If there is one thing I have learned, and am continuing to learn, is that stress is a reoccurrence, almost every single day. With stress from school, relationships, and work all jammed into one brain, it is so difficult to feel mentally and physically healthy at all times. It was hard adjusting to a new life to begin with, so stress on top of the adjustment is so tough to maintain. The thought of working out and going to the gym is not something that many people want to hear after they are committed to being a stressed out college student 24/7. However, if you find what works for you, you may even enjoy working out because it could be a stress reliever.
This past March, kickboxing was mentioned many times to me. Everyone said it was such a great stress reliever because you get to punch all class, while getting more and more fit every day that passes. At first, I did not believe them. It may relieve my stress short-term, but it is not going to get me in shape and bring me to the body that I want. It was going to relieve my stress for the hour long class, but right when I get back on to campus, I was mentally going to be back where I was before I went into the car to go to class.
Not only was I wrong about getting in shape, I was wrong about it bringing me to a mentally healthy mindset. Kickboxing works EVERY part of your body. It works your core, your abs, your arms, your legs; literally every body part you can think of, you are deemed to be sore in the next day. I don’t know about you guys but I love being sore in places I would have never thought to work out in the first place. Being sore makes me realize that what I was doing in class truly was working and it will eventually make a difference on my body.
In addition to the physical aspects, it heals you mentally. With all of the other stresses in your life, it is really difficult to maintain a healthy mindset. Not being in your regular, and healthy, mindset drives stress to constantly be pouring out of you. By punching and forgetting about everything for one hour, kickboxing has the ability to turn you into a stronger person, both mentally and physically.
Before you dismiss the idea of working out to relieve your stress, remember how good you feel after a workout, and don’t forget that feeling. If you constantly have this feeling running through your body, you will have the ability to convince yourself that in order to live a mentally and physically healthy lifestyle, you need to commit to something athletic, and that something might just be kickboxing.