Today was a good day.
Despite the rain/SNOW (yeah you read that right…sadly.) and the freezing temps, I finally motivated myself to go for a run. Not in the “I MUST GO FOR A RUN” sort of way. I just know I have been wimping out because of the weather. I hate being cold so that initial step outside is just AWFUL….but I just have to remind myself that once I start running I warm up real quick! So that’s what I did today, and it worked!!!
[first run with pants, a jacket, and GLOVES]
Gotta take Nike’s lead sometimes:
Going with this fitness focus, I want to discuss some feelings I’ve been having surrounding exercise lately.
If you follow me on Daily Mile (->Friend me on daily mile <-), you know that this week I lightened up my exercise a lot (for me!) and took two active rest days this week. I think varying up exercise intensity is SO important and giving your body a break every once in a while is great too! But the break I took this week was for a slightly different reason.
Every once in a while I get something that I’d describe as exercise anxiety. I start second guessing my abilities and get all nervous before workouts! Lots of overthinking to say the least. For example I will get ready for the workout I have planned and then start thinking “am I gonna be able to finish this? do I really want to workout? this is gonna be hard!”….instead of just getting pumped and hammering out a sweat sesh. I start to forget the great feeling and rush of endorphins I have after working out and end up just wasting a bunch of time feeling anxious! Its so weird!
So earlier in the week I started feeling this “exercise anxiety” again. When this happens I always think its SO weird because exercise is one of my greatest stress relievers! It shouldn’t be causing stress!!
I wanted to see if it stemmed from me needing a break from exercise (thus the lessening of intensity!), me putting to much pressure on myself, or just a weird mental block I was putting up.
Well I can tell ya that its not because my body needed a break or was craving rest. Today I was actually “craaaaving” a run! And I toned down my workouts to see if it was a pressure thing….which it wasn’t.
From what I can gather, I think it’s the change in weather that is causing it this time. I dread the cold whenever I am planning an outdoor workout, and I think those feelings are in turn making me feel all anxious!
All I can say is I HATE feeling like this! Especially since it keeps me from good workout sessions! I just need to keep reminding myself that the cold is only temporary and that the reward of a workout is AMAZING! I wish I could just harness the feeling I get after a workout (like on my run today!!!) and keep it for whenever I am lacking motivation or feeling anxious.
Hopefully I will get out this slump soon. I find myself going through cycles with exercise….some weeks are great and others not so much! So hopefully this rough patch is coming to an end soon 
Do you ever experience feelings like this surrounding exercise?
I find myself getting nervous for long runs too for some reason!
What are your thoughts on Exercise Anxiety?
How do you find motivation for winter workouts?
I find that the colder, darker, and more gloomy it gets outside, the more I just want to sit on my butt and snuggle. Workouts get tough!
I’d love to hear your insight on this!
Kaila
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12 responses to “Exercise Anxiety”
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i have to give you total props for running in such cold temperatures! i feel like such a wimp now when i complain about a little bit of coldness. and i know what you mean about exercise anxiety. it happened a lot to me when i was playing basketball and when we would have intense workouts. in the winter, it is so hard to find motivation at times. i jus have to keep on telling myself that i will feel better afterwards so once the first step is taken, it gets better 🙂
I used to have those feelings and mine always happened when the seasons changed. I had no problem with workouts when the sun was up and the weather was nice, but I dreaded them when it was cooler. I simply started doing more “indoor” workouts or did workouts later in the day and that seemed to work. 🙂
Sometimes it’s just the cold that makes me not want to go out — but then I remind myself I can just pop in a workout dvd and I’m all set! 🙂
I feel you on the anxiety. I’ve been taking a long break and it feels really good not to worry about it and know I’ll get back into it when the “time” is right! Dreading that snow.
I know EXACTLY how you feel!!! It happens to me during the winter especially. Getting out the door is kind of scary because it’s just so cold, but once you go it isn’t that bad (unless you’re underdressed!) It’s such a shame that I don’t have practice with my team in the winter, because it’s a lot easier to get out the door when you have others doing it with you.
I know what you mean.. When it gets cold outside I tend to re-think workouts and doubt my running abilities 😉
Seriously? SNOW in October?? That is sad. Very sad.
I don’t really have anxiety about it, just an overwhelming sense of dread. I’m sure the weather change hasn’t helped you lately. Nothing like a good workout to hopefully ease your stresses. 🙂
I totally get exercise anxiety!
I am not a terribly fast runner, but I am trying to improve from “Average” to “a skosh better than average.” I pretty much always get anxious before a track workout because my mind thinks it’s going to hurt (and it does), especially when it’s cold because of the potential for that horrible lung burn if I don’t warm up enough. But I tell myself I always feel better afterwards, and I am always proud I did the workout anyway. But yes, I can very much relate to your anxiety! The mind is a powerful force over our desire to do something!
Ahhh, snow! Your so brave, I am so not a fan of snow. I am very grateful we are still having temps of high 70s since the cold and I are not friends!
I hear ya girl – I HATE running in the cold! I hate it so much that I take my runs indoors as soon as it drops below like 10 degrees celsius. 😛 So major kudos for running outdoors in the snow!
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