How Exercise Shapes You, Far Beyond the Gym

(Photo: Grady Reese) By Bradley Stulberg When I first started training for marathons a little over ten years ago, my coach told me something I've never forgotten: that I would need to learn how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I didn't know it at the time, but that skill, cultivated through running, would help me as much, if not more, off the road as it would on it. It's not just me, and it's not just running. Ask anyone whose day regularly includes a hard bike ride, sprints in the pool, a complex problem on the climbing wall, or a progressive powerlifting circuit, and they'll likely tell you the same: A difficult conversation just doesn't seem so difficult anymore. A tight deadline not so intimidating. Relationship problems not so problematic. Related: How Neuroscientists Explain the Mind-Clearing Magic of Running Maybe it's that if you're regularly working out, you're simply too tired to care. But that's probably not the case. Research shows that, if anything, physical activity boosts short-term brain function and heightens awareness. And even on days they don't train -- which rules out fatigue as a factor -- those who habitually push their bodies tend to confront daily stressors with a stoic demeanor. While the traditional benefits of vigorous exercise -- like prevention and treatment of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and osteoporosis -- are well known and often reported, the most powerful benefit might be the lesson that my coach imparted t...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news