Exercise Boosts Serotonin, Norepinephrine and Your Body's Stress Response
Exercise has undeniable positive effects on your mood, with anxiety reduction key among them.This is what keeps many devoted exercisers coming back for more.A study by Princeton University researchers revealed that exercising creates new, excitable neurons along with new neurons designed to release the GABA neurotransmitter, which inhibits excessive neuronal firing, helping to induce blissful feelings and a natural state of calm.1
The Benefits of Competitiveness
Are you a competitive person? If so, tapping into that competitive spirit may be the key you've been looking for if you're still struggling to get to the gym on a regular basis.According to researchers, people who were primed for competition ended up participating in 90 percent more exercise classes than those who weren't. As reported by Time magazine:2
"Friendly social support makes you work out less often, while cutthroat competition is the key to motivating yourself to get to the gym."
Social Support Versus Competition
Nearly 800 University of Pennsylvania students participated in this study.3 Researchers put them through an 11-week-long exercise program consisting of spinning, yoga, Pilates and strength training classes.Participants either worked out alone, or exercised as part of a team that was either socially supportive or competitive. In the competitive team group, participants were assigned five random buddies. Each person could track the others' progress, but had no social interactions.
In the supportive team group, in addition to tracking each other's progress, participants could also chat and/or meet up at classes to support and encourage each other.
Those who worked out alone were also divided into two groups, where some could compare their own progress to that of other exercisers, while the others had no access to progress information. Winners were determined by the number of classes attended.
Surprisingly, teaming up with others was not the determining factor when it came to winning. It was the level of competitiveness that predicted how many classes an individual or team would attend. Those in the competitive groups participated in 90 percent more classes than the others.
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