All anyone ever seems to hear about is how stress is bad for you. Too much stress and your body starts to give way as you get sick. Or if your body doesn’t get sick, but you look more and more frazzled as time goes by and new lines start appearing on your face. In short, everyone tells you to avoid stress not only for physical health, but also for the sake of your appearance. There’s just one problem with this entire view that OROGOLD would like to explain to you. Not all forms of stress are actually bad for you. Mental and emotional stress certainly are, but the right amounts of physical stress can do wonders.

The Soreness of Exercise Explained
The soreness most people experience from exercise is actually the result of making muscles in the body take actions in ways they aren’t used to doing. This is a very literal form of physical stress. You’re pushing your body in new or harder ways to make it improve itself. And your body certainly does improve itself. Anyone who has maintained a long-term exercise regime can tell you stories of what it is like to go from being winded on their first jog to effortlessly completing that first path months later. Your body is designed to respond to the challenges of unknown stress on the body and grow from it.

Don’t be Complacent
Your body’s ability to improve on itself is wonderful, but the problem comes in that you can’t stop once your initial routine is suddenly easy. That’s actually the sign that you need to start pushing yourself more. In short, you need to willfully stress your body. Jog another mile, do a few more pilates, or take that next step up in difficulty in yoga. A healthy exercise routine necessarily means challenging your body and making it adapt again. Otherwise you’ve gotten complacent and your body will be used to your routines and you’ll receive less of a benefit from exercise than you were previously.

Push, Don’t Break Yourself
All of this said, OROGOLD does recommend remaining aware of your body at all times when exercising. Pushing yourself is good for your health, but in the quest for the perfect body this can take unhealthy routes. Pushing yourself does not mean putting yourself in deliberate and lasting pain. Yes, your should be a bit sore after exercise, but you should not have pushed yourself so hard that you have a lasting injury that you need to see a doctor about. Accidents happen, but they should not happen routinely. Do not hesitate to step briefly back down in exercise intensity if your body is telling you that you’ve overstepped your abilities too often, but don’t let that stop you from intelligently pushing yourself once you’ve recovered.

Stress gets a bad reputation due to some of the forms it takes, but it doesn’t need to be something you constantly dread. Maintaining a healthy amount of physical stress during exercise is actually ideal. It helps your body improve and helps you focus on things other than whatever is causing mental or emotional stress in your life. So when you’re seeking the emotional balm of a good exercise routine, don’t forget these lessons from OROGOLD. Stay smart, stay fit, and stay beautiful.