Exercise and emotion have such a profound effect on one another. We know that exercise can impact our mood, generally for the better. On the flip side, our mood effects our exercise practice. Not just our motivation, but the level of intensity, the power, our endurance and stamina and our overall performance in that sport and activity.
Out of my fascination of this topic, I thought I would reflect on how exactly exercise and emotion influence one another and share these thoughts with you.
I'll begin with how exercise influences emotion.
2 Major influences exercise has on our emotions are, as mood elevators and as mood alleviator.
There are 4 types of emotions, 2 of them are primarily elevated states and the other 2 are alleviated states.
Elevated states:
-Empowerment: That would be emotions such as feeling strong, confident, proud, independent, in control, determination, etc.
-Euphoric: That would be all the up and high energy moods such as joy, excitement, enthusiasm, infatuation, obsession, etc.
These are all positive states that are induced and enhanced. These can indirectly bring relief to negative states but generally emphasize on bringing you up.
Alleviated states:
-Liberation: Freedom, relief, peace of mind, etc.
-Tranquility: Relaxation, peace, harmony, etc.
These are the type of emotions that soothe and relieves negative states. They can indirectly lead to more up and cheerful moods, but they primarily work on discharging stress, frustration, worry, anxiety and aggression or anger.
Here is a short list of typical sports and exercises that can be used to access each one of those emotion types:
Empowerment:
-Weight training
-Boxing
-Wrestling
-specific martial arts such as muay thai, kung fu, karate and tae kwon do
-Raquet sports, such as tennis, squash and badminton
-Volleyball
-Soccer
-Rugby
Basically, sports that demand an energetic output and total extension of limbs, often with a striking, hitting, slamming or smashing nature.
Euphoric:
-Dance
-Zumba
-Tae bo
-Aerobics
-Capoeira (brazilian martial art)
That would be anything that encourages self expression, so its no surprise that any kind of exercise that have rhythm and/or musicality are great ways to hit that mark.
Liberation:
-Free running/ parkour
-Jogging
-Cycling
-Skating
-Extreme sports such as sky diving, hang gliding, bungi jumping, etc.
-Surfing
These are all examples of activities that open up one's range of motion, movement or travel.
Tranquility:
-Tai chi and all forms of qi gong
-Yoga
-Walking
-Some slow paced manual labours such as fruit picking can also soothe and relax
-Breathing exercises
That would be slow paced exercises that get you to breathe slowly and deeply while demanding very little physical and muscular exertion.
Now, lets have a look at how our moods effect our exercise routine. They do so by influencing 4 major performance attributes, and they are:
-Power and form: This is not only how much force you can exert, but how well you can access proper form and technique, how well your balance and stability is and how much heart and spirit you put into your exercise. Most of the power hinges on proper form.
-Energy and explosiveness: This is about how well you can unleash your effort in terms of intensity and output in your movements.
-Stamina and endurance: This is about your ability to train steadily and moderately without burning out more easily than you should. Using only the energy you have reserved as you need it.
-Mental focus: This is about your ability to pay attention to your game in the moment. This may not be a physical attribute but it still impacts how well you perform. Focus, attention and concentration are the type of qualities you want to keep in mind to be your best depending on the sport or activity of your choosing.
There are both positive and negative emotions that influence all the attributes both in positive and negative ways. It doesn't only require good moods to yield good effects. Negative emotions can also act as performance enhancing fuel.
Here is a brief list of enhancing and compromising moods for each performance attribute.
Power and form enhancers:
-Confidence
-Pride
-Determination
-Hate
-Anger
-Aggression
-Self righteousness
-Vengefulness
-Frustration
The common theme I detect is anything that makes you dwell on how right things around you are, how right you are or how right you want to make things. Aside from that distinction, I would also say, fiery and fierce states show up here.
