Using Anger For a Better Workout

Image Credit: Aturkus

Some people will try to tell you that anger is an unhealthy thing… they are lying.

The truth is that anger can lead to an unhealthy thing if it makes you do something unhealthy. Really, think about it for a moment. How could anger possibly be something unhealthy? Isn’t anger a natural human emotion that every person feels at some point or another in life?

Your natural emotions are never an unhealthy thing. But what you do with them… now that’s another story.

Yin, Yang, and Your Workout

The Chinese are full of good stuff that’s thousands of years old. Take the yin and yang for example. You may have seen the symbol many times in your life, but do you know what it means in your life?

The yin and yang represent two forces. They are two things that are really opposites, but the two opposites fit together in the world we live in. The two forces have to live in harmony with each other. Without this simple harmony comes disorder.

The same thing is true in your own life. Hey, let’s admit it, bad stuff is going to happen no matter what you try to do about it. You’ll never be able to avoid all the jerks in life or people that cut you off while you’re driving. It’s just not possible.

What you have to do instead is learn to balance that anger with a complementary opposite. I can’t even tell you how many days I’ve felt all pent up at work and gotten mad at the stupid stuff people do. That’s alright though, because it’s OK to feel mad.

The people around me will tell you that at that very moment my face will turn bright red. It’s all boiling inside of me when I’ve had a bad day. Guess what I do with it? I hold onto it for a while. It festers and the pressure builds.

A doctor would probably say that this is unhealthy, and that’s right to a certain extent. You can’t hold it in forever without it coming out after a while. But you should avoid an explosion at work or at home if possible.

The point is that you shouldn’t always try to control your anger. You’ll never be able to do that forever. Instead, use that anger as fuel. Let it burn inside of you until you can let that fire out at just the right moment.

If you haven’t already guessed, the right place to let that fire out is in the gym.

Let ‘em burn

A funny thing happens to me when I do my heavy exercises in the gym. It’s like I relive that moment earlier in the day. It all replays perfectly in my head, just the way it happened earlier in the day, except that this time, I get to let it all out.

All those things I wish I said the first time around, all the great comebacks I wish I had… I get to say them all this time. Every possible profanity and obscene comment flows right out of my mind and into the bar I’m pressing.

An incredible surge of energy breaks out of me and helps me to work harder than I ever could otherwise. I can feel the power that comes with releasing my negative energy in just the right place. The anger that could have ruined my day suddenly begins to help me build a stronger body.

I usually bite my lip at this point. Onlookers probably assume I’m biting my lip because the weight is heavy. Yes, the weight is heavy. But the real reason I bite my lip is out of courtesy for that poor old lady outside the gym who’s crossing the street.

If I were to let it all out verbally, it would be so loud that the gym couldn’t possibly contain the explosion. No elderly lady should have to endure hearing such things. Instead, I pour it even more into the bar.

The people around me will tell you that at the very moment I’m finishing my last set of squats, my face turns bright red. This is what the Chinese would refer to as perfect balance in nature. Anger goes in- my face turns red. Anger comes out- same thing happens… a perfect harmony and balance.

Welcome to my world of harmony. This is my yin and my yang.

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Tags: anger, energy, life, lifestyle, motivation, stress, workout