How To Get What You Need From Exercise
Why do you exercise?
For some people, it’s to improve their physical appearance, or their performance, or their health. For others, they want to feel better. Still others don’t have a particular reason, they just know they “should” exercise.
No matter your main goal, if you dig deeper you’ll find that exercise can fulfill some very deep and meaningful needs.
Personally, as someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety, I get something incredibly valuable from my exercise.
I am not a naturally strong person. I have a small frame and a “fast” metabolism. Growing up I was very skinny. I once tried to donate blood and was turned away because I didn’t weigh enough. I felt weak and small and vulnerable.
My self-esteem was low, and I felt like I wasn’t deserving of people’s time and attention. I spoke fast, trying to take up as little time as possible. I would hunch and shrink myself even further, trying to disappear.
These days, I feel strong. I feel powerful. While I still have anxious feelings, my self-identity has shifted dramatically and I feel worthy of time and attention. I feel good about myself. This is the incredible power of strength training, and why I’ll never stop lifting.
Even if you don’t struggle with your mental health (although let’s be honest, everyone can benefit from feeling better mentally!), this is an important concept.
It’s those deeper layers that will build strong motivation to keep going when times get tough. When you can recognize the fundamental gifts you’re giving yourself when you exercise, it becomes very easy to do it.
What Do You Need?
Let’s get introspective here. What do you need? What would help you thrive and feel good about yourself?
Different Types Of Exercise And What They Can Do For You
This is what I believe you can gain from different types of exercise, but you might find other benefits.
Strength Training
Strength training, as the name suggests, helps you build physical strength, but also mental strength. It builds muscle, which can help shape your body and change what you see in the mirror as well as how you feel when you see yourself.
There are two main types of strength training that I want to distinguish between, because I think each has its own value.
Heavy Strength Training
Builds confidence, courage, and the ability to deal with uncertainty
Heavy strength training means using weights that you can’t lift more than about 6 times. ("Heavy" is relative, what's heavy for you might be light for someone else.)
Heavy lifting can involve some uncertainty. I sometimes look at a heavily loaded barbell and wonder, am I really going to be able to lift that?
Then I do it, and I feel superhuman. When I stand up with a heavy weight in my hands, I feel like I can do anything. This is what I need to be able to tackle really hard and scary challenges.
It builds the kind of confidence and courage you need to take risks and put yourself out there. It makes you feel strong, powerful, and capable.
Moderate Strength Training
Builds determination and the ability to get comfortable with discomfort
Moderate strength training is lifting relatively lighter weights (but still not actually light) between about 6-15 times. To build muscle this way, you need to push close to exhaustion. That’s not a comfortable thing to do. It burns. And when it starts burning, you still need to do a couple more reps.
This kind of training helps you get comfortable with discomfort, something that’s incredibly important.
Life can be uncomfortable sometimes. You can either choose to avoid uncomfortable situations (and miss out), or you can build the ability to face your discomfort and do the thing anyway.
Endurance Training
Builds persistence and resilience, and gets you out of your head
Endurance exercise means long duration or long distance cardio. ("Long", like "heavy", is relative. Let's say 20 minutes or longer.)
My preferred endurance exercise is running, but you could do cycling or swimming or rowing or hiking.
Endurance is hard in its own way. After a while, your whole body is tired, and you just want to stop. It’s different than the discomfort you get from strength training, and in some ways it’s worse.
With strength training, you might need to push through a serious amount of discomfort for a few seconds to finish out your set. With endurance training, you need to deal with a low level of discomfort for a long time.
This is the value of endurance training. It’s right in the name: it teaches you how to endure. It builds the ability to keep pushing forward, to keep trying, even when the finish line isn’t in sight yet.
Long, repetitive cardio also helps you get out of your head, quieting your inner critic or narrator and giving you a break from your worries.
More Help If You Need It
Think about what you really need to live your best life, and try to tailor your exercise program to help you strengthen those qualities.
If you want to learn how to unlock the incredible mental health benefits of exercise and build the skills that can transform your life, check out my Strength Training For Anxiety Program!