Though being quarantined for this long is good for keeping us away from COVID, it is not great for our mental health. Gyms have opened back up with special restrictions, but after not working out, or just sticking to home workout videos, for this long, it is hard to get back into the habits of going to the gym. It is important for us to get into a routine, and it is just as important for us to recognize why we aren’t going to the gym anymore. Are we skipping out on our workout because we don’t feel like doing it or because we have found a new hobby to replace that time?
If you said you found a new hobby and that is why you haven’t been dedicating time to fitness, then you get a pass (for now). If you are having a hard time getting back into a fitness routine, that excuse doesn’t fly as easily. According to Mental Health America, one in five people have mental health issues, and one in two people are at risk of developing them. As you can imagine, a national pandemic did not help to lower those numbers.
Working out, even as quick as a 5-minute exercise, can increase your energy and boost your mood. Exercise can help alleviate mild to moderate long-term depression, but it can also minimize the lull you have been feeling because of COVID or other stressors.
Exercising can increase your mood, even if you are already feeling okay. Exercising releases chemicals like endorphins and serotonin to improve your mood. Endorphins relieve stress and pain in your body and they give you a feeling of euphoria to get you through your day or get you past a hard time. Combined with serotonin, endorphins can help you think clearer and boost your overall sense of well-being. These chemicals in your brain improve your appetite and sleep cycles as well. Does the phrase “Runner’s High” make a little more sense now?
Getting your body moving also increases the blood flow to your brain. This helps to stimulate those parts of the brain that aren’t as responsive, the parts of your brain that are bringing you down. Not to mention, focusing on a workout for an hour or so is an extra hour that you aren’t thinking about whatever other worries you have going on at home.
There are also plenty of other ways exercising can help your mood, ways that don’t even include the actual exercising. Just showing up to the gym or to workout class can help you meet new people, people with a common goal or interest right away. Not to mention, if you join a recreational sports team; you will be reliving your glory days, doing something you love and enjoy, as well as meeting new people. Often times, when joining a rec team, you won’t even realize you are exercising until you are sore the next day.
In short, this hump is the hardest part. After getting out of the exercise habit, just getting to the gym is difficult. So, with that being said, here is your sign. Put your favorite gym outfit on and get back to the weights, or to the bike, or to whatever equipment you like the best. The more you do it, the easier it gets. Get back to the happy, healthy version of you.
