Ever wonder what is going on in the body while you sweat it out? The euphoric feelings during and after exercise, as well as the muscle soreness that might just come a day later, don’t just appear magically.

Our body is made up of millions of chemical reactions, which result in different physical and mental feelings. Take a look at some of the top hormones and chemicals that are released when you workout.

Endorphins – These chemicals are released by your pituitary gland, which is located in the base of your brain. Endorphins make you feel exhilarated and happy and block any feelings of pain, so you can power through any discomfort caused by exercising.

Dopamine – Dopamine is a pleasure chemical. Working out regularly helps to keep those dopamine levels up in order to keep overeating and weight gain at bay. Dopamine is often associated with orgasms. Working out helps stimulate the production of dopamine, and increased levels of dopamine combined with core, quads, thighs, and pelvic muscle exercises may result in a “coregasm.”

Serotonin – A chemical responsible for happiness, restful sleep, and a healthy appetite, serotonin levels will increase if you work out regularly. Serotonin works with endorphins to make working out a pleasurable activity. In addition, more serotonin means more energy and clearer thinking.

Exercise makes us feel good, feeling good makes us happier. When you’re feeling down, or tired, or just don’t want to do it, remember how good it feels when it’s done…then get up and knock it out! You’ll be so much happier that you did!

Day 3 exercises: Full Body – 2 sets of 10

****Click here for how to videos****

• Clean and Press
• Soldier Twist
• Primal Crawl
• Yes Kick

Bonus: Burpees – 2 sets of 10 – I can hear the groans from here…but we all know that burpees are the best full body conditioning exercise we can do. Knock out 2 sets of 10 to get your heart rate up and your whole body moving!

Speed Work: This weeks speed work out is fun and doable for EVERYONE! 5 miles total with 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down. Then 3 miles of pushing the pace with short rests in between each half mile. You CAN do this!

Workout: 6 x 800 meters (.5 mile)

1. 1 mile warm up
2. .5 mile sprint x 6 with :90 rest
3. 1 mile cool down

Don’t start out too fast. You should be running at around your 10K pace which means you still have some gas in the tank after each round. Take a look at our speed chart and use the 5K effort then add :10-:15 to each interval and multiply by 2. This is how long it should take you to run each half mile. Keep your pace steady and try to keep each interval at around the same pace.

If you do a run/walk (like me), bust out each half mile without walking. If you need to slow down a tad to make that happen, that’s ok. These intervals will help train your body to go a little farther than you’re used too, and will increase your oxygen intake helping you to become a more efficient runner. Stop thinking about it…just go out and try!

Working out is not just something to do to make up better runners. Working out makes us healthier and happier people. So whatever excuse is creeping into your mind today…push it aside and get moving! I promise you’ll be happy you did!

Make it a great Monday Crew! 🙂