Life Stress

It is funny how conversations seem to travel in gangs. You know that thing where you have a conversation and then out of the blue is seems like you have the same conversation with a couple of other people, like they were all thinking the same thing and decided to all ask you at the same time. Perhaps there is a memo system that I am missing. Anyway, that has happened a bit in the last two weeks.

The conversation that I have been having is about family stress the the impact it has on sport.

When it comes to the interaction of sport and life I wear my heart on my sleeve, life comes first. I am not sure how many times I have told athletes that. In sport consistency is very important, but if it is a choice between sport and divorce then the right answer if fairly obvious. No matter how much we want to train and how much we want to do a race, sometimes the demands and stress of life come first.

I will admit though that sometimes it isn't as clear cut as that. Sport definitely has a part to play in helping you feel good and relieve stress. Sometimes when life is getting you down one of the best things you can do is get out the door and do some exercise, my run last Tuesday was just like that, I sure as heck pounded out some frustration, feeling better for the effort. The value of exercise in helping you feel better about life should not be underestimated. When you are feeling on the edge exercise may be just what you need.

However, for me the line is when going out and doing that exercise is just going to make the stress worse. The extra time commitment of training may be stretching an important relationship to breaking point. Or you may be trying to hold yourself to a training program while life is falling a part around you. In these cases a training program may be an extra stress/aggravation you could do without. Perhaps the best thing for you would be to put the program to one side for a while, do exercise as and when it fits into your life and just concentrate on getting things back on an even keel. Once life is rolling along again nicely then perhaps then that might be the time for a program. Making that choice might mean giving up on a race or some other plan, but in the bigger picture it might be what you need for a while.

In the end exercise is meant to be an enjoyable addition to our lives, something we do to enhance our time. Exercise shouldn't be a burden and stress to us or those around us, life gives us enough of those without us choosing to add to them. If exercise crosses that line, from enhancing life to detracting from it, then it may be time to re-examine just why and how you are doing it and consider making a change for a while.