Managing stress

Stress comes in all forms for the everyday professional. Parents, teachers, professors, lawyers, doctors and coders all experience stress from work, expectations of being the best parent, getting their work done yesterday, the pressure of keeping people alive, etc. Finding ways to mitigate this stress has become even more important as the societal pressure to produce increases. 

Being active, lifting weights, and pushing the body all help us feel through our stress. When you finish a good workout the same day you felt a lot of stress, it’s like a weight is lifted off of your shoulders and you can actually breathe. There’s space that opens up inside that gives you a clearer mind, a stronger heart, and a happier demeanor. Being present with that feeling is important; the more you let the day cloud your thoughts the harder it will be to face those stressful situations. Take them in stride. We all are trying our hardest everyday and it’s your job to find the avenue that opens up your mind to the situation at hand.

Growing up in the Bronx, I was only 100 feet from a basketball court, and it’s there that whatever life threw at me was pushed to the wayside. It was there the people I met showed me my first examples of strength. It’s where I learned for the first time to take the negative energy and let it all fade away. To take that energy and shape into something great no matter your circumstance.

Find that version of release for yourself because it’s out there. You just have to explore yourself. Therapy helps tremendously, but a step in that direction can be as simple as going for a walk. I’ve worked so many things out in my head on countless walks. 

For most people that time “isn’t theirs to spend”

Isn’t conducive to the setting of their family

Isn’t fair to their family

To those individuals I say, how can you help your family deal with anything If you yourself are on autopilot? It’s survival, but can you really feel mentally together if you don’t have a release?

Having the right trainer could make a bad day a better one. That person knowing you and your mood can be difference between exercising in futility (essentially flailing) or actually pushing yourself to feel the rush of endorphins that come post workout. Knowing how hard the pedal should be pushed is important. I want to see what people look like post pushing endlessly. Yeah you’re badass but the universe will sort you out (I chuckle). I like when people can be malleable and able to adapt. The more rigid of a box you force yourself into the harder it will be to fight your way out of your own cage. 

In short, what’s really important is learning how to funnel all the things you learn in the gym to make a routine that can last you a lifetime. The whys we see in our training add up to strengthening every phase of our life. From toddler to old age, every individual can let strength guide their path.