Up to this point I have examined the different types of negative stress that can potentially affect us. I then examined the role of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems and the affect of each on our bodies. I also created a typical day for most members of society to illustrate all of the potential stressors that occur. Now it is important to realize how all of this comes together to not only affect your progress towards your physical goals but also your life in general. I also want to give some ideas of how to alleviate stress in your life.

As I had previously mentioned, stress stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, which creates a release of the stress hormone cortisol, among other things. For anyone who watches TV you may have seen the commercial for a product called CortiSlim. I do not advocate the use of the product by any means, but the concept is fairly accurate. When your body accumulates too much cortisol in your system many things start to go wrong, from weight gain, to illness, to impaired digestion, and ultimately death.

In order for you to make consistent progress towards your fitness goals there are two main things that have to be achieved. The first thing you have to focus on is your nutrition. You have to eat the proper foods consistently throughout the day to provide your body with the adequate nutrients and energy it needs to perform daily tasks and repair itself. On top of nutrition you need to exercise regularly to force your muscles and your body to adapt and get in better shape. With exercise, the movement itself doesn’t get results; it is the repair that takes place after the workouts that lead to progress. Realizing this it can be seen that increased stress and increased levels of cortisol negatively affect both nutrition and exercise.

The idea of proper nutrition is to provide nutrients and raise your metabolism. Unfortunately, when you are stressed both of these are suppressed. Your body perceives the stress as a physical threat so it slows digestion to allow blood to flow to your muscles to better provide the chance of fighting for survival or running. With the slow down of your digestion your metabolism will slow, which will slow the amount of calories your body naturally burns. Also since your digestion slows your body won’t be as capable of extracting the necessary nutrients from the food you eat, which will further affect your health and well being.

The purpose of exercise is to create a physical stress that your body has to adapt to. The stress from exercise would be considered a positive stress. However, when you are already overly stressed your body isn’t capable of repairing itself as quickly. It lacks the necessary nutrients to create the repairs in your body. All of the work you do during your workouts will provide increasingly smaller results as you create a greater repair deficit. Ultimately either a major injury or illness will occur to prevent you from exercising in hopes of allowing your body to repair itself.

The people with the greatest intentions, who workout diligently day in and day out, may not get the results they seek because of too much stress in their lives. This is just a brief look at how stress affects your progress. The important thing is to acknowledge the stressors in your life and begin to eliminate them as best as possible.

The two types of stressors that are most directly related to physical progress are physical and nutritional stress. The easiest way to avoid physical stress is to avoid overtraining and avoid any physical activities that pose a great physical danger. With regard to overtraining, listen to your body. If you feel completely exhausted without doing anything your body may need to rest. It is important to differentiate between physical and psychological fatigue. My recommendation is to always go to the gym and walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes on days when you are feeling fatigued. If after the 10 minutes you still feel physically exhausted go home and rest. If after the 10 minutes your mind begins to clear it was just a little psychological stress and you are ready to workout. Either way, the 10 minutes provide a warm-up or it helps get the blood flowing, which will ultimately speed up your recovery.

Nutritional stress is also directly related to physical goal achievement. Society’s nutrition is absolutely horrendous. The reliance on quick, processed foods is becoming greater and greater. This over-consumption of processed foods puts a lot of stress on your body. One, it doesn’t provide the proper nutrients to help your body function to its full potential. Two, processed food is packed with sugars that drastically elevate your insulin levels without the necessary nutrients to help stabilize it. This fact can be seen by the increasing diagnosis of diabetes and hypoglycemia. On top of causing disease, improper nutrition also increases the difficulty to lose weight. When your body releases insulin after consuming sugar it creates a fat storing environment within your body. Your body will naturally want to store what it consumes as body fat for later use. Not only does processed food put undue stress on your body it also directly makes you store body fat. The easiest way to avoid nutritional stress is to eat whole, natural foods. It is also important to focus on the consumption of protein over carbohydrates, since protein has the exact opposite affect as carbohydrates within your body, causing you to burn body fat. Spend some time becoming conscientious of the food you eat and begin to make the necessary changes.

Psychic or mental stress is, in my opinion, the biggest stress in people’s lives. People live in a world where there is a constant barrage of perceived stress. At work people are constantly demanding things from you. At home your kids and significant other are demanding things. You have family and friends calling you, creating more stress in your life. You have self-esteem issues that create more stress in your life. Random events occur that cause you to become more stressed out. You look towards the future in hopes of better times, creating more stress. Anything in the world can become a perceived mental stress. The key word is perceived. The best way to eliminate mental stress is to realize you have a choice. This may seem like an oversimplification, but it is true. You have complete control over your thoughts and emotions. You allow other people’s actions to negatively affect you and create stress in your life. You need to learn how to let go and no longer allow others to control your life. This topic is too great to cover completely here, so I will devote more time to it in coming posts. For now begin to acknowledge the mental stress in your life and realize that you can react however you choose.

The last three forms of stress can be grouped together, since they are all environmental stressors. Chemical, electromagnetic, and thermal stress are all stressors that either naturally occurs or we have created through science and industry. The use of pesticides, X-rays, and stoves have all been created by science. Carbon monoxide, over-exposure to the sun, and extreme temperatures are all naturally occurring. The best way to eliminate these stressors is to limit exposure to potentially hazardous environments.

Too much stress has an all encompassing negative effect on your health and well-being. By living a life of high stress you are guaranteed to have undue illness and other health complications. Living to your greatest potential and living the life of your dreams will be impossible if you continue to place stress upon your body. Your physical goals will be nearly impossible to achieve if you place too much stress on your body. You will become less productive at work and your capabilities at home will be diminished because of stress. Take control of your life now and begin to rid yourself of stress, before it is too late.

Anytime you notice a stress in your life, acknowledge its presence and take the necessary steps to eliminate it. Over time you will begin to live a life without stress, when everything you ever wanted seems possible. Make the decision right now to no longer accept the circumstances of your life. Begin to take control and create the life of your dreams. Anything is possible when you set your mind to it. Good luck.

Trackback URI |