Health and Mood

When my mood drops very low I have a very hard time finding the energy and motivation to work out. Yet working out does help my mood. I always thought I had to do a hard and long workout to help my mood so the days I was really feeling bad I tended to just not do anything.
Not long ago I read a study that said they found 10 minutes of moderately difficult exercise was enough to significantly improve mood. 20 minutes improved mood but not much more than 10 minutes did.
So from now on, when I want to work out for my physical health I will do the longer workouts.....but when I want to work out to improve my mood I am going to shoot for 10 minutes. That seems to be an easier to hit goal when I dont have the motivation. I sure hope it helps

Yeah I just worked out for a bit and feel LOADS better! Do you do cardio?

Most of what people think about exercise is wrong because the truth is counter intuitive. The modern lifestyle is often sedentary and we are often told this is causing health problems because people used to be more active. This in turn leads people to think that we require massive amounts of exercise to be healthy.

Modern cardio and strength training routines are designed to simulate longer periods of normal activity. Any exercise that challenges us even a small amount beyond our current capabilities will trigger our bodies to adapt and grow which triggers the good feelings associated with exercise. Longer routines carry the risk of overworking and causes your body to become sore and consequently reduces your motivation to repeat the effort.

Little and often is good advice for just about anything.

Awww thanks guys I feel a lot better
When I feel good, I either run or do the oliptical for cardio. I am trying to lift weights more now though. I need a little more muscle mass I think and when I am down its easier for me to do a weight lifting session than it is for me to get the motivation to do some cardio.

Stength training has advantages over cardio for things like weight loss and um.... strength gain.

Muscles use calories even when you are sitting still, so more muscles = a stronger faster metabolism along with a harder more sculpted body. Cardio has its place to strengthen your oxygen gathering abilities and building speed and balance.

I love my weights.

So when I have questions about weight lifting I need to come bug you then Lyc? LoL Because I know just the tiny basics. I really am trying to do a better job. I do need to increase my muscle mass and strength.

I just think I want to strength train so I can atleast have a shot at defending myself if need be

maybe we should find you a self defense class. I'm going to take my oldest daughter to one in a couple years. I think its important to practice just in case you do ever need to protect yourself.