Exercise and Mood

What makes us feel so good after we exercise? Endorphins! Our body releases endorphins during exercise that create an immediate mood boost. This is why exercising leaves you feeling so much better. It is so effective at making us feel better that many research studies have shown that exercise can be used in place of antidepressants. Endorphins are our body’s reaction to pain. When we stress the muscles through exercise it causes the body to react to the external stimulus through endorphin release. We are not only getting benefits from exercise physically but mentally as well. These endorphins help make you stronger by helping your body react to the exercise. The mood boost is often the secret weapon to success in all aspects of fitness. Once you begin to feel better from the endorphin release you begin to enjoy exercise more. When you are enjoying the exercise sessions you are more likely to adhere. Once you are adhering to the exercise sessions you will begin to see the physical benefits such as weight loss and muscle toning. And after all of that you then will compete with yourself to improve your fitness level. There are many reasons to exercise and many reasons to want to improve but starting from the inside out is a great way to assure positive results. Many people will tell you that you are crazy when you tell them how much you love to push yourself, one more rep, ten more seconds, one last burnout set. What these people don’t know is how incredible the body feels because of the physiological responses to exercise. They do not understand the endorphin release during exercise that leads to the positivity in all aspects of life following exercise. The American College of Sports Medicine is urging physicians and patients to reconsider many medications and use the body’s love for physical activity as medicine. Exercise is medicine for many different chronic diseases such as depression, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Doing what makes the body healthy and makes you happy is an amazing way to treat all of these diseases!