On the go? Listen to The Stress Less Show as a Podcast!
It’s time to get physical everyone! This July, we are talking about our physical health because now more than ever do we need to be taking care of our health inside and out. And when it comes to our physical health, a great place to start is with our workouts but there’s more to working out than just dropping pounds or burning calories. The reality when we approach our workouts from a new perspective, we can gain even more benefits from our time at the gym than we realize. This week, I brought holistic transformation coach Nick Deacon back on the show to share how we can use our workouts and physical activity to level up our moods and our minds - not just our bodies.
Nick’s personal fitness journey began after spending much of his childhood as a skinny kid dissatisfied with his body. As he started to devote more time to learning about the body and working out, he eventually reached a place where he was able to approach fitness from a holistic perspective to build a healthy relationship with his body and exercise. However, it took going through stages of body dysmorphia, injuries and more before he was able to get there. Something that, he notes, is all too common in our society these days.
“Especially with the rise of Instagram, people follow a guy or a girl just because they want to look like that or they aspire to have their glamorous life. And you can't see what's going on behind the scenes.”
After 15 years of growth, he is now able to take what he has learned to coach and work with others to help them approach fitness from a healthier perspective, rather than focusing on just the outside. Through his work, he has a couple to share with us on shifting our perspective on working out to start working IN instead.
Tip #1: Find balance in your workout regime
For many of us, the process of working out tends to be solely focused on what we can lose. We want to lose weight, burn calories, shed inches, you name it. However, Nick’s first tip invites us all to let go of what we want to lose for a moment and look at the whole picture.
“The purpose of working out isn't to just burn calories. It's really an opportunity to upgrade your body and stimulate it, to do something more, to be stronger, to lift more weight, to run faster, and those are the things that actually make you healthier.”
As we start to approach our workouts from a healthier and holistic perspective, we can begin to find balance in our workouts that can transform our relationship with our physical bodies. When Nick began learning more about the concept of Yin and Yang from Eastern philosophies, he began sinking deeper into the concept of balance and more specifically how it can be applied to our workouts. While workouts often center on exerting energy, Nick stresses the importance of balancing all of the energy we expend with what we can put back in.
“Working out is stressful to the body and really should be. That's the whole point. The problem is that in our fast-paced, modern world, most of us are already stressed out and short on time and energy. Our tanks are just empty.”
Tip #2: Incorporate “Work In” Activities in addition to Workouts
In order to balance out the depletion that often comes from our busy lives and it differed out, Nick introduced the concept of working in. While workouts are activities that stimulate our bodies and cause us to exert a lot of energy - for example, a CrossFit class, or high-intensity training - working in refers to activities designed to restore our energy and help us feel more energized when we’re finished.
Nick mentions that these activities can be as simple as taking a walk, doing some sauna work or even having sex! All of these activities leave us feeling refreshed as opposed to the hardcore workouts that leave us feeling drained and exhausted.
Working in may seem easy on the surface, however, Nick notes that work in activities can be difficult too. The goal for a good work-in activity is simply that it acts as a balance with the physical exertion we get from a good workout.
“The real key here is it's something that individually brings more energy to you after than when you began and it helps stimulate recovery”
By remembering to bring in as much energy as we're putting out, we allow ourselves to honor our bodies and give them everything they need to thrive so that we can truly feel our best - and not just look that way.
—
Have you heard? Self-love accountability has gotten a whole lot easier! We’ve launched The Virtual Stress Less Space, a brand new virtual self-care accountability group to help you relax and recharge in the comfort of your own home! Learn more here and join us for our next session on July 8th at 8pm!