Workout of the Day:
Five sets of:
Push Press + Jerk
Rest 90 seconds
Toes to Bar x 12 reps
(perform slow and controlled, without any kip, if possible)
Rest 3 minutes;
and then,
For time:
30 Burpees
800 Meter Run
20 Burpees
400 Meter Run
10 Burpees
200 Meter Run

This backdrop might be a cure for stress. Thanks to our friend Payton in Sitka, Alaska for the photo.

Stressed Out?
Written by Nichole DeHart

Headaches, muscle tension, digestive problems, irregular or rapid heartbeats, sleep problems, frequent colds and infections . . . these are all symptoms of chronic stress.

Stress can sneak in and rob us of the benefits from our hard work at the gym. If our stress levels are too high we actually end up working against some of our fitness goals. Yes, your workout log may be filled to the brim with your recent times and personal records but if your stress levels are too high you are not reaching your potential for optimal health.

Lets first define stress. Stress is “the state arising when the individual perceives that the demands placed on them exceed (or threaten to exceed) their capacity to cope, and therefore, threaten their wellbeing” (Martin, 1997, page 118).  Stress is not always a bad thing. Acute stress reactions are adaptive, but chronic stress states are harmful. We may have a stressor that knocks us out of homeostatic balance (like if we ever need to run from being attacked by a lion) but then our body reestablishes homeostasis with a stress response (when we do escape from being attacked by a lion).

The problem is that we now have hundreds of stressors every day. We have activated a physiological system that is designed to address acute emergencies and have, instead, turned it on for months, years. I mean, we have relationships to worry about, promotions, family issues, making the monthly bills (the list goes on).  But . . . we are literally worrying ourselves sick with chronic stress! 70 to 80% of all illness is stress related. Yep, stress inhibits the immune system. Remember those good guys, macrophages, who fight off pathogens in the body? Well stress makes those guys sluggish and therefore makes the immune cells less effective. Chronic stress can also lead to sleep problems, gastrointestinal disease, increased depression and creates cardiovascular effects (i.e. blood pressure).

These adverse effects from stress work against our goal of being the healthiest and fittest possible. Tomorrow we will take a look at how stress affects weight loss and what we can do to manage elevated stress levels.

Tags: Rest and Recovery

This entry was posted on Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 9:15 pm and is filed under Workout Of The Day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.