Do you exercise after a long day of work?

[JoeJustice]

You might be shortchanging your workout...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4860095a19716.html

My pull-quote

"Our study provides experimental evidence that mental fatigue limits exercise tolerance in humans through higher perception of effort," the team wrote.


This might be particularly true with DVRs, DSRs and isos where you have to use great concentration to get a solid contraction. Still yet, this study seems to suggest that even objectively measurable resistance is reduced by mental fatigue.

I know without a doubt that after a very taxing day at work, I have a hard time exercising, even though I just sit at a desk all day. Also I have a hard time getting excited and pumped up for exercise! While if I have a high pressure experience at the end of the day, the stress/excitement can be transferred into my workout rather easily.

Generally speaking, for the past few months I've done a DVR workout in the morning (usually the M7) and a power cal dominate workout in the afternoon. Usually 15 minutes in the morning and 30 in the afternoon. I also chalk DVRs up as a great energizer, they really help me wake up in the morning.

What about you guys? Is working out after work holding you back? Mental stress getting in the way? Or have you found a way to channel that stress?

Thoughtfully yours,
-Joe

[Greg Newton]

This is an interesting topic Joe. I am usually drained mentally and often physically at the end of the day. Many days I go ahead and do 100 pushups, situps, and hyperextensions before I go home. At the very least I sweep and mop my classroom, which I do not have to do. The workouts help me energize and go back to something I absolutely hate - paperwork and data entry!

Some of my co-workers got a laugh out of me at a conference this summer. We were indoors all day with no natural light, which is like Hades to me, listening to boring speaker after speaker drone on and on about how we as teachers needed to be facilitative instructors instead of lecturers (but they lecture us to tell us that). Afterwards, as we would wait for the bus back to the hotel, I'd be continuously running up and down a flight of steps enjoying the sunshine and being OUTSIDE moving around. "Yep Greg, we can tell you've been pent up too long."

[gruntbrain]

Mindless Heavybag punching offers stress relief & can get ya psyched to perform necessary mind focused intense stuff

[Royce]

In my view, a very high percentage of people truly are totally fatigued by the stress of everyday life. And if the situation continues over a long period of time, chronic illness is likely to occur. Furthermore, there are, indeed, people that I call low energy types. These individuals under the best of circumstances only have limit energy levels. In large part, this seems to be hereditary.

Regardless of how much energy a person naturally has, energy flow can be blocked.

According to Qi Gong doctrine, illness occurs when there is blockage of chi flow.

When someone is severely fatigued from mental stress, the first order of the day is to reduce the stress. Exercise can be part of the equation for reducing stress, but it’s only a part.

In my opinion, other strategies are usually required. And one of my favorite approaches involves meridian tapping—a kind of acupressure. After the stress, is reduced, there will be far and away more energy available for healthy exercise.

If one’s energy stores are at a critically low level, exercise is injurious to the body.

But a lot of people simply won’t follow a sensible regimen of stress reduction. And some of these people seem to enjoy the stress in a perverted way. They seem to get a kind of emotional “high” from it.