How Bad is Stress for You?

Today I will be taking a little break from my 3 part muscle building series because I like to keep a balance between focusing on the health of the mind and the body. Don't worry though, tomorrow I will conclude the series with a few full body workout routines that you can get started on right away. 

My blog posts on stress have gotten a lot of feedback and I want to continue to focus on that topic. Today's blog post is an analogy for how you should think of stress and its effect on your body. 

Think of your body as a bank account. You can either make deposits or withdrawals. Every time you put stress on your body (worrying, not sleeping enough, eating an inflammatory diet, working out too hard) you make a withdrawal. Every time you do things such as get more quality sleep, follow a balanced workout plan, perform stress reduction techniques, or eat a well-balanced diet you make a deposit. If you make too many withdrawals and not enough deposits, you will over-draw your account. You do not want to be hovering around the over-draw limit for your body. This is where you will begin to feel very fatigued, get sick easier, gain fat, lose muscle, among many other things. Read more about stress' negative effects on the body here.

TIP: Do your best to make as many deposits as you can daily- Get at least 8 hours of quality sleep, eat a well balanced diet, perform stress reduction techniques (deep breathing, box breathing, meditation, napping, stretching, etc.), and follow a workout plan that best suits your situation. If you believe that you are hovering around the over-draw limit, you may need to dial back your workouts for the time being. If you begin to feel the negative effects of your “account” being over-drawn, start to focus more on your "deposit" activities and make them a priority.