Hi all, this is my first post in here. I've signed up on slowtwitch to use the training log and track my workouts, and found myself checking out the forum....
I am writing because I am curious how other women athletes approach training during times in our lives when things aren't so great (divorce, job lay-off, family death, relationship problems, financial problems, the list goes on and on). Of course everybody and every problem is different, but I have noticed my response to emotional stress is a fairly predictable pattern: hard to get out the door, I don't meet my training expectations (which are not any higher than before) and thus feel more miserable. And, like the rest of you, I'm not usually one to make excuses and slack off in training. It's that the enjoyment and dopamine boost of exercise is somehow gone when I'm really stressed.
It's interesting to me because I have noticed both men and women who use training and exercise as an outlet for these types of personal stress times and seem to achieve personal strength and growth as a result of their training, and I wonder what goes through their minds, and if I can somehow apply that to my training and life goals and see if it works.
So, how have your training routines, goals and "mantras" changed during stressful times? What do you say to yourself to put the stress aside and enjoy the moments of exercise? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
I am writing because I am curious how other women athletes approach training during times in our lives when things aren't so great (divorce, job lay-off, family death, relationship problems, financial problems, the list goes on and on). Of course everybody and every problem is different, but I have noticed my response to emotional stress is a fairly predictable pattern: hard to get out the door, I don't meet my training expectations (which are not any higher than before) and thus feel more miserable. And, like the rest of you, I'm not usually one to make excuses and slack off in training. It's that the enjoyment and dopamine boost of exercise is somehow gone when I'm really stressed.
It's interesting to me because I have noticed both men and women who use training and exercise as an outlet for these types of personal stress times and seem to achieve personal strength and growth as a result of their training, and I wonder what goes through their minds, and if I can somehow apply that to my training and life goals and see if it works.
So, how have your training routines, goals and "mantras" changed during stressful times? What do you say to yourself to put the stress aside and enjoy the moments of exercise? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.