De-stress to Train, or Train to De-stress? What Should Marathoners Do?

Training to de-stress is popular wisdom among marathoners, but is it the whole story?

Do you know what stress is? What are several ways to de-stress? Training can be a de-stressor, but can forced training be bad for you? What about training too hard or too often? Is there anything wrong with going for a run when you feel stressed? When looking at stress, what’s the best way to approach your training?

What is stress?

Physician Hans Selye discovered that patients with different diseases often had identical symptoms. He chose the word “stress” to describe this non-specific response syndrome. He later told a close friend that he would have chosen “strain” instead, had his English been better.

Quoting that same friend,

“He [Selye] later discovered and described the General Adaptation Syndrome, a response of the body to demands placed upon it. The Syndrome details how stress induces hormonal autonomic responses [emphasis added] and, over time, these hormonal changes can lead to ulcers, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, arthritis, kidney disease, and allergic reactions.”

De-stress for success

A search of Bing for “how to de-stress” returned more than 6,000,000 results. A search of Google returned more than 27,000,000 results.

For example, you can learn how to de-stress from the Allure and Women’s Health magazine sites, Chopra.com, and WebMD.com.

From those four sites alone come many ways to de-stress:

• Admire a photo of someone attractive.
• Consume omega-3 fatty acids.
• Create a gratitude practice.
• Do yoga.
• Drink green tea.
• Eat well.
• Engage in a pastime that requires attention.
• Enjoy a ten-second kiss daily.
• Expose your eyes to sunlight for 20 minutes a day.
• Forgive someone.
• Get a massage.
• Get enough sleep.
• Have a hot bath.
• Hypnotize yourself.
• Identify your stress triggers.
• Keep a daily journal of your emotions, food, and fitness.
• Listen to soothing music.
• Meditate.
• Look out the window.
• Pay attention to what you want to do.
• Play a video game, as long as it’s not too challenging.
• Savor small portions of foods that you enjoy.
• Schedule cushions between appointments.
• Sit in a relaxation room.
• Smile.
• Stretch.
• Surround yourself with plants.
• Swear where it’s safe to do so.
• Take annual vacations.
• Think positively while watching a sad movie.
• Treat your allergies.
• Use positive affirmations daily.

Training can help you to de-stress

If you are a marathoner, then you know that training can help you to de-stress. You can go out for a run and then feel less stress later that day and on the next day.

Mayo Clinic says that almost any form of exercise can reduce stress because exercise:

• Pumps up your endorphins (feel-good neurotransmitters);
• Is like meditation in motion (due to focusing on a single task);
• Improves your mood (due to improved self-confidence and sleep).

Can forced training cause stress?

Scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder looked at forced training. They found that, instead of increasing stress, it increased stress resistance.

So, suppose that you train because of peer pressure or a cajoling spouse. Even if you’re not having fun during your training, forced training does not cause stress. Instead, even forced training is a de-stressor.

What about training too hard or too often?

[Tweet “If even forced training can help you to de-stress, can training ever cause stress? Yes.”]For example, training too hard or too often can:

• Put your body into a state that breaks down your tissues;
• Cause excessive release of cortisol, a stress hormone;
• Cause microscopic tears in your muscle fibers, increasing risk of future injury;
• Weaken your immune system;
• Cause insomnia, especially with late-in-the-day workouts.

When training while stressed can be dangerous

A McMaster University study found that anger and exercise may be dangerous for the heart. Strenuous exercise along with anger or upset more than tripled the risk of a heart attack.

There are some caveats for the McMaster study:

1. Participants self-reported the stress or anger.
2. The meaning of “strenuous” was up to the participants.
3. The study was observational, so cause and effect are not clear.
4. We don’t know the fitness levels of the participants.

The study involved 12,461 people in 52 countries who had a first heart attack. So, the sample looks large enough to warrant concern about training while stressed.

There’s another reason why training while stressed can be dangerous.

A Houston chiropractor tells me that he gets much of his business from people who run to release stress.

In my words, …
[Tweet “Anger leads to distraction, which leads to bad form, which leads to running injuries.”]
[Tweet “Anger leads to overexertion, which leads to running injuries.”]

What you should do about stress and training

There are three lessons to learn from this discussion:

1. Training can de-stress you further and can give you a long-lasting effect.
2. Training too hard or too often can increase stress.
3. Starting a run while under obvious stress can lead to injuries and even a heart attack.

So, …
[Tweet “Don’t train too hard or too often, and de-stress BEFORE you begin a training session.”]

What next?

By de-stressing to train instead of training to de-stress, you will be a happier, safer runner.

Now that you know how crucial this is, check out Mental Tricks for Endurance Runners and Walkers. It covers some of the de-stressor techniques listed above. And, it introduces meridian tapping or EFT, another way to lower stress.

Interested? Click here:

Image Credit: Pixabay