The Back Story

Through running a CrossFit Affiliate and prior to this outdoor group fitness, I cannot recall the amount of positive feedback I’ve received about how our members have turned significant corners with their mental health, once they have established a consistent routine of exercise. This is one of, if not the most rewarding parts of being a fitness coach.

Mental health is a topic that is on the rise in today’s society, even more so as we are coming out from a Global Pandemic. It is a subject that is now widely discussed in the media and between friends, family members and colleagues in the workforce as we continue to learn more about this sensitive issue.

Not for Profit organisations such as Black Dog Institute and Beyond Blue have increased our awareness of mental health and the seriousness of the consequences if left unmanaged. Over the years, numerous studies into the effects of exercise on mental health have also increased, revealing broad benefits to people suffering with ongoing conditions such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. We believe CrossFit is a key to changing lives both physically and mentally – as we have seen time and time again.

What is Mental Health?

Mental health is a complex and oftentimes frequently misunderstood term. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as “a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community (Blue, n.d.).” Therefore, mental health (much like physical health) actually means positive outcomes and one in which we all want to achieve and maintain for our life-span. We link mental health to our thinking, emotions, actions as well as omissions (things we won’t or can’t do).

However, what most of us really mean when we are talking about mental health is “mental illness” or a “mental health condition”. This is the basis for today’s article.

Benefits of Having Mental Health

Mental health is essential to functioning effectively in everyday life. Strong mental health leads to a host of benefits including improved self-confidence, empowerment, communication skills, social relationships, physical health (which we will get into more in this article), daily productivity, the achievement of one’s personal goals and life-expectancy – to name but a few.

The benefits of being cognitively emotionally and socially healthy cannot be overstated.

Key Elements of Good Physical Exercise

Before we delve into the impacts of physical exercise on mental health, we need to have a clear understanding of what physical exercise actually is. Physical exercise is broadly defined as any activity that can improve and maintain your fitness and health and prevent the onset of disease.

Physical exercise should have four key elements (this is NOT an exhaustive list) to be of benefit to your Mental Health:

1. Intensity – Working at or just below your maximum work capacity threshold safely but with power, speed and reduced rest times.
2. Intentional – You have a goal that you want to achieve by the end of your training and exercise is aside from your daily activities such as housework and employment (non-exercise activity thermogenesis or NEAT)
3. Active – Meaning you are doing some physical tasks that increases your heart rate, puts your body under good stress and incorporates a range of physical components and skills (dump that ab blaster and crappy standing vibrating platform thingo immediately!)
4. Functional – In other words, using natural and essential movements that replicate what we do in our daily lives. Functional movements include squats, presses and deadlifts, and they use multiple muscle groups in one coordinated motion.

There are many other prescriptions for physical exercise that we could talk about here that are included in a daily CrossFit workout, such as broad variation, improving on a range of physical skills, mixing up the length of time from session to session and progressive overload however, these are your four basic ingredients.

5 Benefits of Physical Exercise on Mental Health

Without entertaining the thought that this is an exhaustive list, here are 5 huge benefits of physical exercise on mental health.

1. Release of positive hormones. The human endocrine system is complex, however widely understood based on extensive research. Studies have revealed that key hormones such as serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline imbalances are common in people with a mental health condition. These hormones impact significantly on mood as well as other behaviours, however exercise increases the production of these hormones in a natural and sustainable way. What’s more important to note, is that the high intensity regime of CrossFit works in much the same way as anti-depressants, with both mechanisms actively elevating specific types of hormones. The primary function of endorphins is to help the body endure pain during periods of prolonged physical or mental stress. High-intensity exercise produces a euphoric feeling (that runner’s high) that impacts on endorphin levels, much like a mad chemical rush when we see, eat or do something exciting. (Kathleen Mikkelsena, 2017)
2. Distraction from daily concerns. The term distraction hypothesis means having a “mental timeout”. Intentional physical exercise, whether it be at a gym, outdoor group fitness class, or going for a run, gives us an opportunity to distract ourselves for a good hour and forget about our negative and worrying thoughts. This technique can be a powerful coping mechanism for everyone, regardless of whether we are suffering from serious depression or anxiety disorder.
3. Preparation for daily challenges. CrossFit and Physical exercise is as much of a mental challenge, as it is a physical one. In our group outdoor fitness sessions at Outdoor Grit, we post the workout of the day using an app and a whiteboard, which is shown front and centre at every session. Looking at a prescribed workout can bring about feelings of fear, anxiousness, anger and dejection for many of our Tribe. What’s interesting is that these same feelings are what we face everyday when we consider the tasks and challenges that we need to accomplish. By diving into a daunting workout, pushing through and coming out the tunnel at the other end, we prepare our minds for the challenges of the real world. At the end of the session, we reflect and note that by putting ourselves under stress in a controlled environment, we are enabled to better take on the stuff that we need to, in order to be effective human beings.
4. Self-efficacy. Workouts help us to learn new skills, get stronger and fitter and experience the glory of achievement. As we exercise more and more, we develop self-efficacy, meaning our belief that we “can do it” increases week to week. This impacts on our resilience and ability to choose to take on and push through difficult circumstances in our everyday lives. (Kathleen Mikkelsena, 2017)
5. Self-esteem. When we look in the mirror, we want to see a picture of health and fitness, one that we are satisfied with and one that we are reminded of the hours, days and weeks of hard work invested into our physical bodies. The right exercise program, (meaning the functional movements when executed safely, consistently and with proper technique and high intensity), coupled with healthy eating and good sleep, will ultimately bring about increases in strength, aerobic and anaerobic fitness and decrease unwanted body fat. Other benefits include improvements in balance, agility, coordination, flexibility and power output, just to name a few. These outcomes improve our confidence, our perspective of ourselves, increase our quality of life and help us to feel good as we reflect on our achievements.

As we can see, the benefits of physical exercise on mental health are wide-spread and very much objective. This list of five benefits is not just specific to someone suffering from depression, anxiety or other condition. Furthermore, these are only a speck in terms of other improvements that we can achieve from physical exercise, including direct and indirect impacts on our mental health.

If you are experiencing difficulties maintaining your mental health, or you know of someone in a similar position in life, please contact your local GP or visit Beyond Blue at https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

Keen to try CrossFit?

CrossFit Revelation is the newest Affiliate in Adelaide, located on the doorsteps of Prospect, just off of Main North Road in Blair Athol. We specialise in building broad and general fitness that ensures you are functionally and ready to take on the demands of life on Earth. Our workouts include relative high intensity, functional movements that are always changing up – which means your physical and mental health will improve quickly.

If you’re keen to learn more, click on the “Get Started” today to make contact with our team. We can’t wait to see you at one of our upcoming sessions.

Dan Jackiw – Co-Founder and Head Coach

References

Blue, B. (n.d.). What is mental health? Retrieved from Beyond Blue: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/what-is-mental-health?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3sCV0Pa_5gIVTIuPCh2tGwOzEAAYASAAEgIG7PD_BwE

Kathleen Mikkelsena, L. S. (2017). Exercise and mental health. Maturitas, 1,50-52.