“Wow, I actually feel better than when I walked in,” exclaimed an individual concluding a training session. Geno had just finished his initial consultation, in which we conducted a physical assessment and gathered information to build a customized fitness program. As Geno exited the studio, the weather presented an ominous gray, gloomy, and rainy day. Not only was Geno slightly stressed due to a combination of work travel and personal stress, but he was also dealing with pain in his lower back that impeded him from performing his favorite recreational physical activity of bowling. Geno felt like a little black cloud was following him around that didn’t just bring rain and a frigid climate to his world but also made him feel like he was down in the dumps due to his current situation. However, after he completed a small series of movements to activate the musculature of his lower back and hips, that little black cloud seemed to fade away along with his lower back pain. His eyes opened, and he started telling funny stories about his friends at the bowling alley. Indeed, Geno felt better at the end of this brief exercise assessment than when he walked.
February and March of 2023 have been rainy months. Even though Napa has one of the world’s most temperate and desirable climates, these last two months have given us a reality check of what everyday life might be like in Portland, Oregon or Seattle. The amount of rain we’ve been blessed with sets us up for success in the future. However, the gray sky, lack of sunshine, chilly temperatures, and wet ground can give rise to feeling confined. The desire to venture outside our cozy, warm, and dry homes isn’t the first thought running through our minds when another bomb cyclone, atmospheric river, or meteorological phenomenon is set to roll over our town. Add a dash of twenty-five to thirty mile per hour winds, and remaining behind the framing and walls of our houses seems like a more desirable scenario.
Sunny days inspire us to take walks, dabble in chores in our backyards, and engage in outdoor sports activities. Unfortunately, the lack of this preferred climate puts a roadblock to participating in our hobbies outside. For those of us who perform work in an office, work from home in a home office setting, or commute for hours on long highways, the barricade cold and damp weather imposes upon us can induce ominous thoughts, accumulate frustration, and increase stress levels. Without an outlet to participate in the outdoor activities we cherish, pent-up restlessness and stress can present suboptimal experiences.
The good news is there is a solution to some of these issues of temporary weather-imposed confinement: exercise. For those who work from home, conducting administrative work via looking at a computer screen or even a tiny cell phone screen can be increased due to the lack of outdoor walk breaks or lunch meetings. In addition, as a method to intervene with the lack of usual recess sunny days offers us, we can reserve some time for brief bouts of indoor exercise.
Reserving time for exercise creates an environment where we put our phones down, step away from the computer screens, and focus solely on ourselves. As people get past the first few minutes of exercise, the focus becomes centered on the effort and concentration needed to perform the challenging movements exercise requires.
Taking a Peloton class? You better hold onto the handles of that bike and listen to the instructor’s cues from the app. If you have a phone in your hand, you might fall off the bike and fail to keep up. Doing a set of planks? Looks like you won’t be able to text your co-worker about that deadline. It can wait. In a Yoga class? If I were you, I’d put that phone on silent and stash it in the depths of your gym bag. Better yet, leave it in the lobby on the other side of the classroom door. It will be there when you return. If your ringtone goes off in a Yoga class setting, you will endure the wrath of an entire class’s worth of eyes scorning your presence.
After completing as little as ten reps of squats or as long as a thirty-minute Pilates class, a feeling of victory courses through our body because we’re relieved of that period of rigor exercise is finished. This feeling of post-exercise elation is the exact opposite of the “let me out” scenario we endure on damp, dreary, and rainy days. Additionally, research supports exercise physiologically supports our mood and positive outlook in our everyday lives. Physicians, psychologists, and the literature of peer-reviewed exercise physiology journals recommend exercise to reduce stress due to the positive endorphins the body experiences, an increase in circulating serotonin and dopamine, and a decrease in excess cortisol and similar stress hormones following the completion of a workout. Furthermore, indoor exercise routines performed on a rainy day impart muscular adaptations to support the outdoor physical activities we engage in when the sun peaks its head out.
The gray and chilly gloom is almost over. Sun and blue skies will soon illuminate the ground the rain has been kind enough to clean off for us. We need to hold it together until that day comes. Step away from the hustle and bustle of indoor work activities and reserve some time for indoor exercise. By staying happy, healthy, and strong throughout these winter months, we can take full advantage of the warmer days in one of the world’s most beautiful areas.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