Power and form compromisers:
-Sadness
-Depression
-Fear
-Worry
-Panic
-Anxiety
-Disappointment
Any emotion that reflects your focus on how things are wrong, out of place or ungratifying are enough to not only sap strength from the body and spirit but also messes with your access to your motor functions by throwing off your balance and undermining your ability to execute your better techniques, which also influences power due to the fact that a good part of power comes from correct posture, form and technique.
Energy and explosiveness enhancers:
-Excitement
-Joy
-Enthusiasm
-Anxiety
-Worry
-Panic
-Restlessness
-Frustration
-Anger
Anything that stimulates the nervous system can influence you to approach a workout with intensity. I know some of these are power and form compromisers but they overlap as enhancers here. Moods with high charge and tension.
Energy and explosiveness compromisers:
-Sadness
-Depression
-Broodiness
-Contemplative concern
-Disappointment
-Heart break
-Loss and grief
All those low emotions are very draining and I would have to say that they compromise the first performance attribute as well as this one.
Stamina and endurance enhancers:
-Peace
-Calm
-Relaxedness
-Tranquility
-Peace of mind
-Serenity
-Centeredness
All these low energy demanding moods allow you to access the energy only as you need it, thus allowing you to get the longest wind from yourself during a session, especially cardio.
Stamina and endurance compromisers:
-Anxiety
-Nervousness
-Panic
-Restlessness
-Aggression
-Over excitement
If the nervous system is being activated by high intensity emotions, then your using up much more energy than you need to. Heart races faster than it should, muscles contract when not necessary or useful, cortisol shuts off any energy extraction from nutrition that may still be in the system and any energy tasking biological reactions that may be triggered by these types of moods.
Focus enhancers:
-Calm
-Centeredness
-Peace
-Determination
-Ambition
-Competitiveness
This one has a unique mix of tranquilizing states and some of the empowering states. Focus and concentration, I think you'd agree it requires a calm and centered mind and the ability to be in the moment, which is strongly aided by those tranquil states. On the other side of it, optimal performance demands a sharp focus in the present which demands a strong level of consciousness, awareness and reactivity in the moment. So, moods like determination, ambition and competitiveness are typically what keeps your eye on the prize and concentrate on your best efforts to get it.
Focus Compromisers:
-Concern
-Broodiness
-Anxiety
-Panic
-Depression
-Despondence
-Distracted states
-Stress
Any feeling that takes you out of the moment, has you thinking about something else. Distraction and preoccupations are the biggest enemy of focus and concentration in any area of life, especially so in sports, exercise and any form of physical activity.
One last distinction I'd like to talk about, and that is how you can access desired emotions by identifying what exercises, sports or activities make you feel specific ways.
You see, the great thing I notice about all these dynamics is the potential to determine how you feel by choosing not only what exercise to do but also how you do it.
In my experience, I have routines that I've come to identify with certain signature states. I know what style of training leaves me feeling what way.
I've come to identify that my capoeira stimulates a general state of joy and cheer that stays with me for several hours. My bagua session mellows me down and I've associated a general state of peace and harmony in myself. And both my wing chun and tae kwon do session summons a sense of confidence and control. While my boxing session has more emphasis on feeling stronger, more powerful and masculine.
Then there is also how you approach a session. If you have to stick with one particular style or routine but you are in need of a totally different signature state than the exercise provides, then you can alter the commitment. For instance, if you feel stressed and the workout you have planned is particularly intense, (other than the fact that those are great outlets for stress anyway) what you can do is change your focus in that session. You can slow the tempo, concentrate on form and rhythm, and ease up on the explosiveness. This one way to bring yourself more in the moment and increase the chances of coming into a more centered state of mind and settle those nerves.
All that I have stated here are reflections based on my own experience and common observations. I haven't taken into account other factors, such as associations, training levels or any other individual specifications. Some of what I've stated may be generalizations and may have variables. It may be different with each person. If so, I'm very interested to know what your personal experience is like and invite you to comment on my blog.
Inspired by fitness,
Clinton Boucheix
Certified Personal Trainer
Free Exercise Motivation Report
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