Supposedly a good workout releases endorphins, and that some people get addicted to it.
I’ve been working out for some time now, and though I love working out, feel better about myself, have lost weight, yada yada yada, I’ve never felt anything resembling a high after a workout. I’ve been high before, and it feels awesome. After working out I feel more like I’ve been run over by a bus.
So is this “high” something that only certain people experience? Or am I really getting a high, it’s just masked by all the pain and wheezing?
Well, I know a lot of people have said that they see it less as a high and more like, it feels good after, or feels weird if they skip too many days in between. I’m not sure if what I’ve felt qualified as a runner’s high since I’m not exactly a marathon runner. I just know it feels good. I don’t think it’s comparable to being high–I’ve never felt anything like that before. Though to be honest, running feels better to me than being high. Natural high? Hmmm.
it seems to happen to me after breaking through the wall, you get tired and winded and want to quit real bad and then you suddenly feel OK and can keep going. it happened when you stop being strongly winded, you can still talk all though breathing heavily.
some may get it stronger than others, lots of variation in people. you might not release as much chemicals or you might not have as many receptors for it. keep doing aerobic workouts and try more each time.
I trained for and ran in several 1/2 marathons. It was great feeling of accomplishment (even at my slow pace). I was the fat kid who walked the mile during gym class. In all my time training an running, I never once felt anything but tired. Proud? Sure. Amazed? Definitely. High? Not even a buzz.
Frankly, if I felt at all high when I exercise, I’d stop immediately and do my best Sanford impression… “Oh lordy! I’m comin’ to join you Elizabeth!”
When I started running, I was suffering from depression. The effect of a 30-min run was to all-but get rid of the depression for 2-3 hours.
When I came out of depression, the effect was that I felt extra positive and contented for that time period.
But then I started training for a 10k race, and the difference between a 30 minute run and a 1 hour run was astonishing. After a 1-hour run it felt like I’d huffed a couple of lines of pure-grade Colombian marching powder.
I’ve had it many times - I tend to grumble and be unenthusiastic for that first mile or so, then after a bit I find that I’m hitting my rhythm and my mood really improves, I’m good for the next 10-20 miles. It’s not dramatic like the clouds part and trumpets blare but it’s just a nice lifting of my spirits and I feel refreshed and energetic.
<Quote> It’s as satisfying to me as, uh, coming is, you know? As, ah, having sex with a woman and coming. And so can you believe how much I am in heaven? I am like, uh, getting the feeling of coming in a gym, I’m getting the feeling of coming at home, I’m getting the feeling of coming backstage when I pump up, when I pose in front of 5,000 people, I get the same feeling, so I am coming day and night. I mean, it’s terrific. Right? So you know, I am in heaven. <End Quote>
I think of it as those moments when I’m able to push through what until that point has been sort of a limit for me, when I suddenly realize ‘wait- I don’t really feel tired anymore, I’m not breathing heavy, and I feel like I could do this all day!’ It doesn’t happen on every run, but when I’m training for a marathon, I have several of these experiences as I push myself to another training goal.
Hmm, it really does seem like there are two definitions here. One seems pysiological - the ‘second wind’ effect. What I’m describing is psychological and happens afterwards. Certainly the research that indicates that an endorphin burst does indeed occur tested subjects afterwards. Though this NYT article indicates that the endorphins also contribute to endurance.
Yes, afterwards, but never during. I don’t run anymore, but after a particularly difficult set of deadlifts or squats I feel shaky and high. I feel a slight euphoria, and while I’m aware of the discomfort it doesn’t really bother me.
Pulling up in my car to my favorite running path, literally in tears due to a very recent bad break-up. Get out, sigh, run a bit… feel great. Get back in car when over. Resume crying.
I have always been painfully shy and extremely introverted… so much that I rarely strike up a conversation with strangers or anything similar. My favorite path ran by a golf course. After a good 3 miles or so, I caught myself yelling out “woo hoo!” to a couple of golfers on the other side of the fence in my winded euphoria.
So for me it was never really a second wind, just… well… a high. Swimming, walking, doing aerobics or playing racquetball, while pleasant, usually, never produced the same effect!
I get the “runner’s high” after working out and that is probably half the reason I exercise daily (well, maybe not half, more like a 1/3). It’s very similar to an mild opiate high and lasts about 1 - 2 hours after working out. The more I extend myself during the session, the greater the “high”.
I always assumed it was from endorphins being released to deal with the pain of recovery and that everyone felt it, but from reading this thread it looks like I’m in the minority.
It’s just that after a certain point you push yourself past a perceived limit and then suddenly working out seems so much easier like you could go forever.
I’ve never felt the runners high either, even after any kind of workout, not just running. My husband and a good friend certainly do - we three had a very detailed conversation about it once.
I have felt “second wind” where my feet sudddenly feel light. But that isn’t a “high” as such.
I think there is something to the idea that some people just don’t feel it, even if we push ourselves to the same level as other who do.
I wouldn’t say that I feel high, but after a good workout I tend to say “I feel great!” a lot. Because I do! I associate feeling high with feeling foggy and relaxed. I just feel smiley and happy.
Second wind, yes. Or when just the right song comes on. That? No.