Good afternoon!

I just finished a very tasty lunch, but I’ll save the pictures and description for WIAW tomorrow!

Moves

Before I dug into lunch, I was fortunate enough to get in a great workout at the gym. Ever since my sleepless night on Sunday, I’ve been having a little bit of anxiety and restlessness even during the day. I was thinking of trying to take a nap before lunch, but my heart was beating really fast, and it didn’t seem like I was going to be relaxing any time soon. So despite my mild sleepiness, I decided to take advantage of my racing heart and headed to the gym. I started with 20 minutes on the elliptical, during which my anxiety was still present, and it was sort of unpleasant to have an extra fast heart rate, but I tried not to think about it.

Then I hopped off and completed another one of Michelle’s intense workouts (You can get a better view of the exercises if you click on the picture):

She doesn’t call it a challenge for nothing! I love workouts that incorporate both strength and cardio because it gets my heart rate up quickly and keeps things interesting. For this workout, I followed the weight suggestions for the most part, but I added/increased weights for some exercises and omitted/decreased weights for others. For instance, weighted leg lifts?? Humorous. I’m sure somebody was laughing at my attempt to do that. Leg lifts are hard enough for me as is!

And uh, I’m convinced Michelle is insanely hard core because I don’t know how I’m supposed to finish this twice through in 30 minutes. I barely took rests and I completed one round in almost 30 minutes!  Or you can just call me slow. Same with this workout of hers that I did a week ago–3 rounds would be death.

Anyway, I’m feeling quite a bit better after sweatin’ it out!

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This may not apply to everyone, every day, but it applied to my anxious self today!

I’m very thankful that God has given me the opportunity and ability to move and get some endorphins flowing. For anyone who struggles with insomnia or anxiety, or any moms and dads who are sleep deprived, I’ve been thinking about you these past few days. Not being able to sleep or relax is not fun at all. I’m praying for you! ❤

Have a nice rest of the day!

So tell me: Does exercise ever help you deal with stress or anxiety? What is your favorite type of exercise (strength, cardio, circuits, dance, etc.)?