It’s well known that there is a strong connection between your mood and exercise. Exercise can positively affect your mood, but your mood can impact your workout, too. Chances are that you might want to skip your daily workout if you’re feeling stressed, angry, or sad.
However, when you’re feeling a certain way, it helps to choose a workout that matches your mood. So whether you’re feeling up or down, embrace that feeling and try one of these workouts based on your mood.
1. Try Boxing When You’re Feeling Angry
Whether you’re raging from a bad day at work or triggered by your noisy upstairs neighbor, anger can be used to fuel your next workout. Boxing is possiblythe best anger-busting workout to blow off steam, as you may use it to release your angry energy by throwing some furious punches, jabs, and crosses.
You can skip the boxing studio and box in your living room usingBoxVR. BoxVR is a virtual reality game that has a simple premise—throw punches at targets to the beat of the music.
What’s more, BoxVR allows you to monitor your calories after each workout. And if you’re not burning enough, you may even purchase add-ons like the Extreme Pack which includes advanced, hardcore boxing workouts.
2. Try Walking When You’re Feeling Sad
As stated in astudy from The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, walking can significantly reduce depressive symptoms. So when you want tostay active when you’re feeling down, skip the intense workout and instead opt for a relaxed walk where you can enjoy nature and the fresh air.
Walk the Distance takes the distance you walk around your neighborhood and converts it into the distance you would have covered if you were navigating global routes like the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail. Plus, you may virtually walk through other places like national parks, and cities, and compete in marathons.
Alternatively, there are indoor walking apps like BitGym if you need tomaintain your fitness when you’re stuck inside.
Download:Walk the Distance foriOS|Android(Free, subscription available)
3. Try Dancing When You’re Feeling Lazy
When you’re in a lazy mood the last thing you’d likely want to do is exercise, but that’s where dancing comes into the picture. Dancing is an excellent way to stay fit because of its level of fun and creativity.
you may dance yourself fit using the diverse library of over 1,000 online dance classes fromCLI Studios. Are you still a beginner at dancing and merely want to enjoy yourself?
Don’t stress, dance classes from CLI Studios come in a variety of styles and skill levels. What’s more, CLI Studios' videos offer advanced controls such as speed control and mirror video controls to make it easier to follow along with your instructor.
4. Try Yoga When You’re Feeling Stressed
Results from thisstudy in the International Journal of Yogashow that yoga can reduce stress. Don’t leave your stress unchecked, use an online platform likeYoga Anytimeto embrace yoga and take advantage of its stress-relieving benefits.
With over 3,000 classes covering yoga styles like Vinyasa, Kundalini, and Ashtanga, Yoga Anytime is your ultimate at-home yoga studio. Besides the classes, there are fun yoga challenges and curated yoga “shows” that are all guided by a selection of experienced yogis.
The best part is that Yoga Anytime provides a free trial if you want to check out the various yoga content before signing up.
5. Try HIIT When You’re Feeling Energetic
HIIT is essentially an intense, fast-paced, heart-pumping workout that consists of short bursts of exercise and recovery.
That’s why HIIT is the perfect workout if you’re feeling extra energetic, as you can take advantage of that fire and put it to good use. The HIIT Down Dog app offers thousands of different workout combinations, so you can avoid the same old workout routine.
What makes this app special is that it can put a HIIT workout together for you based on what you want to do, whether that’s a fat-burning tabata class to electro-dance music or a circuit core HIIT workout session with extra guidance and encouragement.
Download:HIIT Down Dog foriOS|Android(Free, subscription available)
6. Try Hiking When You’re Feeling Anxious
On days when you’re feeling anxious, it’s best to try something that helps you process your anxiety like hiking. Hiking Project can help you discover the best hiking routes in your surrounding area, or you can record your own custom hikes. For extra safety, make sure to download your chosen hiking trails on Hiking Project, so you can use them to navigate offline.
Keep in mind that hiking can bring about anxiety instead of easing it if you attempt to do a trail that’s above your skill level. It’s best to steer clear of anything too tricky and use Hiking Project to find suitable hiking trails based on their rating, features, and length.
Download:Hiking Project foriOS|Android(Free)
7. Try Jogging When You’re Feeling Lonely
If you’re overcome with loneliness, avoid exercising indoors because it may make you feel more isolated. Jogging is one of the best exercises to combat loneliness, as it can encourage you to get outdoors and possibly meet new people.
Whether your goal is totry a beginner couch to 5K programor train for an intense marathon event, the Runna app has you covered. This app builds tailor-made running programs where you can actively track your training as the weeks progress.
That being said, Runna is also an awesome app if you want to join a friendly community of other runners from around the world.
Download:Runna foriOS|Android(Free, subscription available)
8. Try Weightlifting When You’re Feeling Happy
Are you in an especially happy mood? Now is the time to push yourself! Welcome those feel-good hormones with something more challenging like weightlifting. However, lifting weights in front of gym-goers might not be your cup of tea.
For that reason,smart, muscle-building weight training deviceslikeBowflex’s SelectTechmight be your best bet if you want to weight train from home. SelectTech offers various smart dumbbells, kettlebells, and a barbell—all with adjustable weights. What’s more, there are even weight-training accessories like benches and stands available to build out your home gym.
Be sure to download the companion app, JRNY, along with your SelectTech dumbbells, so you may use it to track your reps, time, and form in real time.
There’s a Workout to Match Whatever Mood You’re In
Moods are a completely natural part of life. From anger and loneliness to laziness and happiness, people can go through a range of moods during the week and each day.
That’s why, if exercising is an important part of your schedule, it’s best to embrace all of your moods—the good and the bad. Fortunately, tech can lend you a helping hand when you’re choosing the right workout based on your mood.
