Exercise and Adrenal Fatigue

• Tweet
• Pin It

Exercise and adrenal fatigue, should I exercise or should I not? And how much should I do?

These are frequently asked questions so let’s dig into the topic now.

Be sure to subscribe for more updates on adrenal fatigue and stress management

Exercise and Adrenal Fatigue

Are you addicted to exercise? Or think it’s the only way you can lose weight?

Addiction to exercise can be one of the ‘symptoms’ of adrenal fatigue, largely because of the stimulus it provides and perhaps chasing the energy and thrill of it.

Although it can seem like a great thing to do, if you have adrenal fatigue, then overdoing it is not the way to go. I know there are some women who may not want to give up their over-exercise habits. The common way of thinking is that ‘If I give up exercising so much I will gain weight’

This is not true.

When it comes to weight gain it is 90% nutrition and 10% exercise. So if you’re concerned in any way about weight gain, then looking at nutrition is what you need to do. Pushing yourself with adrenal fatigue is only going to make you more fatigued. And having elevated cortisol makes us store fat, especially around the mid section.

What kind of exercise is good?

Exercise is very important but it can also be a stressor, particularly long winded or high intensity workouts. When under adrenal stress, the best exercises to stick to are the more gentle forms.

Things such as:

• walking
• swimming
• yoga
• pilates
• stretching
• tai chi
• qi gong
• meditation
• stretching and relaxation

These are all great forms of exercise and activity. And this may come as a surprise, but so is weight training or body weight resistance training.

Weight training or body weight resistance training

Weight training is an anearobic form of exercise which means it doesn’t activate the cardiovascular/oxygen system. It’s beneficial for building lean muscle mass, which can help improve circulation and metabolism, thus gently increasing the flow of energy.

The important thing to remember is not to over exert yourself while doing it. Just do gentle weight training sessions or use your own body weight to do a slow and simple workout.

Benefits of exercise

It’s important to include exercise because it helps to normalise many of the body’s functions. It also helps to eliminate toxins, increase the circulation of nutrients and it actually does increase your energy. Exercise also helps to stimulate serotonin levels in the brain and improves overall mood. 

Include other activities you enjoy

And don’t just stop at the exercises named above, you can also engage in fun activities that could also be considered exercise.

Things such as:

• gardening
• dancing
• playing with your kids
• playing a sport
• going for a bush or beach walk

These types of exercises and activity are very regenerative for the adrenals because they have the same impact as exercise but also provide a deep sense of relaxation, which is very important to reducing the effects of stress with adrenal fatigue.

So get out there and find some exercise you enjoy

Jedha

Nutirtionist & Health Coach

P.S. Click here to subscibe for more info on adrenal fatigue and stress

• Tweet
• Pin It