Stress!

Stress is frequently considered one of the more serious threats to our mental and physical health as it potentially compromises our immune response and increases our susceptibility to infection and disease. Psychiatrists are kept busy with patients who essentially break down because of excessive stress.

Stress though, is essential. Specific stress stimulates our thought and creativity as well as defining our figures or physiques and brings about a fight or flight response that protects us from impending danger. Stress itself is not innately harmful, except in excess. A sudden, painful end to a long term relationship; ongoing, unresolveable financial difficulties; or, a whole lot of inconsequential irritations occurring on one after the other on our 40th birthday can be too much for anyone at some point in time. And, for many of us each day in Los Angeles is an exercise in stress management.

So, many of us seek to manage our stress with exercise. Since we know that strenuous exercise can decrease overall stress we zealously hit the gym, day after day, week after week–to keep from going postal. Problem is stress is additive and inappropriate intensity or volume of exercise may add more overall stress to an already overstressed system. It's sort of a Catch 22.

If you sense you're on the edge, here's a little help.

• Stress hormones actually surge when performing high intensity exercise so try longer duration, moderate intensity aerobic exercise: 65% to 70% VO2 MAX, for instance. Go long enough and you'll get that euphoric endorphine high. Now there's some stress relief!
  
  
• Simply avoiding fast foods, processed foods, or eating too much / too little food can reduce stress, physical and mental.
  
  
• Put yourself at the top of your priority list and schedule yourself for adequate rest / sleep each night.
  
  
• If the above suggestions are just not feasible, consider taking supplements that can lower your post exercise stress hormone (especially cortisol) levels. For instance, phosphatidylsterine–sounds like a gasoline additive, doesn't it–has been shown to be especially well suited for athletes because it functions to reduce an exaggerated stress response. "PS", as it's known is available at health food stores and for most of us would be taken at about 200mg. per day for 1 or 2 months to saturate the cells and then reduced to about 100mg. to maintain the positive effect. There appears to be no negative effects associated with the use of PS, and the benefits go well beyond improved physical recovery.

Just So You Know

This was originally published in Brentwood News in August of 1999 and was an ongoing column providing a hopefully fresh, interesting and useful take on health and fitness. Though the "Pete" articles have as of this month been discontinued the content is as always drawn largely from personal training experiences over the last 15 years.