Exercise: The Elixir of Life and the Go To in Your Wellbeing Regimen

Change your daily mood in only 20–30 minutes

I find exercise and movement, particularly aerobic exercise, to be the elixir of life and a non-negotiable in our daily routine if we want to have enough energy and motivation to get through our day. Not to mention, if we want to stand a chance of feeling good about ourselves and increasing the odds of improving our self-esteem, exercise is our ticket. Additionally, if we are feeling sad or depressed and want to feel happier, aerobic exercise, in only 20–30 minutes (enough to produce a light sweat), has been scientifically proven to trigger the release of endorphins in our brain. These endorphins create a feeling of tension relief, produce a sense of wellbeing and even euphoria at times, and increase energy, so much so that it’s nicknamed “the feel-good chemical”. Interestingly, the release of endorphins produced by aerobic exercise has similar physiological effects on our bodies as when someone takes morphine for pain relief.

I’ll run through the “essential” short list of benefits of exercise and the difficulties that it protects against. I should note that with all the modern wonders and scientific improvements the medical community has made in the last 20 to 30 years, we won’t find a supplement, pill or prescription on the planet that comes close to the physiological and psychological benefits that exercise produces.

Regular exercise has shown to slow the aging process and make our cells biologically younger and cut down our risk for disease (Tucker 2017).Exercise allows our bodies to produce more energy at the cellular level, increase our heart rate and breathing so that we circulate more oxygen within our body giving us more stamina, increase levels of energy producing hormones and chemical messengers epinephrine, norepinephrine, and the aforementioned endorphins that contribute to us getting a better quality of sleep that restores energy and increases the feeling of vitality that many of us struggle to find.

The list of benefits of exercise are almost limitless but a few key ones are: reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, reduced risk of cancer, depression, osteoporosis (through weight training), prevents or eases lower back pain, relieves arthritis pain, helps maintain muscle mass and increase our mobility, boosts mental alertness, strengthens our lungs, heart and other body muscles and helps prevent weight gain (Harvard Health publishing, 2020).

If we’ve never experienced the benefits of regular aerobic exercise and/or new to exercising, we want to increase our blood flow in a slow and steady, balanced approach that leads to a slow burn. Eventually we want to build enough steam so that we break a sweat and our body releases the aforementioned serotonin and dopamine, the neurotransmitters that contribute to a feeling of wellbeing. For those of us who have injuries and/or struggle with a chronic illness, consult with our physicians to see how much exercise is recommended. No matter what our level of physical fitness is we want to put adaptive workouts in place that don’t overtax our physiology but give us the benefit of movement.

Tips when trying to boost our mood and energy.

1) Focus on 30–60 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise at least five times a week or 75–150 minutes of vigorous exercise three to four times a week. Examples are jogging, dancing, tennis, swimming, cycling, rowing, jumping rope, soccer and other organized sports.

2) Focus on adding in strength building exercises such as lifting weights that focus on major muscle groups at least two to three times a week.

3) Start slowly, perhaps 5–10 minutes at first, and gradually add time and/or increase in weight or reps over time. Give your body time to get used to exercising and enough recovery time after a workout.

4) Start workouts with a 5–10 minute warm up of stretching or light cardio on an exercise bike and 5–10 minute cool down after your workout such as walking and stretching. Figure out what times of the day your body prefers to exercise. I prefer exercise in the morning, in the middle of the day or right after my work day ends. Doing so helps with transitions in my day and gives me enough energy to get through my work day and free time post work.

5) If you want to increase your energy level, decrease lethargy and/or anxiety levels start your day off with 15–20 minutes of aerobic exercise as soon as your feet hit the floor when you get out of bed.

6) Consider adding in interval training 2–3 times a week which is a type of training that involves a series of high intensity workouts interspersed with rest or relief periods.

7) Throughout your week, mix in different types of exercise such as aerobic, strength training, Thai Chi, yoga, and stretching that you enjoy. Doing so will help with boredom, stimulate different muscle groups, prevent repetitive/overuse workout injuries and help keep our brains sharp and improve our memory.

8) If you have mood struggles, motivation or boredom issues and/or time restraints, the biggest bang for your buck will be to engage in 15–20 minutes of aerobic exercise that produces a light sweat. In fact, my bias, given the amount of stress we face on a regular basis is to engage in some form of movement exercise 7 days a week. Continue to move around periodically throughout your day, taking time for stretching, small walks and moving about beyond the minimum 15–20 minutes of cardio needed to produce a sweat.

• If you’ve tried these tips and your mood still remains off after 3–4 weeks, consider consulting your primary care physician for a medical checkup and or seeing a psychotherapist to discuss any possible life stressors that can effect our mood negatively.

If you like what you’ve read, please join me over at my Newsletter The Wellbeing Equation where I offer additional tips and insights into how to help us navigate our busy lives.

Should you want additional help, I offer Health and Wellness Coaching on a limited basis.
https://www.broncerice.com/coaching