Im an Exercise PhysiologistHeres Why You Shouldnt Worry About Cortisol Spikes When You Do HIIT Workouts.
Running has always been my refuge.
But what happens when running starts to make you feel stressed?
Normally, I appreciate the encouraging voice that says when Ive completed a mile.
My experience with community-based fitness apps was different.
Such social features are widespread among leading fitness apps.
licensed psychotherapist and psychoanalyst
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At first, I thought real-time encouragement would help meget faster,run farther.
I feared I wasnt improving on my past activity, nor keeping up with my friends.
My thirty blissful minutes of mindfulness had been transformed into a competition I hadnt even signed up for.
In addition, you are shifting your frustrations and anxious thoughts to being present in the moment.
This boost inserotonin and dopamineis a fundamental marker for becoming more resilient.
When we run and experience runners high, we feel exhilarated, hopeful, happier, Spinelli says.
Running without a time tracker can help us reclaim personal agency.
Running is an independent sport.
We are not dependent on others and this shapes an opportunity for personal control and decision-making, Spinelli says.
We are choosing how much our bodies can cope with or push through.
This manifests and elevates feelings of power, confidence, control, and motivation.
Even if youre not ready to give up your tracker, you could still change your relationship to it.
Ask yourself: Are you using it for encouragement or punishment?
In other words: Dont just run for time.
Run for the way that it inevitably makes you feel, too.
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