Philly Personal Training Blog

Whether you’re just starting a training program or have been a fitness fanatic for years, you’ve probably experienced an “exercise high,” the feeling of exhilaration a lot of people experience during or after exercise. It’s brought on by the release of hormones called endorphins that serve as natural pain relievers in the brain. It’s those same endorphins that can make exercise feel addictive, sometimes making it difficult to take a much-needed break. Exercise activates the pleasure centers in the brain by releasing dopamine, a neurotransmitter. When experiencing an endorphin high, also called runner’s high, the intense exercise activates the endorphins, which signal the release of dopamine. Yes, repeated activation of dopamine has some risk of addiction, but that’s not to suggest exercise isn’t good for you. In addition to its long list of health benefits, exercise can also serve as a natural anti-depressant. But as with most things, too much of a good thing can be bad, so it’s import...

Everyone wants to get more done in a day, and with our hectic lives, sleep is usually the first activity to be sacrificed. The Better Sleep Council estimates that 70 percent of Americans aren’t getting enough sleep—a scary fact considering that too little sleep has been linked to everything from memory loss and other serious cognitive issues to an increased risk for osteoporosis and cancer. But the truth of the matter is that sleep is free, so you should take all you can get. More importantly, it’s an essential part of fitness and exercise, yet it’s very often overlooked. It’s true: While training and nutrition can help create a fit physique, so can sleep. Here’s how. How Sleep Affects Performance and Cravings A small study conducted by the Stanford University Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Laboratory followed a group of athletes over a three-week period. They did nothing different but increase their sleep and saw marked improvements in performance, includi...