Feeling Stressed? Try this.

​Working 60 hours a week, constantly being pushed with deadlines, being asked to do more and more outside of your role and not having any time for yourself. Sometimes our work life can be frustrating and your stress levels may be through the roof.  This type of ongoing stress is not in your head, it’s called chronic stress, where the body is releasing hormones such as cortisol over prolonged periods of time. This is the kind of stress response in the body that is damaging to our health. A small amount of stress can be good (say if you’re running away from danger), but with chronic stress your body doesn’t ever get a chance to switch off! ​

First up why is being stressed out so bad?

• It makes us tired both physically and mentally
• It accelerates the aging process on a cellular and genetic level
• It alters our ability to regulate our blood sugar levels i.e. you overeat and gain fat
• Stress hormones such as cortisol decrease the brains ability to make connections in the brain
• Can lead to problems sleeping
• It makes us unhappy!

TRY HITTING THE GYM
​If you’re looking for a way to effectively reduce and manage stress, then you need to include regular training into your week. As hard as it might be, finding the time to focus on you outside of your hectic work life through physical activity is the BEST way to de-stress (aside from quitting your job). Strength training has been found to combat the physiological chronic stress response, as it elevates the body’s natural anti-stress system – the anti-oxidant system.

Sweating it out with a bunch of your mates and feeling those exercise endorphin's kick in is an awesome way to forget about life for just an hour.

​YOU JUST HAVE TO SHOW UP
If you have spent all day working to deadline and in front of a computer one of the greatest things about our classes is that you just have to show up. It can be hard to find the time to commit to 3 or 5 training sessions per week BUT just know that once you get into the swing of things it will get much easier. Schedule your training sessions in like a meeting. Once you are here the coaches will take over and tell you exactly what to do, it’s like your able to switch to auto pilot. Your coach will walk you step by step through your workout, go through the warm up, watch your technique while you workout and give you feedback and adjustments as the class goes on. The more energy you put into your workout the less you get to think about anything else, you definitely won’t be thinking about those deadlines while you’re trying to get through a big set of burpees. 

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​THE EXTRA BENEFITS
If you’re stressed out it can often feel like work is overwhelming and you’re not getting anywhere. The key is breaking the cycle and giving your mind a break. Training regularly will not only help your confidence, it will teach you to have a stronger work ethic (If you’ve ever done a 30min AMRAP you know how to keep going!) and be more productive over the day. You’ll have more energy, more focus and you might even start eating healthier because you want to fuel your training properly.
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We have an awesome group of people at CrossFit UE, many of whom work long hours as lawyers, accountants, business owners, architects, engineers, builders, managers and even students who study 24/7. Coming to the gym is their way of de-stressing, switching off, hanging out with friends, throwing some hi-5’s, having a great time and a good workout… that’s what it’s all about. Everyone wants to be successful, and working hard is a big part in that. However by reducing your stress levels and managing it through regular training means you’ll be able to overcome any obstacle work or life may throw at you.