Fitness Can Be a Form of Therapy

Having a tough day? We all have them. Lacing up those athletic shoes and heading out for a run or attending a fitness class may very well help to flip your mood around. Fitness can also change your outlook and give your life deeper meaning. Adding fitness to my week has personally made a huge impact on my mental state. and mood. I’m sure you’ve been told exercise can elevate a person’s mood, reduce anxiety and depression, and boost their self-esteem. When people begin consistently training, they experience all kinds of benefits like more energy, clearer thinking, improved sleep, and better moods. I recommend my clients to make their training sessions as good as therapy. In therapy sessions, you’re more likely to open up and fully let go of the emotions you’re holding inside, right? Letting go like this during a workout allows for you to release all of this pent up tension while also raising feel-good hormones. Here’s my theory… your body perceives physical struggle almost the same as emotional struggle. When you push through physical struggle, you prove to your body and your mind that you have that strength, leading you to perceive struggle with less fear the next time it comes around. While movement in and of itself is enough to heighten endorphins, there are a few things you can focus on to up the lasting happiness quotient of each training while involving a therapy approach
Ways To Make Your Training As Good As Therapy:
     Training has become one of my main sources of therapy over the years. It’s cheaper, it’s more accessible, and it does more than just improve my emotional state. Every time I train, I leave my training session zend out, grounded and ready for whatever that day has to throw at me.
Fitness Is Good For Confidence:
     Most people get discouraged when they try a completely new training and find that they’re not immediately perfect at it. When you train in a way that makes you feel adept, it boosts your confidence. You can always get better. You’ll probably enjoy your training more too. When you’re doing this kind of training, focus on the positive feelings you have for yourself as you perform every move. If you do something “wrong” let it go and bring your mind back to the positives of what you can do.
Hiring A Trainer Or Working Out With A Friend:
     If the main reason you go to therapy is to have a positive professional guide you through your struggles and emotions. Hiring a trainer or working out with a friend is very similar. Your trainer guides you through your session, motivating you, pushing you to do your best with safe movements as you tend to let go of your emotional release during the process. Training with a positive friend is a therapeutic workout for you too.
Learning How To Breathe Through It:
     We all naturally know how to breathe, but a lot of us subconsciously hold our breath while we train. Whether it’s due to the effort needed to finish those last few reps or because you’re focusing so hard on the moves you’re doing, not breathing correctly will make your workout harder. Many of the anxiety and depression exercises given to clients by therapists start with a deep breath. Breathing deeply calms the mind and body, promotes mindfulness and helps to center us in the present moment. So if I’m doing a squat, I’ll sink into my squat with an inhale and stand up on an exhale because most of the work is being done on the way back up.
Ashley LaMorte is a nationally certified fitness instructor and has been in the fitness industry for many years. Over the years Ashley has gotten the opportunity to instruct group X boot camps at gyms and train private clients from all walks of life, all over the bay area. She now has her own mobile fitness business LaMorte Lift. You can learn more about Ashley at LaMorteLift.com