The Right Amount Of Exercise?

celeron · Post by **celeron** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 4:51 am

Exercise always bugged me, I'll be honest I hate it. But it dawned on me last night, Maybe I actually get enough exercise.

I am a carpenter, I am on my feet from 7am to 3.30pm, the only time I get to sit down is at 1.00pm to 1.30pm for my lunch. My work involves carrying and lifting various heavy items all day, its a very physically demanding job and in the summer I am sweating daily.

Now compare that to your typical office worker, Starts at 9am and sits on there behind the entire day until 5pm and never breaks sweat. There is no way they are getting the same amount of exercise as myself.

So how much exercise is enough?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 4:54 am

It sounds to me like you're getting quite a bit of physical activity. For anxiety relief, usually 20-30 minutes of cardio exercise if recommended. So you may be getting enough, but you can see if adding 20 minutes of running, walking, or bike riding a day helps your anxiety.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 8:39 am

You might be getting enough physical activity, but are you able to focus on the healing effects of it becaus eyou are doing it as part of your job? For me, I like being able to have some "me" time at the gym where I can chose what I want to do for the exercise and the exertion level. Right now, because I am just starting off, I am enjoying using a stationary bike while reading a book to distract me from the actual exertion which bores me after 5 minutes. Even though I am out of breath and sweaty when I am done, I feel refreshed because I had the "me" time. This is what works for me. If it sounds like you are missing this maybe it is worth trying some extra exercise. Start off with even 5-10 minutes and see if the emphasis of "me" time is meaningful for you. If not, maybe you are right with what you are doing right now. Good luck!

Mary Wargo · Post by **Mary Wargo** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:06 am

I agree w/ Amy. Working out should be a stress relief for you. I took up running because I mentally associated it with running away from my anxiety. I literally put on music that gets me pumped up, I hit the treadmill/road, and I actually visualize running away from whatever is bothering me that day... when I'm done, the mental exercise of "running away" from my problems is just as beneficial as the actual physical workout and I feel like I can face anything because I just "got rid" of what was bothering me.