Erin Stern shares 10 reasons why exercise can benefit you as therapy

"Let's say you don't have the budget for therapy or you're not interested in going there, I want to go through 10 ways exercise can help provide the same benefits as therapy,"

Stern shares.

Content:

• A tangible challenge in the form of weights
• Increasing physical strength
• Lifting weights provides you with an anchor
• Physical realization of goals
• Integrating your shadow or dark side with who you are
• Motivation
• Social interaction
• Exercise gives structure to life
• Improves mood
• Tolerance

Tangible challenge in the form of weights

According to Stern, conquering the tangible challenge of lifting weights can help you overcome the intangible challenges you encounter outside the gym.

"You have a tangible challenge in the form of weights. You go in there and you know that the plate is, say, 45 pounds, the bar weighs a certain amount, usually 45 pounds as well, unless they're using those stupid 35-pound bars, either way you know what weight you're trying to lift. Conquering this tangible challenge will better equip you to conquer intangible challenges."

Increasing physical strength

Increasing physical strength can also affect how someone assesses their self-esteem, says Stern.

"If you're going to the gym, lifting heavier weights, you're going to be physically stronger. Something we don't always see with that increase in physical strength is that we carry ourselves differently.
If you suffer from low self-esteem, lifting weights, especially back sweeps, can help you stand straighter."

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Příspěvek sdílený Erin Stern (@2x_ms_olympia)

Lifting weights provides you with an anchor

Even if your life is constantly changing, Stern emphasized that lifting iron can provide a familiar and comfortable anchor for those going through tough times.

"Lifting weights can be an anchor for you. So it's kind of a constant in a changing world. When your life seems to be upside down and it just keeps repeating itself," shares Stern. "When everything seems upside down, when everything seems lost, that tangible feeling of the weights, just having a gym or a place to work out can give you comfort."

Physical realization of goals

She also highlighted the achievement of physical goals in training and how this can be transferred to real life situations.

"Goals that are near and dear to your heart, you're basically not only showing the world, but also yourself that what you have in your head can be achieved in real life."

Integrate your shadow or dark side with who you are

Stern believes that coaching gives people the ability to understand themselves, especially their dark side.

"You have to be able to integrate your shadow with who you are because it's part of who we are. If you suppress it, it will gradually bubble to the surface and manifest itself in undesirable ways. So fight those demons in the gym, whether you put on your headphones, put your cap down, and use them to push yourself more. It will help you incorporate your shadow or this perceived darkness into your everyday life."

Motivation

The former Olympian in women's physique says exercise and self-motivation has therapeutic effects.

"Being around other people who are working out, whether you talk to them or not, will help you increase your own motivation. It's by becoming a reflection of the people you spend the most time with, even if you've never met them in person, they still influence you."

Social interaction

For those who feel lonely or isolated, working out at the gym can be an ideal way to change these emotions.

"If you work at home and I work at home, I don't get to interact with people much during the day. Going to the gym makes me feel less isolated. It can be great if you feel lonely, just being around people, especially people who are like-minded."

Exercise gives structure to life

She stresses that a regular workout plan provides structure that can permeate other areas of your life.

"Exercise gives structure to life because usually you have to have a routine of making time for yourself, knowing that at five o'clock in the morning three days a week or five days a week you're going to the gym or maybe you're going to the gym after work or on your lunch break, you just have structure. Now you have the ability to schedule your days and stick to your plans."

"Having structure in the gym or structure in your workouts gives structure to the rest of your life, too,"

Stern adds.

Improving your mood

Stern credits exercise with improving mood.

"That's straight science. It increases your endorphin and serotonin levels. Your blood pressure goes down, you get a lot of benefits from the workout, and in terms of

Tolerance

Last but not least, Stern claims that regular exercise makes him more tolerant of the problems he encounters in life.

"That's something where working out or exercising has helped me a lot. I used to be like an emotional roller coaster. I was very sensitive to mood swings, to other people, if the weather was bad, I was usually in a bad mood, the slightest inconvenience would kind of sideline me, and exercise helped me increase my tolerance for those kinds of swings."

Low self-esteem, depression and anxiety can affect the best of us, and that includes athletes like powerlifting phenom Larry Wheels. He has spoken openly about how the gym saved him from a negative lifestyle. In addition to helping Wheels in his frame of mind, he believes that the gym has also steered him away from associating with the wrong crowd.

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Příspěvek sdílený Erin Stern (@2x_ms_olympia)