"Any workout is a stress on the body. When you put that stress on the body, it needs to adapt to it in order to grow. Just like normal stress, we use it to grow and improve ourselves. Whether it's stress from exercise, jobs, or life in general, we need recovery." - Rob Dionne

 

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What Do You Do if You're Bored with Your Workout?

We had a great question on the OSF Closed Facebook Group about what to do if you're bored with your current workout? What to do to switch things up or see results again if you're stuck in a rut.

The response from our OSF Facebook group members was overwhelming and we'd like to share some of their suggestions here:

• Rediscover your WHY- What is your ultimate intention and why are you doing what you're doing to reach your goal.

• Do something different - Take a break from what you're doing (maybe every 4th-6th week) and do something new or fun with your workout - swim, dance, bike, or do yoga for example.

• Join a fitness group - take a fitness class such as yoga or Zumba or a join of group of people who enjoy doing the same thing as you such as a running club, cycling group, or Master's swim team.

• Get a new workout program - Either create a new program on your own or ask someone else to write a new program for you. This new program should still help you work towards your fitness goal.

• Find a lifting or workout partner - It will be fun to do a workout with someone else and they will also hold you accountable to your goal of going to the gym a couple of times a week or completing a goal.

 

The Path to Active Recovery From Stress

 

"Active recovery is being present with yourself and understanding what your body needs." -Rob and Devon Dionne

On this week's episode of Open Sky Fitness, Rob and Devon took some time to discuss how we can use active recovery from stress to help re-build and energize our minds and bodies.

You may think the best recovery is just to completely stop what you're doing and rest, but best recovery is one that still keeps you in motion with your goals and intentions.

"Our bodies need continual active recovery rather than taking a complete rest period." - Devon Dionne

 

What is Active Recovery for Fitness?

You can still keep up with your fitness goals while recovering by staying active on a daily basis.

For example, if you're working out a lot by lifting heavy weights or doing intense cardio activities such as running, biking, and swimming, take a rest day and do a different, but fun activity.

Active recovery for fitness can be joining a dance class, hiking, yoga, or surfing. It can be any other physical exercise that you enjoy doing. The main thing to remember is that it can be any form of physical exercise as long as it's n0t intense, but allows your mucles to function and rest at the same time.

 

Active Recovery from Stress

 

"We have to get over the idea that our stress or physical pains are happening because it's just the way that we are. There has to be something that's causing you to feel the way you are and you can put an end to it by discovering the root of the problem." - Rob Dionne

 

3 Different Types of Stress

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), we can experience 3 different kinds of stress: Acute Stress, Episodic Acute Stress, and Chronic Stress.

To intentionally begin active recovery from stress, you need to take something with yourself to discover what type of stress you are experiencing. 

 

Acute Stress

Acute stress is the stress that we experience on a day-to-day basis. It's the stress that comes and goes away in a short amount of time.

Receiving a speeding ticket or having a bad interaction may cause you to experience acute stress.

If you are not a regular skier, going skiing all day can also cause acute stress on the body because it's a sudden, abrupt stress that your body has to adapt to in a short amount of time.

 

Episodic Acute Stress

Episodic acute stress happens to those are frequently stressed because they take on too much to do at once and blame themselves if things go wrong. They're often in a hurry and will feel overly anxious on a regular basis.

The APA website puts people who have episodic acute stress into two groups: Type A and Worry Warts.

People who are Type A will self-inflict stress onto themselves by following a tight schedule on purpose. They may suffer from migraines and constant tension to the point that they body just shuts down on itself.

Worry Warts are pessimistic and constantly worrying about the future and afraid that nothing will work out the way that they want it to happen. They may feel anxious and depressed.

Episodic acute stress can happen from numerous souces:

• Learning from watching how our family handles stress
• Work
• Relationships
• A 9-5 hour daily job
• Working 60+ hours per week
• Being a stay at home mom and constantly driving children from one place to the next.

