Blog Posts Tagged "Exercise".

A week after Daylight Savings Time ended I’m still feeling lethargic.

Here’s some advice for anyone who’s feeling the same.

(For international readers who are confused, in New Zealand we just entered fall and turned our clocks back last week so all of a sudden its dark at 6pm when only a few weeks ago it was staying light until 8pm).

Tips for Dealing with Winter Lethargy

1. Spend time outside during the times of day the sun is at its brightest.

For example, go for a walk at your morning tea break or a run at lunch time, or at least sit outdoors in a sunny spot.

You’re likely to find that the mood/energy benefits of getting some bright sunlight last far longer than the few minutes you spend outdoors.

2. De-clutter or tackle other tasks you’ve been putting off.

Avoidance will drag down your mood.

Instead, find activities that give you a sense of mastery that will lift your mood/energy.

You’re likely to be spending more time inside at home over winter so its especially important you can find calmness, serenity, and inspiration at home. Get rid of anything you no longer need. “Junk” can be an emotional dead weight.

Break large tasks into component tasks that are small enough that you’re 100% sure you can complete them.

3. Pay attention to the moments you feel more energized.

Get to know what behaviours and activities work for you in increasing your energy.

4. Brainstorm ideas for activities. Then make plans.

Try to do at least one thing a day that you look forward to.

Or, what could you do from your bucket list (e.g. You’ve always wanted to try skydiving)?

Do activities that give you a sense that you are moving forward on your life path despite it being winter.

5. Make good choices about food

Try not to fall into the trap of overeating or eating food that doesn’t sustain you because you’re feeling lethargic or bored. Its unlikely to help your mood if you start gaining weight.

6. Exercise

Now would be a really great time to start Couch to 5K (Explanation of Couch to 5K starts at mid section of article).

Like getting some sunlight, exercising will attack your winter sluggishness on a biological level.

Exercise has significant mood enhancing benefits.

7. If you think you might have Seasonal Depression (that is, Seasonal Affective Disorder)

see your GP about treatment options (for example, a light box).

In addition consider self monitoring your mood.

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Exercise is extremely helpful for reducing anxiety (its an important component of treatment for anxiety and depression).

People who are anxious sometimes avoid vigorous exercise because the physical sensations of exertion (consciously or unconsciously) remind them of anxiety.

e.g.
- increased heart rate
- awareness of breathing
- feeling hot and sweating
- tight chest
- tired or wobbly legs

How to Start Jogging Even If You Think You’re Incapable of Jogging

One approach I really like for becoming more comfortable with vigorous exercise is a free program for absolute beginner joggers called Couch to 5K. (Obviously you should not do this if you have a physical health problem that makes jogging unwise).

It’s a very controlled, planned, gradual program, which makes it easier to stick to for people who find the physical sensations of exercise uncomfortable or scary.

What is Couch to 5K?

There are two versions of Couch to 5K:

- a “time” version, and
- a “distance” version.

I prefer the time version. The distance version works up to jogging 5km. The time version works up to jogging for 30 minutes, but you’re free to change this to another goal (e.g. jogging for 20 min). Keep reading even if you’re thinking “I can’t do that!”

The Couch to 5K program (either version) takes 9 weeks and involves jogging 3 times per week.

You’ll notice that the design of this program is an excellent example of how to reach a difficult goal.

1) it starts at a level that’s virtually impossible to fail it, provided you jog slowly enough.

For each of 3 jogs in Week 1 you do 8 cycles of: 1 min of slow jogging + 1 1/2 minutes of walking. In other words, in Week 1, in total you do 8 minutes of jogging per jog and you jog three times.

2) especially at the beginning, it progresses in increments that are so tiny you’ll keep succeeding

e.g. Week 2 involves alternating between 90 seconds of jogging and 2 min of walking.

3) Some generous and clever folks have made free audio guides with instructions of when to switch between walking and jogging, and good music to help you relax into a comfortable, not too fast, rhythm.

