If you’re anything like me, you can sometimes get a little anxious dealing with day-to-day stresses: bills; family; taxes; moving; sick friend/family. It all piles up and it seems like it never ends!
A great man once said “you can spend your whole life worrying and it won’t change a thing”. I find this to be true. I’ve worried a lot. It changed nothing.
It might, however, surprise you to know that there are actions that you can take to reduce this anxiety. And what is more these actions will also help you in the gym (or with your sport performance).
Here are four ways of reducing anxiety:
1 – Magnesium
Magnesium is often used in the treatment of general anxiety disorder. It also has a magnificent affect of binding to sex hormone binding globulin which allows your body to have more free testosterone. Lower anxiety Plus higher testosterone equals major win!
Be sure you are taking at least 10 mg per kilogram of lean mass per day. In my case I take over 4 g of magnesium each day.
2 – Zinc
Please talk to your doctor about this one because you should have your zinc levels tested. However very often with general anxiety disorder or, zinc levels can be low. In this case, supplementing with a little bit of zinc(Less than 40 mg per day) can be effective for reducing cortisol and enhancing neurotransmitters gabba and serotonin.
Lowering high cortisol levels, is a great way to more restful sleep and better gains muscularly.
3– Mindful Breathing
Lie on your back and close your eye. Place your hands on your lower abdomen and inhale for a count of four hold that air in your belly for another count of four and then exhale for a count of eight. Repeat this process for 20 minutes.
There is an association between mindfulness and a reduction of the stress hormone cortisol. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23527522/
A close friend of mine once liked this technique to getting eight hours of sleep. I agreed.
4 – Tapping/EFT
OK, this one’s a bit of a departure. If you know me, you know that I am not into unstudied treatments. Hippy stuff tends to turn me off. I don’t even do yoga anymore. But for what it’s worth, I tried this and it works!
By tapping on certain meridian points, and focusing on a particular problem, you somehow prepare your body for dealing with that particular stress. I don’t know how it works. I’m not waiting around for the double blinds (Studies that prove or disapprove of its validity). All I can say is, anecdotally, every time I tap I feel better. Furthermore, every time I teach a client to tap they report feeling immediately better.
Here’s a link to a great video that I use regularly. It demonstrates how to perform tapping and what to focus on.
I would love to have you come in and discuss any of these subjects with me. We will discover how it is relevant to you and how you can integrate these strategies into your busy life.
The trainer
