While I have always enjoyed running at an easy, conversational pace, I never used to like running hard. I hated races when a ran high school track, and I would have a difficult time psyching myself up to push myself in interval workouts after moving on from sports. That is, until Peloton.
I know, I know. I’m one of those Peloton people.
But hear me out: Peloton has it figured out with top-notch instruction, motivational songs, and inspirational coaching. The classes make me want to work hard. There is nothing quite like the sense of accomplishment of ticking off sprints and hitting that pace that feels slightly scary.
As many people get older, I notice that they talk about the mental benefits of exercise. I think we become much more aware with each passing year of how our physical activity affects our mental clarity.
Scholars and sisters Emily and Amelia Nagoski have even written about this phenomenon in their book Burnout (which I highly recommend, by the way). It makes sense: Many of us list in a state of low-grade stress all the time. Our concerns are not being chased by lions, like those of our ancestors, but that does not mean we do not live in states of fear. Will our children turn out okay? Will I be promoted? Are our finances enough in order to enable us to enjoy a modest retirement? These sorts of worries swirl around in our brains all the time, and they are not readily resolved. The difference in being worried about being chased by a lion is that it is acute and reaches quick resolution. You run from the lion and survive; the threat is over. Yet so many of our anxieties today are constant.
This is where exercise comes in: hard physical activity completes the stress cycle. It truly does give us that release we need. Our adrenaline is pumping from life’s stressors, so we move our bodies to elevate our heart rate. When we complete exercise, our heart rate comes down and tells our brain that the threat is over. The science supports that exercise improves not only physical but mental and emotional health.
More than that, for me, is that when I give the time and attention to what I have accomplished on the treadmill, on the yoga mat, or on the gym floor, I feel proud. The Peloton instructors have what some might call cheesy mantras, like “What you do here on the tread translate to life” or “How you do anything is how you do everything.” I personally love the sayings. I like proving to myself that I can do hard things. I like biting down and giving it my all. And if I fail? There is always another interval or rep. This is low stakes risk taking.
I push myself not so that I will be able to race faster or lift heavier, although those are nice benefits. I push myself to remind myself of my toughness, my resilience, my fortitude. I approach parenting, my career, and other facets of my life with the same mindset, but as I alluded to earlier, I do not have the benefit of seeing the ending or results quickly and clearly. Rarely do I know that I have solved a tricky relationship or professional issue within the space of 30 to 60 minutes, but I can have that sense of triumph after a single workout.
I can do hard things. We all can do hard things. We have to—they are part of life. Training for hard things by doing hard things does not necessarily make them less hard—but the training lets us know that we will make it to the other side and often be the better for it.