by Coach Veronica
Are you letting your stress get the best of you? Do you find that you’ve skipped a workout or two because of stress? Stress is often overlooked because it’s just a part of life. We face multiple demands each day such as work, making ends meet, family, and even your workouts. However, brushing stress under the rug day in and day out has a significant impact on our overall health and fitness goals.
Sure, our bodies are designed to handle small amounts of stress, but they aren’t meant to handle a ton of stressful events daily. When we are put under a stressful situation, good or bad, work-related or social, our bodies go into flight-or-fight mode. Once we’re in flight-or-flight mode, our nervous and adrenal-cortical systems work full time. This happens because our basic animal instinct is to survive no matter how difficult the circumstance.
Cortisol and adrenaline are two hormones release when we’re put under stress. Cortisol is known as the “fat storing hormone” and increases sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream, and can be linked to insulin resistance or diabetes. Your adrenal glands are pumping out adrenaline, which increases your heart rate and elevates your blood pressure. When these hormones are always on the rise, your body can succumb to improper thyroid function, blood sugar imbalances, decreased bone density and muscle tissue, weakened immune system, inflammatory response, and that dreaded abdominal fat that’s so hard to burn off in the gym!
How do you re-evaluate the stressful stimuli in your life?
Make a list of daily tastes, situations, places, and people and how they make you feel. If any of these things are not lifting you up or making you a better person, then its time to reorganize. Try a yoga class at lest once a week. Make an appointment on your busy schedule to disconnect yourself from the rest of the world even if its for 20 minutes! Allow yourself to wind down from the day so you get a good night’s rest. That means turning off that dang computer (after you read this, of course).
Deep down, you know when something is not a positive stress stimulus, so stand up for yourself and your health. And if you’re feeling stressed at all, take a breath and look at a picture of a puppy. Your body will thank you!
Let loose with Coach Veronica Monday, Wednesday, Fridays at 7am and 7:30pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7am, 8am, and 9am. Register here!