I admit I am an addict. But it simply makes me feel too good to quit!
Addiction: The continued use of a mood altering substance or behaviour despite adverse consequences, or a neurological impairment leading to such behaviours.
Maybe the word “addict” is a bit excessive, but I needed to get your attention. For over 13 years I have LOVED exercising. Sometimes I train with a specific goal in mind, and other times I simply train as it is deeply engrained as one of my personal core values.
The other day in a coffee shop I had a gentleman say to me “There is no point in exercising unless you are training for a specific goal or event, otherwise it is a waste of time”. I stood staring at this man for a minute, nonchalantly bowed my head, picked my jaw up off the ground in disbelief of such an outrageously stupid statement, turned and walked away all the time thinking what a sad and depressing thing to say to someone.
Countless times I have been called an exercise addict and know what? I can think of worse things to be addicted to! So why is it that to me EXERCISE MAKES EVERYTHING OK?! I know if I’m feeling blah the best thing for me to do is lift heavy weights. If I have 1001 things racing through my mind, I throw my Nikes on and hit the pavement. If it’s been “one of those days” and the slightest look sideways from the wrong person has me wanting to climb walls, I go to hot yoga. So why is this? Why does exercise truly make everything ok?
Endorphins! That’s right, I am addicted to myself! Endorphins are endogenous opioid peptides that function as neurotransmitters. They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates, during exercise, excitement, pain, consumption of spicy food, love and orgasm, and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and our feeling good, comfortable and relaxed.
Researchers have found that light weight lifting or cardiovascular exercise doesn’t produce a great number of endorphins; only heavy weights or training that incorporates sprinting or other anaerobic exertion does. When your body crosses over from an aerobic state to an anaerobic state, it’s suddenly operating without enough oxygen to satisfy the muscles and cells screaming out for it. This is when the “endorphin rush” kicks in.
It has also been shown that exercise is an effective but often underused treatment for mild to moderate depression. The best thing about this is that you don’t need to train for hours to achieve the feel good mood. The first 20 minutes is what it’s all about; and if you’re new to exercise you will reach this feeling sooner than a seasoned gym goer. With the “addictive” effect of endorphins, like anything, the more you do the more you need to do to get that same euphoric feeling!
So what are you waiting for? Do you believe you need a goal or event to train for in order to exercise? NO! Just make exercise an extension of you! And believe me when I say “EXERCISE REALLY DOES MAKE EVERYTHING OK”!
By Lauren Edwards
A lover of all things ‘quirky’, Lauren is a self-confessed foodie, head chef in her own kitchen and a serial social media ‘photo poster’ of all her delicious kitchen creations. You can find Lauren and her fabulous foodie photos on Facebook.
