People Exercising at a Gymnasium — Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis
Intense exercise at the gym or at home is a good way to improve your body. It’s hard work and you’re going to sweat a lot, but this is better for relaxation than lying on the sofa and doing nothing.
A high level of exercise offers so many benefits for your nervous system and your state of mind.
Firstly, we need to establish what intense exercise is and what we mean by relaxation.
How Intense is Your Exercise?
By intense exercise we’re referring to say 30 minutes to an hour of serious workout time. This could mean a run through a large hilly neighbourhood or a weightlifting session at the gym. Whatever you’re doing, you should be sweating and your muscles should really be feeling it.
This doesn’t mean push yourself as far as you can go. It means push yourself so you’re tired but not exhausted.
Relaxation
Relaxation is a long-term thing, otherwise being lazy would accomplish the same thing without the effort. It’s about your overall well-being. Someone who is obese will find daily life difficult and the exact opposite of relaxing because their bodies aren’t suited to being active. You have to look at the big picture.
We Were Designed to Move
Every human is genetically programmed to move, run, and jump. We’re designed to be active, so it’s no surprise fit and healthy people are happier. Each time we’re involved in intense exercise we receive a boost of endorphins in our brain. The melatonin levels in our body go up and we feel energised. You don’t get this from a sedentary activity.
Relaxation isn’t about feeling dead. It’s about releasing tension and feeling energised and ready to go.
In the long-term our biological design starts to provide dividends from regular and intensive exercise. We feel confident in our ability and less stressed as we release tension at the beginning or at the end of each day. By moving we become more flexible and less hunched over. This alone makes you relax. Sitting down to watch TV accomplishes nothing.
Take the Mind Away
The source of many of our problems comes from what’s in the mind. We create many of our own problems. It’s as simple as that. We create fear, anxiety, stress, and all the other negative emotions associated with a stressed human being. Exercise involved nothing mentally. You need to know what to do, but it’s in the body.
For probably the only time in your day, you’re completely removing your mind from everything and letting your body take over. It’s amazing how different you feel by taking it away.
What’s Wrong with Light Exercise?
Light exercise doesn’t turn the mind off. You can jog down the street and still be thinking about your day. You aren’t relaxing because you are still concentrating on the things which make you stressed in the first place.
Intense exercise forces you to concentrate on everything from your breathing to the way you pump your arms and legs. This is why light exercise should never act as a substitute.
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Hi Geoff. I think this is really true. Intense exercise can promote relaxation. Blessings, Debby