What do I know about Depression?

From a clinical standpoint, not much.

However I do understand that depression is a very common and serious medical illness that can negatively effect how a person feels, the way that they think, and even how they act. Depression can also cause sadness and/or loss of interest in activities once enjoyed.

Now even though I would not consider myself to be a depressed individual, I have recently loss interest in an activity that I very much enjoy – Working Out. I believe the reason for my disinterest in the gym though stems from my recent fitness competition that I just completed last weekend. You see, up until the day of my competition, I pretty much spent the majority of my waking hours in the gym. Between my resistance training workouts, my cardiovascular training workouts and all the other workouts that I take our clients and small group classes through on a daily basis, I basically lived in the gym for the past month. And as much as I enjoy my job and as much as I look forward to lifting some heavy ass weights while performing hours upon hours of endless cardiovascular sessions on the treadmill, my body and my mind NEEDS a break…….from EXERCISE!!!!!

Exercise….The Cure for Depression?

Wait a minute…..Isn’t exercise good for dealing with depression? Doesn’t exercise increase blood flow to the brain and release endorphins, which as we all know are the body’s very own natural antidepressants. Well yes, working out regularly and other forms of physical activity can definitely ease symptoms of depression or anxiety and make you feel better. And multiply studies have shown that exercise can even help keep depression and anxiety episodes from reoccurring. However there’s one problem with this fact – My current feelings of burn out and depression have been caused by too much exercise. Therefore it only makes sense that performing more of it would only cause additional negative feelings, wouldn’t it?

Burnt Out Bodybuilder

So what’s a burnt out bodybuilder to do? I reached out to some of my fellow meatheads in the gym to gather some of their opinions on the subject, however they just told me to stop bitching and start lifting. When I asked my friends and family what to do, they told me to take a break from the gym. But when I ask myself what I should do, I’m left with conflicting thoughts.

Post-Contest Depression

It’s no secret that I work with quite a few fitness competitors both in person and online. But as our online business continues to grow, I’m now finding myself working with more and more individuals who are interested in getting in the best shape of their lives for a special event and/or occasion. In the past, our online services were geared primarily towards athletes who were training for a specific sport or contest and now I find myself working with everyday women who want to enhance their physiques by developing lean,  hard muscles and everyday men who want to shed their belly fat while adding on some impressive size and shape to their own muscular frames.

I absolutely love working with a variety of people who all have different goals and reasons for why they want to become more healthy and fit. It keeps my job interesting and I take all of our clients’ goals equally seriously. However when training for a specific event, contest or special occasion, I always warn all of our clients to prepare themselves for the end date and to develop an exit strategy.

Check out part 2 of my two-part blog – “Developing an Exit Strategy…..Part 2″ next week to find out what exactly that exit strategy is.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance