here’s how it works: Intense workouts trigger a dynamic stress response known as synesthesia. Bonding helps the body adapt and grow which is exactly what we need to get fitter, stronger and healthier. “The amazing thing is that we only have one stress response for all stressors, including physical stressors from exercise as well as psychological stressors from our daily lives,” says Dr. Heisz. “In the same way that you can grow your muscle strength by gradually lifting heavier weights, you can expand your stress tolerance for exercise and life by gradually adding intensity and duration to your workouts.”
Photo by Eric Heininger on Unsplash
Depression can’t compete with a fitter person
“Our research shows how quickly mental health can deteriorate under chronic stress, but it also highlights how effective exercise can be in protecting us from stress-induced depression,” Heisz shares. “Just six weeks of chronic stress led to depression in people who had not previously been diagnosed. But exercise counteracted those effects of stress. Although HIIT and moderate intensity exercise were equally effective, those who engaged in 30 minutes of riding Moderate-intensity bikes three times a week ended up with less fatigue and less inflammation.”
Research shows that aerobic exercise can relieve depression and that duration is most important here. Increasing exercise for just 10 minutes will result in a greater antidepressant effect. Resistance exercises such as yoga, tai chi, and weight training can also help relieve depression, but intensity here is most important. Increasing the intensity of resistance exercise by just 10 percent will result in a greater antidepressant effect. So, stress is not an excuse to abstain from exercise.
Focus on both short and long term goals to keep your training on track
An important reason so many people feel less motivated to train after Easter is that they fail to see the results of their New Year’s resolution, but it’s just a matter of changing your view of what constitutes progress. “Most people start a new exercise program and want results now!” Dr. Hayes says. “Usually the desired results are physical, such as weight loss or muscle gain, but these physical changes can take months to occur, and that can be very frustrating. The solution? We need to reformulate things. First, rather than focusing on the physical benefits that can Take months, try to focus on the mental benefits that can be felt immediately after each exercise.” You’ll feel better, more focused, and less anxious after each exercise. How’s that for instant gratification!?
Try less focus on the goal and more focus on the overall experience. “When we focus on the experience we get during exercise, it makes the whole process more intrinsically stimulating,” shares Dr. Heisz. “Your exercise experience doesn’t have to be overly positive for it to have a positive effect. Try to pay attention to your heart rate and muscle contractions. When you focus on your exercise experience, it becomes like a flow…a fun and easy experience, one that makes you want to see it through to the end.”
