Why Stress is Giving You Physical Pain
- That back ache could be due to more than just “pulling a muscle”
- * What free app will help reduce your stress in minutes?
We all get stressed, in fact it’s a basic human mechanism for defending us (believe it or not). It isn’t often portrayed that way though.
Stress affects everything that we do and is especially relevant to fitness.
You’ll know what I mean if you’ve tried to lose weight: you’re nutrition has been on point, training well but no progress! It is frustrating (ironically and holds us back).
Presently, I’m in the process of moving flat, changing my coaching to online, trying to find another job to support this and have been for weeks! Being stuck in limbo is incredibly stressful.
Remember: stress comes from three things – change happening too quickly, too slowly or with unclear intent!
That may sound simplified but think of all the times when you’ve been subject to these.
Stress is basically overwhelm and what do we tend to do when feeling overwhelmed? Try to do more instead of less.
The pre-frontal cortex of the brain is great for concentrating on logical problems and thinking through things. However, it can be easily “stressed” and is ideally suited to one task at a time.
The problem with stress is twofold: one it gets worse if we don’t do anything and two it leads to physical pain too. You’ve probably heard the cliched story of an fMRI scan highlighting a particular area of the brain when emotionally stressed and these pain sensors are linked to physical pain too!
Mental and physical pain are linked more closely than you think.
Throw into the mixture working a repetitive (or even worse) desk job and you have the risk of your posture being compromised.
Hunching forward? Shoulders slouching? Tight chest? Short breathing?
These all contribute to what we know as “stress” and this posture can lead to back, wrist or even other pains.
It really is a vicious cycle. Furthermore with most people driving to work, sitting all day, driving back, sitting on the sofa then sleeping – there is a recurring trend.
Back issues are becoming more and more of a problem amongst people with sedentary lives and it may be a generational trend.
There is definitely a link between work, stress, lack of activity and injuries (as outlined above).
Muscles will diminish if you don’t use them, similar to when you forget a mathematical principle or historical event you learned at school – you’ve not reinforced that knowledge over time.
If this sounds like your routine, then the good news is that it’s not too late to change.
The best course of action is a resistance training plan to improve your posture. It won’t happen immediately but will improve your quality of life and who knows, you may just enjoy it too (that the principle of my business anyway!)
This is certainly the position that most of my clients have come from. At the stage of being a beginner, I have most influence in being able to help them and change the way they think about fitness (normally this means numerous myths that have been ingrained).
I’ve been working on my YouTube channel recently to address a lot of these common issues in a succinct format. This has also included filming almost one hundred exercises for the RYPT 24/7 Fit App too (besides the hundreds already on the app). You can get an idea of my training style from these videos.
It’s difficult to get the same message across to online clients but it is achievable. Without having that face to face time, it’s important to address many of these issues (including mental) and the YouTube channel has helped bridge the gap.
Stress is something that is best assisted through talking to someone Physiologically, as discussed above, if we don’t address it we become more introverted and hunched (literally) when we are stressed.
It’s a product, primarily of getting sucked into the environment!
Taking a step back will definitely help and that’s why mindfulness / meditation is so effective.
I’ve blogged about this in the past but the FREE Headspace app is unbelievably effective by taking you out of the present moment through breathing techniques.
I appreciate that modern life is busy but even 5–10 minutes a day will help.
It takes commitment and desire to get out of the hectic mindset and make time to change (and not everyone is cut out for it).
It’s a vicious cycle of stress that makes you want to do more and more when in fact, by planning your time better, you will achieve more.
Yesterday for example, I spent three hours at a computer updating online clients files. It soon ended up becoming adding my blog to different websites, sorting out my YouTube channel and uploading new content.
I get easily sidetracked but stress definitely played a role as I felt like I had more to do with less time. By taking a step back, prioritising and having a system it would have helped.
Sometimes it’s difficult to see the trees for the forest but by gaining perspective and taking a step back you’ll be able to perform better.
My own training can become like that; getting sucked into the routine of needing to do more and feeling pressure to perform workouts, almost ignoring rest. On the other hand, by actively changing the plan more regularly, it acts to break up the predictability and take a step back.
RYPT can help you reach your fitness goals by creating structure through a personalised journey but YOU need to reach out for help. There’s no better time than now…
There are only three days left to sign up for the FREE month of RYPT coaching! This is not something I do often and all you need is a valid email address. What’s more, there is no obligation beyond the month!
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