Dread working out? Don't force it.
If you dread your workouts, you may not be getting all of the benefits for which you're torturing yourself. A number of studies point toward an inverse relationship between exercise benefits and the psychological stress associated with being forced to exercise.
MORE: How to Fall in Love With Fitness
The studies, using rats, make a distinction between voluntary exercise and forced exercise. In voluntary exercise groups, the rats engage in "free wheel running." They have running wheels in their cages, and they can get on and off at will and run at whatever speeds suit them. They exercise when and how they want to. The forced exercise groups engage in "forced treadmill running." This training requires the rats to run when, how long and how fast the experimenters choose. They often have to be prodded using negative stimuli.
The result? As you might expect, both groups burned calories and improved fitness levels. However, differences appear in psychological behavior
Read More »from How Exercise Could Be Making You Unhealthy







