After just a couple weeks, fatigue hit hard. One night, after I slept for 15 hours straight, I woke up with a new resolve to stick to my actual, more attainable goals, which included movement breaks, a walk, some type of workout, and some pull-ups each day. That routine was good for my body, helped my energy level, and kept me calm amid the current state of the world —something especially important, considering my own relationship with depression and anxiety.
Even though my experiment with those super-intense workouts was brief, it still made me wonder what the heck was going on. At first look, it might seem surprising that so many people are desperate to kick their own butt via exercise during an actual pandemic. On a biological level, movement is an innate reaction to stress. After all, epinephrine also known as adrenaline, the fight-or-flight hormone functions to mobilize the body.
It stimulates your organs and muscles, releases fast-acting carbs into the bloodstream, and allows us to throw punches or run like hell, Minnesota-based exercise physiologist Mike T. Nelson, Ph. Although these body-negative messages are nothing new, they are currently capitalizing on our need for control right now, psychologist Renee Engeln, Ph. But right now, pulling back on our exercise intensity and volume—our levels of exertion during workouts, the length of aerobic endurance workouts, or the weight we lift—can be a necessary move, for our mental and emotional health as well as our physical well being.
And as workload or stress increases, so does your biological need for recovery. That can be especially true for people trying to mimic what they see from athletes and fitness influencers on social media. So viewers think they simply need to push and not recover. This can manifest as increased mental and emotional stress, fatigue, burnout, feelings of depression, and reduced self-esteem—all feelings that we already are particularly vulnerable to right now , psychologist Lisa Lewis, Ed.
It takes exercise, which has the power to improve our health and happiness, and almost turns it into self-inflicted punishment. Okay, so where does that leave you and your workouts? Here, experts share strategies for finding balance. Studies state that muscular injury is one of the major problems facing athletes, both in recreational and professional settings.
Research shows that a warm-up helps prevent injury and should be included as part of a fitness routine. A warm-up and stretching protocol should be implemented prior to physical activity. The warm-up should occur within 15 minutes prior to the activity in order to receive the most benefit.
Mentally preparing for your workout can also keep you more mindful during the upcoming workout. As a result you could have better technique, energy, and coordination, helping you push harder while staying safe.
This will help you avoid injury as well as strengthen the muscles you intended to. Proper form also helps you reach your goals and gives you a better workout, while staying safe. The same goes if you have high-impact using your body weight, such as jumping.
Good form also makes your workout more efficient. A trusted app such as Fitbod can help guide you towards good exercise form with step-by-step instructional videos. Strength training is designed to improve muscular fitness by exercising a specific muscle or muscle group.
It also helps you increase lean muscle mass, perfect for your muscle building or bodybuilding routine. In order to keep the strength benefits while you incorporate HIIT into your routine, simply incorporate your own body weight or use equipment such as dumbells, resistance bands, or kettlebells. HIIT tends to be heavy on the legs, so aim to include a few exercises that focus on the upper body. Intensity: Start with just cardio, then add weights.
Time: Start with a total of 15 minutes, then increase to According to Mayo Clinic , doing HIIT once or twice a week at most, while mixing in less-intense activities on the other days will give your body time to recover and heal. It can also cause your body and mind to grow tired or the same workout. Rest and recovery are just as important as daily movement. When your muscles have time to repair and you get adequate sleep, it will help you reach your goals faster.
The important thing to consider is if your training routine includes specific muscle-groups. As explained by the American Council on Exercise ACE , the most important type of active recovery is general light physical activity. Examples of active recovery include:. Talking a walk. The goal is to get the blood flowing to your muscles and joints without exerting the muscles that you worked the previous day.
Final Thoughts To keep your body and mind healthy, exercise is essential. HIIT is the perfect way to condense the benefits of activity into 30 minutes or less.
But when it comes to an intense exercise like HIIT, doing it every day, or for periods longer than 30 minutes can put you at risk for injury, overtraining, mental burnout, and prevent muscle recovery. High fives as you HITT your goals! Delaney believes in a solid interval training-to-cardio ratio where one day of interval training is followed by a day of steady state, lower-intensity cardio.
Be aware of personal comfort levels, and increase the frequency and intensity of interval training sessions gradually as the body adapts. Curious if at-home cold therapy devices are worth the hefty price tag? We tried one to find out. Here's our review. Kettlebells may look like the simplest piece of equipment in the gym, but they offer a ton of benefits for your body.
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