Here I go again....

I know I’ve written a lot of blogs about what it feels like to start training again after a long break. But I don’t think anything quite measures up to level of pitiful state my body had reached when I got back on the treadmill and hit the weights once again this week. Two months of holidaying in Norway, with the country's delicious food, drinks, and not to mention (lots of!) wedding cake, followed by an even more sinful two-week stay in Florence takes its toll on muscles and heart. The uplifting thing, though, is how incredibly thankful your body becomes when you do decide to treat it to some cardio and muscular exercise again. All is forgotten; the pimples disappear, the joint aches vanish, and the concentration of your mind is suddenly top notch once more. 

Today, I managed to do TEFL, university work, the kitchen tidy-up sorely needed, bake cinnamon buns, Skype with my oldest friend, go to the shops, and still write this blog. This fascinates me. Particularly because last week, when I hadn’t started working out yet, I struggled with an hour and a half of study in the morning. After this ordeal, I felt tired, exhausted, and uninterested in any other form of physical or mental exercise. That knot of stress and unease in my chest was still very much alive, and the first thing I did in the morning was worry about how I was going to finish everything I needed to do during the day.  Keep in mind, this was just seven days ago. 

Now, fast forward to the amount of stuff I got done today. And the fact that my brain is still capable of writing this blog with some coherence. I know there have been studies done on all this, and I probably seem like a bit of a dimwit for saying it, but exercise seriously enhances your physical and psychological state of well-being! I cannot reiterate enough how wrong people who say exercise will make you more tired really are. It’s a flat-out lie. These people, they’re lying to you. Their argument is like doctors' recommending heroin to prevent a nasty cough in the early 20th century. Heroin is bad for you, and exercise makes you more energetic, joyful, and capable of doing whatever it is you need to do the day after your exercise. Can I get an “endorphins”, anyone? I’m off to make dinner now.