Have you ever arrived at the gym in a bad mood? Maybe something happened that caused you to react in a negative manner before your workout.
A bad mood is the worst, and if you have ever come in to a workout in a bad mood, chances are you know that a challenging workout can turn that bad mood around quickly.
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to witness a member overcome a bad day through exercise, and I was inspired to blog about the experience.
Recently a Peak Member, we will call Barry, arrived for Kickboxing following a long day at work. Barry is normally happy and talkative. When Barry arrived to the gym this particular day his head was down, and it was clear he wasn’t in a great mood. Undoubtedly the aftermath of a long day at work.
I still gave Barry credit for showing up. It would have been a lot easier for him to go home and call it a day. I also knew a workout would help Barry get back to his normal, happy self.
It didn’t take long for Barry’s mood to turn around! Twenty minutes into class I looked over to see Barry was smiling, and high fiving other members. What a turn around! Experiences like this are why I became a trainer! The healthy outlet Peak Physique offers turned Barry’s attitude around. Without a drop of alcohol, or a taste of sugar Barry went home with a big smile on his face.
Later that week Barry’s wife had mentioned to me that he was a very different man when he got home that night and she thanked me! Barry’s decision to go to the gym that night improved his health and made him more pleasant to be around as well! A good workout made a bad day better for Barry!
EVERYONE has a bad day from time to time. Stress can make a great mood bad quickly. Once these stressors have made their way into our minds our reaction is to alleviate the stress with a response. How you respond can have a critical impact on your health and well-being.
An unhealthy response to stress like drinking, binge eating, or medicating will only provide you with temporary relief. This short term relief has negative health consequences as well. And unlike in Barry’s case, a wife rarely thanks a bar owner for helping a husband drink his bad day away.
A healthy response to stress like participating in an active hobby, meditating, or exercising will provide you with a form of relief that harvests positive health. When your response to stress is healthy, like Barry’s, this response is accompanied by a feeling of high-self esteem, and positivity(and a happy spouse at home).
To conclude, next time you have a bad day and want to go out for a drink or reach in the fridge for your favorite grief food, do me favor and get a workout in instead. Study your mood before and after the workout! I guarantee you will be in a better state of mind, and the world around you will reap the benefits as well!
If you are unsure what to do for a workout, I will even give you a FREE workout E-BOOK to help show you how to get some movement in! Now get to it!
In good health,
Ricky Grabow
