I don’t know about you, but I sure do love getting high!
After all, getting high feels great, amirite?
While it can sometimes lead to risky behavior, I couldn’t be more supportive of you getting high AF.
As you probably already know, exercise releases endorphins. Sure, it can be uncomfortable going all out on a set of kettlebell swings while you’re gassed. But after we finish our workout, we get a sweet, sweet high.
WOWIE ZOWIE, this guy must exercise a LOT, holy cow!!!!
And on balance, this is actually a good thing. Some people never come to love the physical discomfort of training hard. And it can be hard to relate your training session to the other awesome — but more long-term — benefits of fitness. But we all can enjoy the feeling of being accomplished.
And the feeling of… getting f*cking high.
While this is a net positive, we need to be cognizant of the perils. It’s no joke to say you can develop addictive behaviors around your own brain chemistry.
Physical therapist offices are full of people who couldn’t resist the desperate craving of their fix and pushed through warning signs that their joints were less than pleased.
So what should you do? How can you pursue your precious high in a sustainable way?
1) Monitor your volume of cardio activities with the repetitive movement
By all means, if you loooove running, you should totally do it!
(SIDE NOTE: I have a bit of a reputation for being anti-running. I’m not at ALL anti-running. I’m anti-you-doing-things-that-hurt-you-that-you-don’t-even-like-when-your-goals-don’t-require-it. I personally enjoy going for runs and do so semi-regularly. I just don’t do it to “lose weight,” as it’s a subpar strategy at best.)
Activities like running, spinning, rowing, or swimming can be truly awesome elements of your fitness diet. You’ll just want to monitor the total volume to prevent joint overuse injuries.
Now sadly, I have no guidelines to give you, as this is highly individual. But if it hurts, you should stop. Don’t let your fiendin’ justify joint damage because “fitness is healthy.”
We can train your muscles, heart, and brain — and get you high AF — without sending you to physical therapy.
2) Vary your movement patterns
Prioritize fitness activities that vary up your movement, take joints through a full range of motion, and minimize repetitive impact.
This is why good program design is such an important piece of long-term fitness success. Sadly, this isn’t something you can count on with run-of-the-mill group fitness classes or personal trainers. It’s something we take very seriously at MFF because we want to do everything possible to keep you injury-free.
AND ALSO HIGH.
Whether you work out with your friends at MFF or use another fitness solution, you’ll want to keep this in mind.
Want our expertise to take care of this for you so you can get high and stay injury-free?
If you fancy a taste, check out no commitment options for:
3) Take care of your recovery
Proper nutrition and sleep are a big part of the equation here, as they’ll help your body heal. Additionally, regular soft tissue work with a massage therapist or a trusty foam roller can go a long way to love your muscles and keep your joints happy.
And of course, proper warm-ups will heat up your body temperature and coax your joints into a full range of motion. Warm-ups (and cooldowns!) are your friend here. Resist the desire to dive into a vigorous training session without some foreplay!
Last but not least, don’t try to get as high as possible every single time you workout.
It’s important to build in some movement into your life that helps the body recover; even if you don’t get an aggressive endorphins burst. Consider adding in some gentle yoga, lower intensity training sessions, and long walks into your weekly fitness diet.
4) Add nature and/ or friends
Do you know what’s better than getting high alone?? Getting high with friends!
Doing fitness with other people invariably allows you to go harder because you can “draft” off each other in a group setting. It also builds in accountability, and frankly, makes it more enjoyable.
And of course, based on the activity and the climate/ time of year, getting outside is almost always going to be an awesome choice. Whether it be some of the aforementioned walks, doing your workout outside, or going for a vigorous steep hike, there’s something magical about getting your fitness magic outside that just makes the high that much better.
Taking a huge bong rip of sticky, danky fitness,
Mark
PS Two ways to try out MFF: