Feeling Anger While Working Out?
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Let’s unpack this. An introspective client (a psychologist even) presented to me that she feels rage sometimes while exercising.
Anger or rage tend to come from one of two places, if not both combined: overwhelm and frustration. A lack of mobility, discomfort in the joints, fatigue, all of these things can provide an overall feeling of rust. What I mean is, it feels like added resistance. A topical extra resistance to something that is already something to push through.
It makes you feel, in a roundabout way, that the world is pushing back on you while you’re trying to move forward.
I wanted to touch on this because it can be a very common feeling at the beginning of your work with a trainer, at the beginning of your journey with exercise OR, if you have not tapped into the consistency that can help to wash that feeling away. It can be very normal, and acceptance is a key part of getting through it.
Obviously, quitting and never exercising is not the answer. You need to find a way through the rust.
Manage your overwhelm. If your fitness is contributing to an overall sense of overwhelm, simplify your approach. Adjust your program accordingly so that your exercise feels like a stress-busting release, not another daunting chore.
Likely the specific exercises you are doing need to be modified toward ones that help you experience self care. Maybe the exercises have more of a wrapping, tightening feeling than a heavy load. Often times gentle cardio boosts work well for these psychological instances as well - and core. Always core. Feeling energy generating from the core puts us in our power.
Your nutrition. Sometimes when we feel extra push-back and like we’re hitting a wall, we’re not eating in a way that makes movement feel nice. If your nutrition is heavily inflammatory, your body can feel like cement in your training. Lots of water, whole foods and balanced blood sugar makes a big difference for your chemistry — for lightening your mood and energy.
Name the feeling. If you feel rage or anger when you’re doing something that feels hard, just say it (it can be in your head). The simple awareness of it will help you to address it and make the necessary adjustments to turn a negative experience into a progressive one.
Consistency. If you feel rusty one day, adjust and move through it. The next day, come back and do something again (something maybe a bit different). Show up again. And again, and again. By day 3 or 4 you’ll feel like you’re smooth sailing in exercise, and likely grateful you pushed through.
I’m going to save what is probably the most important point for last: how you feel about your body shows up in your workouts, and it’s important to work on reframing your body image while you exercise. Sometimes people let negative self-image talk filter into their minds while they are exercising. You have to make a choice to catch this when it happens, and blow it away like you’re blowing a dandelion. You have to decide you are not going to permit negative thoughts about yourself while you exercise (or ideally ever!). Even if you have to force it at first, tell yourself how strong, how capable and how energized you are. How happy your cells are to be exercising. A negative mindset leads to discouragement that acts like a thick, brick wall against you and your health. BREAK THE WALL with encouragement and self support. Work with your body, to break through the rust.
