7 Exercises for Stress Relief

This is definitely a year that will go into the history books, thanks to Covid-19 and its massive curveball of a pandemic that we didn’t see coming.  We all know that every single person has been affected in some way or another and I’m sure this has brought with it some level of stress too. There are some people who have taken exercise by its stride and used every lockdown moment to do as many workouts as possible and then there are others who without the gym, didn’t feel like exercising and saw themselves, mentally drained, feeling sluggish and putting on a few extra kilograms. Enter in, low self-esteem.

What is Stress?
Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. When you sense danger, whether it’s real or imagined, the body’s defences kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight or flight” reaction or the stress response. The stress response is the body’s way of protecting you. Everybody gets stressed out, it’s a normal part of life.

How Does Physical Activity Reduce Stress?
Exercise and any physical activity that breaks a sweat causes your body to produce endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. They can also help improve your sleep as well as trigger a positive feeling in the body. Exercise also relaxes the muscles and relieves tension in the body. Choosing a relaxing stress workout in the evening, will help you to have a better night’s sleep and wake up feeling better.

Here are 7 GREAT EXERCISES to help you ease the stress and tackle the rest of the year.

1. Pilates
A great mat exercise that can be both relaxing and intense at the same time. Toning, flexibility, better posture, more movement and the body and mind connection are all benefits the Pilates method offers that can be achieved through mat work. Resistance bands can be used to intensify the workout too.

2. Reformer Pilates
Moving up from your regular Pilates, Reformer Pilates will bring a new element of strength, movement and restoration to your body creating a lean, strong physique. The exercises are performed on a bed-like frame that uses different weighted spring combinations to create resistance when you move the carriage back and forth.

3. Yoga
Discover the great health benefits of Yoga. Increase your flexibility, strength, mindfulness and general wellbeing. It brings together physical and mental disciplines to help you relax and combines poses with controlled breathing and mindfulness. This practice can be done as little as a 10-minute morning stretch or an 1hr workout in the evening to end your day.

4. Running
Running can release a great flood of endorphins. Psychologically, running gives you a set amount of time to be alone with your thoughts. If you're able to use this to your advantage, you can use that time to get your brain around an issue or the problem. If you don’t want the run to help you process any thoughts, then grab your headphones and listen to some upbeat tunes to get you motivated and focused at the run ahead. Running on a treadmill is great if you don’t want any thought on where to go for a run and before you know it, you will have run further than you thought you would because of how clear you mind has started to become. A great exercise to do both in the morning or the evening.

5. Cycling
Getting out on your bike can help you to better manage day-to-day stress. Not only does general cardiovascular exercise reduce stress, cycling in particular is proven to reduce anxiety. Spin classes are a great sweat sesh which will release endorphins fast, you may be slightly wobbly and hurting when your class has ended but you will definitely be feeling great afterwards. This is a great one to do in the mornings to set you up for the day.

6. Kickboxing
Kickboxing is a powerful stress buster. The high intensity nature of kickboxing improves in stress reduction through the release of endorphins. Punching bags, roundhouse kicks and knee strikes don't just reduce your stress level; they can also shrink your waistline. You don’t need punching bags to perform this activity, although it can definitely assist in the amount of force you want to use which will produce a heavy release of endorphins. Just incorporate punches and kicks into the air, and with an intense hour workout, you will be sure to come out feeling more clearer in the mind.  

7. Ab Workout
This can be more of a psychological workout. The thought of getting our body ready in a condition that either you already work on or it’s something you perhaps haven’t achieved before. However, how can an ab workout help with stress?  A significant number of neurons in the primary cortex in the brain are located in the axial muscle’s region (where the abdominal muscles are) which control the adrenal medulla (the inner part of an adrenal gland, controls hormones that initiate the flight or fight response). Whether it’s a power ab crunch workout or a Pilates class, both exercises will help you feel better.