Is the gym your medicine?

How many times do you hear people say things like - "the gym is my therapy", "it's my medicine"?

And I know that feeling, because there have been times in my life, my month, my week, where I feel this too. I have felt it the most during those times where I couldn't get to the gym - lockdowns, illness, planned deloads from my coach. The times where I can't run off to the place that I felt the most comfortable in, the most welcomed in. The place where I could release any pent up emotion. The place where I could shift the energy riling within my body.

I bring this up as this week I have experienced two stand out conversations with clients that have been along the same lines as this topic, on the extent to which the gym and training has on their mental wellbeing.

One client shared that they're disordered thoughts around exercise, food and calories have significantly reduced whilst training with me due to they're mindset now shifting from how many calories they had burnt in the gym to how much weight they are in lifting in the gym. They shared that they purposefully choose to now eat before their workouts knowing that the food is needed to fuel their body in order to feel strong in the sessions.

Another client opened up about how the gym has pulled them though the darkest points in their life. Diagnosed with Bipolar, personality disorder and social anxiety, and having a past problem with substance abuse and other addictions, they realise each time that the endorphin rush of a great workout is the best form of medicine and is the best option to pull them out and help stabilise their mental wellbeing, over any other external short term dopamine hit.

The conversations touched me deeply, the shared emotion made the hairs on my arms stand on end and the smile across my face was uncontrollable. I had felt similar positive effects that they were both describing over the years of training myself and so many people out there say it, many coaches try to sell it, we read it and hear it all the time - "work out to feel good and the rest will follow", but until you really face that commitment to try, you really will never know just how deeply this feeling can help you for the better.

Many people want instant results. If exercise is completely new for you, the first few sessions may feel like hell. Your body may be screaming to stop. Your mind may be telling you that everyone is staring at you and you look stupid. But the bigger voice inside your head can win. Trust that the discomfort will over time become increasingly more comfortable. One day you will find something that feels good to you. And a smile will appear on your face either during or after it has happened. It may be a lift that your try, a movement that awakens something inside of you that hasn't been tapped into for a while - or ever. It could be an exercise session with a friend or to a particular playlist that lights something up inside of you. And you realise that this could be the start of a new form of medicine. The ultimate in feel good medicine.