(If you try Couch to 5K (time version), I highly recommend you use this completely free, no strings, audio guide. (I used this when I started jogging. It’s awesome.)
You’ll need an mp3 player and headphones that fit you well enough they won’t fall out when you’re jogging. You’ll also need to to know how to save the mp3 files to your computer and transfer it to your mp3 player.

- If you want more information about why the common physical symptoms of anxiety are all part of your body’s attempt to help you escape from possible danger, try Googling “Fight/Flight response”. For example, sweating is for keeping you cool for faster running and for making you more slippery to grab hold of in a fight

Some advice for using Couch to 5K

- Start at Week 1. Don’t skip ahead or do extra.
- Don’t skip the 5 min warm up walk.
- Do make sure you only jog every second day e.g. Sat, Mon, Wed.
- If you’re concerned about whether you can stick at it jog very slowly, even if you feel a bit embarrassed to be seen shuffling along the road!
- It’s especially important to pace yourself for your first run of each new Week of the program. Your main task is to get through it.
- If you’re lucky enough to have someone willing and able, have a support person go with you. Even the mere presence of another human as support can make it easier to stick at something. Your support person needn’t jog. They might just sit and watch you.

- Roll with the punches. For example,

> if you find one of the weekly step ups too tough, you might need to create an intermediate step for yourself. Or stick at the Week you’re on for a bit longer before moving up.

You may find some of the weekly step-ups easier than you predicted.

> If you find yourself getting stitch or some other problem, you might need to do some Googling or consult a medical doctor to figure out a way of alleviating it that works for you.

Complete information for Couch to 5K

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This month I’m in 3 magazines.

For the current edition of Mindfood, I wrote an article about expressing thanks. My editor at the Mindfood requested the topic because its their end of year/holidays edition.

Back in August I was one of the judges at a New Zealand fitness industry awards event called the Fitness Life Awards. Along with Hon Rodney Hide and Dr Nigel Harris, senior lecturer in fitness and exercise at Auckland University of Technology. A write up about the event is in the current issue of Fitness Life, as well as lots of photos. For readers outside NZ, Rodney Hide is a leader of a political party in New Zealand and current cabinet minister/member of parliament. Rodney lost a LOT of weight in the last few years through working with a personal trainer and being a contestant on NZ Dancing with the Stars. Rodney has had some negative press attention lately (as a result of his partner accompanying him on some overseas trips at tax payer expense). However, I wanted to make a positive comment about the speech Rodney gave at the awards event. Rodney’s speech at the awards was both insightful and heartfelt. The point he highlighted was that prior to working with a trainer he had been resigned to being unhealthy, overweight and unfit. He did not have confidence in himself that it was within his capacity to make changes in this area of his life. (Psychologist’s call this low self efficacy. Self-efficacy refers to your belief in your ability to achieve your goals i.e. Your beliefs about what’s possible for you). Rodney said in his speech that a big change for him was that his trainer helped him see himself differently. She helped him develop a new belief that it was possible for him to make changes. It was obvious from how Rodney spoke that he is profoundly grateful to the trainer for helping him see himself and his capacities for change in a fundamentally different way. It was a personal and touching speech and I liked it very much. I love that finding someone who has confidence in you can be a dramatically life changing experience.

An interesting question that comes up a lot in therapy is – How confident are you that you can achieve whatever it is that you want to achieve (e.g., feeling happier, feeling less anxious, or overcoming an unwanted behaviour)? Lets say scale of 0 to 10, 0 = not at all confident, 10 = completely confident. If you’re less than a 10, what would help you be more confident? Say, to move up a few numbers on the scale. If you’re not at least an 8, this is probably something to work on. Sometimes becoming more confident is an issue of correcting faulty beliefs and sometimes its about other types of problem solving (if your lack of confidence has basis in reality).

The third magazine I’m in the University of Canterbury Alumni Magazine. It’s a feature about my weight and relationships study and also about my practice and this blog! It’s a really cool article. A pdf of the magazine is available free online but the latest edition isn’t up on their website yet. Will do another blog post with the link when its available.

I have quite a few blog posts in unfinished, draft states so expect more psychology/self help posts later in the week. :-)

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