Those who self-inflict stress upon themselves may wear it like a badge of honor. They believe it's a positive thing that the more you work, the better yo are as a person because you do so much. However, this mindset will just cause you to experience more problems in the future because you are doing so much.

No one can have a perfect schedule or happy life by doing so much at once that it cause unnecessary stress.

 

Chronic Stress

Chronic stress can tear people down. It can greatly affect those who are dealing with constant stress that is making them feel like there is no hope or escape from it.

Chronic stress can happen because of a job that you hate, not feeling appreciated by others, feeling trapped, or being in abusive relationships with others. People who are located in areas of constant war and repression will also experience constant chronic stress.

 

How to Cope with Episodic Acute Stress

Because episodic acute stress is self-inflicting, you and only you have the power to turn things around for yourself OR with the the help of another person if you don't know how to change your life.

The first step to coping with episodic acute stress is to recognize that you have it and you need to take responsibility to change it.

 

How to Actively Recover from Stress with Good Intentions

 

"When you pick your active recovery, it should be in line with your intentions and goals in life." - Rob Dionne

 

A couple of weeks ago, Rob and Devon discussed The Power of Intention to help us achieve our goals and live the life that we want to be in every day.

When you think about what your intentions are for yourself, you want to try to create a life that you would love to be in every day. 

Here is how you can use the power of intention to help you actively recover from stress:

 

List All of Your Favorite Things

Listen to yourself and make a list of all the things that you love that also help you become more present with yourself and with others. Don't list anything that causes you to tune out such as: binge watching TV, going out a lot, or binge eating and drinking.

 

Schedule Time to Give Yourself More Self-Care

Set aside a certain amount of time to solely focus on giving yourself more self-care. This can be either daily or monthly.

Think about what is holding you back from achieving what you want and then purposefully create a schedule that helps you spend more time focusing on you and your goals.

You should be creating a life for yourself that allows you to have more time for yourself.

 

Think About What Brings You Pure Joy

Make a list of all of the things that truly bring you joy or anything at you enjoy doing. Next, break them down into time categories of how long each thing takes to do: 5 minutes, 1 hour, a fully day? Include anything that you can do a couple of times a day, per month, or each year.

Some daily activities to help break up your stress may include:

• Walking
• A short workout
• Journaling
• Reading
• Praying
• Meditating

During the week, you can enjoy:

• Favorite outdoor activities
• Crafts such as pottery or knitting
• Catching up with friends or family
• Classes

Try to include anything that helps you to stop for a moment during your week to just be present with what's going on with you.

 

Schedule Time for Relationships

Make sure you set some time aside to focus on building relationships with your family and loved ones.

Choose a couple of hours or full day to cook dinner together, go out on a date, or simply making a habit of eating dinner together at the dinner table.

 

 

What You'll Hear on This Episode

00:00 Open Sky Fitness Introduction

1:15  Opening comments with Rob and Devon

4:00 Facebook group question- What do you do if you're bored with lifting?

10:10  Active Recovery from Stress

12:30  The three different kinds of stress that we deal with

19:00 How to deal with episodic stress

21:00  What mistakes do we make when we try to relieve our stress?

24:00 How to deal with your stress with good intentions

26:00  How is binge watching TV shows giving any value to your life?

28:40  What's a good plan for active recovery from stress?

40:30 How to set yourself up for active recovery from stress

46:00 Closing comments with Rob and Devon

 51:05 Open Sky Fitness Closing

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED DURING THE SHOW:

• The Open Sky Fitness Podcast Group on Facebook
• Check out our upcoming guest: Ultrarunner, Coach, and 100 Mile American Record Holder, Zach Bitter
  
• American Psychological Association- Stress: The Different Kinds of Stress
• Listen to Episode 125 of the OSF Podcast: The Power of Intention
• Listen to Episode 126 of the OSF Podcast: How Do I Change?

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Thanks for Listening!
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Thanks for listening/reading Episode 129- Active Recovery From Stress! We hope you have gained more knowledge on how to be a healthier you!

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