Sep 10, 20247 min read

Exercise Can Reduce Anxiety As Effectively As Medication

Something I’ve experienced over the years of having squabbles with anxiety is I can’t...just… sit there. Or I may appear to be just sitting there, but inside I am SOOO not. Either I'm fidgeting, bouncing my knee up and down, playing with my hair, clicking a pen, etc...or there's a whirlwind in my mind where I'm overthinking, catastrophizing, and potentially beating the crap out of myself with some super unhelpful self-talk. Or both.

Who else feels this? 🙋‍♀️

It's like this nervous energy is beating at the walls of your insides just trying to get out. There's any number of ways this can happen, sometimes the fidgetiness is enough, sometimes it takes a good cry, and sometimes, if it hits a particular level, it can go right into a panic attack.

The point is you gotta find a way to get all the jittery energy-ick out in a way that doesn't suck... and EXERCISE enters the chat!

The COOLEST gang

While the opinion of whether or not exercise sucks depends on the person, I would hazard a guess to say that exercise is way better than feeling jittery and anxious or having a full on panic attack. I'm not saying exercise will cure anxiety or that employing it mid-panic attack will do much for you, HOWEVER it does wonders for your physical health overall, in addition to helping you woosah when experiencing mild to moderate anxiety. And, in my humble opinion, it doesn't suck (that much 😉).

Why exercise?

It’s going to cause your mind to focus on something other than what’s causing you to be anxious (i.e. let's stop the thought spiral before it explodes a the bottom of the staircase)
It’s going to help get the energy out that’s jittering through your body
It’ll cause a cascade of things physiologically that will boost your mood (hellooo serotonin and dopamine!)
The Anxiety & Depression Association of America says, “According to some studies, regular exercise works as well as medication for some people to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and the effects can be long lasting. One vigorous exercise session can help alleviate symptoms for hours, and a regular schedule may significantly reduce them over time.”

How cool is that?!

You may be wondering how to get started...when do you fit exercise in, for how long, how often, what kind?

I gotchu, friend.

Exercise Timing

This is truly just going to be when it's best for you. It can be a great way to start your day, but if morning exercise isn't your thing then exercising in the afternoon or evening is great, too.

Exercise Duration

This is another area where it's up to you based on your schedule, circumstances, and goals. The American Heart Association recommends the following:

150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity-increased heart rate, maybe sweating a little, you can still hold a conversation- which could look like taking five 30 minute walks through the week
75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity- even more increased heart rate, likely sweating, you can't hold a conversation without stopping to suck air- which could look like taking two 45 minute step aerobics classes a week
A mix of the two which could be a 45 minute hike and taking two cycling classes, for example.

All of that to say- YOU get to decide what works for YOU. There's no exact perfect way to do it. It doesn't have to be a certain way because your friend does it that way or because random Joe Schmoe fitness influencer with a 6 pack says so.

Ain't that kinda great?

Exercise Frequency

I bet you can already guess what I'm going to say here. Yup...it's all about what YOU want and need. You'll have a better idea of this once we finish up with exercise type. Which brings us to...

Exercise Type

What’s really nifty, when it comes to managing anxiety via exercise, is that ANY type WILL be beneficial for you. That means you can do cardio, strength training, yoga, tai chi, or something else and it will help improve anxiety. There is evidence that yoga (and other mind-body modes of exercise) and cardio do have a little bit more of a positive effect on improving anxiety than strength training, according to the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM)- but strength training does still help!

Another thing to note, discussed in the same study in the BJSM, is that strength training did a little bit better for those who struggle with depression. A lot of the time people are struggling with both anxiety and depression, so, in that case, strength training may be an even better choice for you.

Regardless of whether you have anxiety or not, I always recommend that everyone should get a mix of strength training, cardio, and mobility training each week because all are important for our overall well-being.

Let's Tie It All Together

Now that you have this information you can tailor your daily movement towards what makes the most sense for you. While you may not love cardio, taking a 45 minute rugged hike plus a couple 20 minute walks can have you hitting the recommendations for cardio activity for the week. Maybe cardio is more your thing so taking a 30 minute walk every day is a breeze, but strength training ain't your cup o tea. In that case, just do 2 full body strength workouts through the week (minimum recommendation by American College of Sports Medicine). Mobility can easily be worked in for 5-10 minutes before workouts as a warm up...because you do warm up, right?...RIGHT?!

*Steps on soap box* ALWAYS. WARM. UP. *Steps off soap box*

How often, how long, and when you workout is going to depend on your schedule, goals and preferences so here's an example of how you can plan out your week (remember to take little steps-you don't have to add it all in right away):

What type of exercise do you prefer? (we'll pretend you said cardio)
What type of cardio do you prefer? (walking)
How long would you like to walk for? (20-30 minutes)
Take a look at your schedule- what days and times do you have about 20 to 30 minutes of time open to walk? (MWF right after dinner)

Great! So this week you'll take a 30 minute walk on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday right after dinner. Build this habit up and then you can start working other times and types of exercise in as it fits your needs and goals. Perhaps, after a couple of weeks, you add body weight strength training at home after your walk one evening. Or you add in another 30 minute walk.

See how simple that was? Don't overcomplicate it! If you're not doing anything much at all right now for exercise, you work full time, and have obligations after work most nights it's not a good idea to try to add in 4 strength training days and 30 minute walks every day. Choose ONE type of movement to add into your week regularly, even if it's just a 10 minute walk first thing in the morning, nail it down, then go from there.

In case you haven't picked up what I'm putting down, the important thing is that you don't try to add in too many things at once. And as always...

The KEY thing is to do what you enjoy!

It’s great that you get to make exercise fit into your life the way you want, isn’t it? It doesn't have to be an exact certain way in order for you to benefit. In fact, you get the most benefit when you set it up in a way that works for you. AND it helps you whoop anxiety right in the 🍑 because regular exercise can be just as effective as medication in reducing symptoms of anxiety.

NOTE: I'm NOT saying exercise should replace medication if you need it to treat anxiety. Just know that exercise will help whether or not you're on medication 🙂

Perhaps you're still trying to figure out how exactly to fit exercise and movement into your daily life. Well, chickadee, do I have a super cool thing to tell you about!

My new community for women- The Wellness Warrior Tribe- is designed to help women reduce anxiety and stress through movement, nutrition, and self-care. If you're a lady and you struggle with stress and anxiety this is why you need to be a part of this community:

Monthly exercise programming- You don't have to try to figure out what to do, you just follow the plan dropped in the app every month. Plus, there's a gym option or a home option both of which have videos demoing each exercise so you know exactly what to do.
Helpful resources dropped each month- These cover things from nutrition to stress management to self-care practices and more, all of which are geared to help you on your path to reduce stress and anxiety while improving your overall wellness.
A monthly group coaching call- These calls are meant to be educational, fun, thought provoking, and a time to connect with others in the community, plus this is where you can experience hot seat coaching to get help with what you need related to exercise, nutrition, and self-care.
The community- In the Everfit app, where the WWT community lives, you'll find support and motivation along with mini challenges to help you build new habits and try out new things! Not sure about how to do an exercise? Drop your question in the community! Struggling with something you need some support with? Share it in the community because you are most definitely not alone! Have a win you want to shout from the mountain tops? Share it in the community so we can celebrate with you!