Exercise – some people cannot live without it and others hate even the idea of it. If you are one of those people who want to exercise but just cannot get into it and are stressed about the though of it, there may be a way to change that. New research on the brain is signalling network provides a new look at how our brain deals with exercise and how we may get to love it. The findings suggest that if you can stick out the first two initial weeks of dread and get your workouts in, your brains long-term adaptation process will kick in with some mood-altering chemicals that could change your perception of working out. People who exercise regularly tend to have lower levels of anxiety and depression than less active people do and they get a bigger mood boost after a single workout. The more often you workout the more often you get a mood boost and the more likely you are to do another workout. Research has also shown that the more you workout the more your brain responds to the presence of endogenous opioids (the body’s own version of opioid drugs which plays a role in processing reward, pain, motivation, stress, and emotions). The more you exercise the more neurochemically satisfying it becomes. The sensations and emotions triggered by exercise tend to be subtle and you may be unaware of them. You might however notice a decrease in anxiety regarding working out.
Bottom line, you may not enjoy working out but that does not mean you are doing anything wrong or that there is something wrong with you. This feeling can change as your body, brain adapts to a new exercise routine, and you may eventually come to enjoy it and crave it.