Inspiring GQ thread which I didn’t want to hijack.
I definitely do, tho I need to take my shower first and wait about half an hour first for it to kick in.
Not every time, but usually. Mostly if I’m already exhausted going in to a workout, I’m not going to feel too great coming out. If I got my eight hours last night, though, a cardio workout at lunch will give me a great energy boost for the rest of the afternoon.
I used to experience this when I was more active. We called it ‘The Pump’ back then. First time for me I was about 20 years old and after a rigorous session with free weights and machines I foolishly thought I might be experiencing a heart attack. To my surprise, after catching my breath I felt great and was able to go to and bench press more reps than I ever had before.
I never have, not even at my fittest. I didn’t know it was a real thing, for a long time, actually.
I seldom did. I tended to run at near maximal aerobic pace and needed to focus on maintaining effort and pace.
It was only when I ran long at moderate or easy pace that I felt any kind of high though for me it was more of a feeling of disconnecting from the run. Just let the body go automatic and “float”.
A bicycle ride at the same moderate or easy effort produced no such effect. Probably because of having to focus on traffic.
Always felt good after, though.
The “no” answer in this poll is overly dramatic. After a long run, I ache in various places but I don’t feel like shit. There’s a feeling of satisfaction – similar to what I’d have after any strenuous activity, but that feeling has nothing to do with any kind of euphoria.
Yes. Regularly.
No, I’ve never felt a runner’s high. I just do it anyway, hating it.
I don’t feel a runner’s high because I don’t run. But I do walk a lot, and I do get something of a “high” out of it sometimes.
I voted “Quite Often”. Sometimes I go into a work out tired and come out energized, sometimes I just have a miserable workout. But more often than not, other than some amount of physical exhaustion and perhaps a few aches, I usually feel better.
That said, I do feel that a runner’s high and a pump are two distinct feelings that can be conflated by people that either only experience one or don’t work out. I’ve never gotten a pump from cardio, but I will get it from weight training, particularly after complex movements, like squats or deadlifts, or from doing some heavy sets of other exercises, notably various presses like bench, shoulder, or leg press. Part of the feeling is an emotional and mental “HELL YEAH!” and my muscles feel full of blood and energy, the look and feel bigger. For lack of a better analogy, it’s sort of like the afterglow of an orgasm. I don’t do drugs, but if I were to guess, it’d be akin to taking some kind of upper.
On the other hand, the runner’s high tends to come from more cardiovascular workouts. I can occasionally get it from longer weight training, particularly if I’m doing super sets. But more often, I’ll get it from some nice intense, but not too intense, and medium to longer session of cardio. Even if I start out somewhat tired, it can start rough, but it’s that whole “second wind” that will tend to kick in around 15-20 minutes in. It’s particularly stark because it feels like out of nowhere the exhaustion fades and I just have more energy. It also gives just a general sense of euphoria and calmness, almost like an active meditation. So, again, using a drug analogy while not having done them, I’d guess this is more like having a depressant and what I expect the
Now, of course, it is possible to get both at the same time, and those are the awesomest of work outs, but that doesn’t happen often. I had one just recently, where squats felt particularly good one day so I had a nice pump, I supersetted some other leg exercises and did some medium cardio afterward. I was physically exhausted and just sort of collapsed on the couch when I got home, but I still felt fantastic.
The only times I get something close to a runner’s high is when I’m doing long runs, which for me is 8+ miles. Usually during a long run I get to a point where I’m just happily trucking along, and I feel like I can keep it up forever. It’s not really euphoria, just kind of a nice feeling of well-being. It never happens with my shorter runs.
But I haven’t done a long run in a while so I put “rarely”.
Yes, all the time. Heck, sometimes I only exercise to get a high and have a few enjoyably floaty hours.
I can get different flavors of high depending on the type of exercise - swimming adds a whole 'nother level because of the oxygen deprivation. (I swim an intense breaststroke.)
Rarely, on really intense exercise, I get a total high where I lose body sensation - my mind separates and exists on its own. I’ve come close to seriously hurting myself a time or two during those, since I don’t feel - well, anything.
Back when I was in The Army I could run at a 7:30 mile pace pretty much until you told me to stop. Never experienced any kind of euphoria as a result of even a very hard run, except in the sense I was relieved I could stop now. I think most people are capable of sustained, hard work. But only a highly visible few actually enjoy it.
Never, and I feel utter shit when doing exercise and for a spell after.
Yep, that.
I even went so far as to feel endorphin withdrawal on those days when I couldn’t get a run in. I hated running when I first started doing it, but as soon as it become comfortable, it was euphoric on a regular basis.
I’m usually happy right after the gym because it’s time to go to the bar. And about half an hour after that I feel awesome.
I think the post workout buzz will be adrenaline ? Somewhat different to the cannabinoid runner’s high ? CMIIW ?
Well, you didn’t define “runner’s high” in the OP, so I clicked on the related thread, and that didn’t define runner’s high, so I clicked on the article in the related thread, which refers to a “fleeting sense of calm and euphoria.” So I ultimately selected the “something else” option.
Working out feels good. There’s something about getting blood flowing to a previously sedentary body that feels good. It makes me feel healthier, more productive, stronger and more capable. I know that I’m doing something good for my body, and my body feels better from having gotten the blood flowing. (Granted, there are exceptions, particularly grueling workouts push my body so hard that there’s no sense of feeling good.)
But I wouldn’t go so far as to call it euphoric. It’s not some magical mental state, it’s more akin to the feeling of stepping outside on a pleasant day and breathing fresh air, when previously you had been breathing recirculated air. Which I guess does feel pretty close to euphoric, so upon reflection, maybe I should have selected the “Quite often” option. But it looks like I’m stuck with my original answer, now that I’ve voted.
I feel good after I exercise, but I’ve only felt what I can only describe as a blissful high a few times. It’s hard to describe. It’s like you leave your body.