Exercise is touted as a great way to lose weight while on vacation, but it’s also great for reducing anxiety, stress and depression.
Durango Personal Trainer Kevin Keffert works out at the Durango Fitness Club. He credits regular exercise with helping him get through tough times and maintain an overall sense of well-being. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald File)
Jerry McBride
Vacation hopes are fun times with family, decadent dinners, and good news for all, but the season can also ring in times of anxiety, stress, excess weight, and depression.
And as New Year’s resolutions are made and local gyms burst with new members, extra pounds seem to be getting the most attention, but what’s often overlooked is that exercise and movement can cause anxiety and anxiety. It is to help reduce stress and eradicate depression. .
Kevin Keffert, Durango Personal Trainer, believes regular exercise has helped him get through tough times and maintain an overall sense of well-being.
Kefert was 16 when his 19-year-old sister died in a car accident. A year later, his stepfather, who worked for Desert Storm, committed suicide. A year later his biological father died, and a few months later his grandfather.
“And all those people were pretty close to me,” he said. It can stem from such traumatic events. I think I have some form of it and it gave me anxiety and depression. My habits were lifting weights and exercising, which helped me bounce back from periods of depression.”
Suffering from symptoms of PTSD at an early age, Kefert turned to fitness to balance his body, mind and spirit. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald File)
Jerry McBride
Ideally, a combination of cardio and strength training is a good habit, says Kephart, and good habits stick just like bad habits.
“It produces endorphins and increases those good hormones,” he said. “And it’s a proven scientific fact that exercise and resistance training improve depression and anxiety.” And on a personal level, I strongly believe exercise keeps me alive. Exercise and talk to your doctor about depression.”
Keffert encourages people to be intentional when working out.
“Resistance training is very mindful, it’s like meditation for me,” he said. is in the muscle. You are concentrating on that muscle and not thinking about anything else. You are meditating on that muscle and visualizing its contraction.
Exercise can definitely help with anxiety, stress, and depression, says Melissa Knight Maloney, professor of health and human performance at Fort Lewis College.
“There’s a lot of evidence that exercise can help improve things like self-esteem and self-efficacy,” she said. It’s a myokine, and it has a wide range of effects, so when you look at things like mood, cognition, and memory, you’re seeing a lot of positive effects from exercise.”
Keffert suggests finding a balance between resistance training and cardio. Finding the right exercise is important because everyone has different needs and abilities. And just like bad habits, some form of regular training builds good habits that spill over into other parts of your life.
Jerry McBride
Exercise causes “oxidative stress and inflammation” in the short term, but it actually reduces chronic inflammation in the long term.
“And there are links to chronic inflammation and things like depression, stress and anxiety,” she said.
According to Knight-Maloney, exercise also reduces the release of stress hormones, and elevated stress hormones can reduce many feel-good neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and norepinephrine.
“So chronic stress can interfere with the communication of some of the neurotransmitters in the brain,” she said. It has also been shown to affect endocannabinoids in a similar way to getting high.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise each week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity.
Knight-Maloney passed the proverbial baton when asked if yoga offered the same benefits as the type of exercise she and Kephart mentioned.
“Let’s just say that yoga is another form of exercise,” she said. The biggest thing we have a hard time explaining to people is all about personality.
Keffert also emphasized that fact, pointing out that having a personal trainer is exactly that. Because while things like Cross He Fit might be great for one person, it could all be wrong for another.
Cat Morrison owns the Sweaty Buddha Hot Yoga Studio and still teaches occasionally. She is also a nurse at Miller Middle School.
“There is a direct connection between yoga practice and our nervous system,” she said. The parasympathetic is for rest and digestion, the sympathetic is for fight or flight, so our bodies have a balance between these two systems. Doing some poses often leads people to reduce anxiety and stress.”
Those who practice hot yoga often say that it provides the same benefits as a runner’s high. This is not only about working hard, but also feeling a release of stress and anxiety. Hot yoga attracts people because it makes them fit, but it’s really more than that, Morrison said.
“Really, a lot of yoga is the mental and spiritual part,” she said. “But certainly the practice is science-based. It’s improving your nervous system.”
Morrison said that practicing yoga regularly means being in the present moment without thinking about the past or the future. The goal is to stay in the present.
“When you practice mindfulness and presence, you can truly experience the joy of being in your body and being alive,” she said. I will give it to you.
“Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, ‘If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future,'” she said. .
gjaros@durangoherald.com
