Flourishing Fridays are about things to consider as you head into the weekend.
Exercise plans
Today’s post is about exercise. Now I know this might not be fun to some of you, but bear with me….
When you get anxious, stressed or overwhelmed, your body produces cortisol to prepare you for the flight or fight response (think of seeing a dinosaur and being ready to run). However, if you stay in this stressed mode without using the cortisol, it starts to build up in your system and can have long-term impacts on your health. Doing some exercise can reduce your cortisol levels, as long as you are exercising at a level that is comfortable to you. It can be as simple as playing tunnel ball or kicking the footy around, through to something more intense.
Given the closure of gyms/exercise studios, as well as playgrounds, you need to be creative (last Friday’s post) about establishing an exercise program that allows you to take into account:
- Your energy levels
- The weather
- Your time
- The current and future isolation levels
- Any equipment you have or may need, and much more
By creating an exercise plan, you can have a back up if, say there are thunderstorms and you can’t go for your run/walk. Ideally, your plan has enough variety and fun in it to keep you committed, as it is likely that your level of incidental activity has decreased if you are now working from home and no longer walking to/from public transport and to/from work. Having a plan with lots of variety also allows you to have control over what you can do each day, when you may feel much has been taken away from you.
Enjoy!!