Man. I’ve had a stressful day. Maybe I’ll go into it one day on this site, but it’ll have to be further down the road. But when I say my shoulders are tight, my knuckles itchy, and my leg won’t stop bouncing I ain’t lying. That’s why in today’s article, I’m going to cover stress relief exercise and a few of my personal favorites.
I think it’s pretty common knowledge that getting moving helps with stress. So in today’s article I’m gonna go with a little science, and a little conjecture. So just bear with me while I explain the best exercises you can do to help ease the tension in your neck.
Why Stress Relief Exercise Helps
Exercise not only increases your overall health, but it actually helps lower your stress levels. This isn’t just broscience either, this is the God’s honest truth.
For one, physical activity pumps up your endorphins. Physical activity speeds up your brain’s production of those delicious feel-good neurotransmitters known as endorphins. This is known by many as “the runner’s high” but any kind of exercise can trigger this response.
Another reason exercise helps is because, let’s face it, it’s hard to think of anything but the exercise you’re doing. When you’re out running, swimming, or biking, you’re focused on your movements. If you had time to think about your horrible day you’d likely trip and fall over your own feet. This helps you stay calm and work on finishing your exercise as opposed to stressing over what you can’t change.
Finally, regular exercise just makes you more confident in yourself. I can personally say that after an extended period of lazing around I genuinely feel less confident and more open. When you know you operate like a well oiled machine, you’re less liable to feeling that way. So now I’ll go into my three favorite workouts for personal stress relief.
The Heavybag
This one is a no brainer. In fact, I’m about ready to explode right now about the fact that the person in my house who caused my stress also knocked my bag down from the ceiling and never put it back up. Isn’t that sweet irony? Anyway, hitting the bag can be both a physical and symbolic vent for your anger.
Put on some angry music, visualize the face of the stress source, and go to down for ten rounds. It’s honestly a really healthy way to express these feelings. So while you’re getting a very visceral feel of wailing on the bag and imagining putting your stressor down for the count, the physical activity is releasing those beautiful endorphins.
Powerlifting
Honestly, this one’s pretty simple. When it’s just you, a gym, and some heavy ass weight threatening to crush you to death, things get pretty simple. Stress relief exercise for me is a balance of being able to take out my aggression while also being distracting enough so that I don’t dwell too much. And blaring some heavy music in my ears while squatting 350 is a great way to balance those things.
Swimming
This one may seem out of place, but I actually won’t go into too much detail here. Instead, if you’re interested in why swimming is such a good stress relief exercise click here and read my more expansive article on the topic.
And, well, those are my favorites. Some people prefer something calming like yoga for their stress relief exercise, but I like the workout to leave me unable to move and unable to stress.
