# How does exercise make you feel? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 1, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939 "2012-07-01T20:50:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/61 "2012-07-02T13:28:41Z")
Tired, achey, depressed and, if I’ve pushed it too far, itchy and covered in hives and anxious as a result. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/62 "2012-07-02T13:36:45Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > Virtuous. That, and a bit smug. Also, there was about a 6 month period where exercise led to some kind of depression - I’d work out hard at the gym and end up trying to not cry my eyes out on the way home and for about an hour after. It was not pleasant. Luckily, I’m not getting whatever that was anymore. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/63 "2012-07-02T13:42:38Z")
I dread doing it, suffer for about the first 10 minutes or so, and then feel awesome afterward. I usually find that the worse I feel before I start, the better I feel afterward. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/64 "2012-07-02T15:18:43Z")
I wouldn’t say that exercise makes me feel anything but missing the chance to exercise with my usual frequency and intensity makes me anxious and upset. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/65 "2012-07-02T15:43:07Z")
Proud of myself, especially if I do something I really didn’t feel like doing in the first place. I always eat healthier afterwards too, like I don’t want to ruin it. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/66 "2012-07-02T16:22:38Z")
I have never felt anything but uncomfortable and dirty after exercise. It is and has always been an unpleasant chore. The only times I have been physically fit is when someone was paying me to exercise (manual labor). I would compare the half-hour following strenuous exercise to having the flue. It is about that level of discomfort. It must be great to have gotten the genes that give you endorphins when you work out. But don’t assume we are all that lucky. While you are getting hits of dopamine the rest of us are just getting exhausted. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/67 "2012-07-02T16:24:44Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > I do get the runner’s high and I can almost pinpoint the moment when it kicks in—it’s almost always between 1-1/2 and 2 miles. I agree with the \*good tired \*and _rejuvenated comments, although when I have a bad run I am often frustrated with myself. For some reason, it takes a lot for me to remember that bad run is better than no run_. > [@Pabitel](#): > > I have never felt anything but uncomfortable and dirty after exercise. It is and has always been an unpleasant chore. The only times I have been physically fit is when someone was paying me to exercise (manual labor). I would compare the half-hour following strenuous exercise to having the flue. It is about that level of discomfort. > > It must be great to have gotten the genes that give you endorphins when you work out. But don’t assume we are all that lucky. While you are getting hits of dopamine the rest of us are just getting exhausted. I didn’t get anything resembling a runner’s high/endorphin kick until I was already in pretty decent shape. It doesn’t kick in for me until I have been running for 40-50 minutes, sometimes more. Needless to say, I spent many non-high hours getting to that point. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/68 "2012-07-02T16:59:23Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > Miserable, depressed, teary, irritable. > [@kittenblue](#): > > Tired, achey, depressed and, if I’ve pushed it too far, itchy and covered in hives and anxious as a result. Good lord. We are talking about _exercising_, right? Not a gang-bang? I can’t help but think some of you are doing something terribly wrong, or maybe not exercising often enough that you begin to improve and don’t get your ass kicked every time. If I’m wrong, I’m sure as hell glad I apparently have “lucky” workout genes. I have good and bad days, but at worst I just feel fatigued and sweaty. Never miserable, depressed, or anxious— in fact quite the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/69 "2012-07-02T17:03:24Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > Horrible. I hate it. Where are all these endorphins I’m supposed to get? Exactly this. It’s all lies. ---
**Author:** ![L.mo5rg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f475e1/32.png) [@L.mo5rg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/L.mo5rg)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/70 "2012-07-02T17:04:43Z")
> [@Sleel](#): > > If you’re exercising to lose weight, do yourself a favor and address your diet first. What you eat, and to a lesser extent how much you eat, is about 80% of what affects your body composition. Exercise helps, but if you expect to “afford” the junk food because you’re sweating for an hour or two every couple of days, you’re just making yourself miserable. And fat despite the exercise. Whilst on my diet I was still eating more than what the rest of my family was eating put together. I managed to lose 15kg which was my target, and exercise was definitely a big part. If I had been eating that much without exercising my weight would have definitely increased. Maybe because I was focused more on losing fat than losing weight. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/71 "2012-07-02T17:07:26Z")
While exercising, I basically spend the entire time trying to figure out who I want to punch in the face. I’m not a violent person. This is just what I feel like when “working out.” So I don’t do it anymore. Hopefully some day I’ll have the time and resources to get back into fencing. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/72 "2012-07-02T17:17:18Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Good lord. We are talking about _exercising_, right? Not a gang-bang? See…some people LIKE gang bangs! 😃 And that’s kind of the point…just because it feels good to you doesn’t mean it feels good to everyone. It doesn’t mean we’re doing something wrong, or even that we’re all out of shape. Different things feel good to different people. Some people like being beat with whips, some people like to walk on hot coals, some people like to eat the hottest hot peppers they can find, some people like to exercise. Some people find all or some of those feel really, really not-good! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/73 "2012-07-02T18:07:00Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Your posts are comically judgmental and presumptuous. Do you really not see this? No, please point to how this is so. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/74 "2012-07-02T18:27:48Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > No, please point to how this is so. Well, for one, you’re assuming/speculating that people who feel “ashamed” during exercise are out-of-shape and slothful. For two, you’ve made yourself the judge and arbiter of what yoga is. For three, you’ve called cardio yoga “shit”. I agree with \*\*monstro \*\*that your posts have been judgmental and presumptuous. I’m afraid I don’t agree that they’ve been “comical” in any way whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/75 "2012-07-02T18:35:15Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Well, for one, you’re assuming/speculating that people who feel “ashamed” during exercise are out-of-shape and slothful. For two, you’ve made yourself the judge and arbiter of what yoga is. For three, you’ve called cardio yoga “shit”. > > I agree with \*\*monstro \*\*that your posts have been judgmental and presumptuous. I’m afraid I don’t agree that they’ve been “comical” in any way whatsoever. For 1, what in the world is wrong with speculating as to what the reasons are for posters who say they feel “ashamed” after working out? I was giving NO OPINION. I was assuming NOTHING. And “workout yoga” is NOT yoga. I’m sorry but it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/76 "2012-07-02T18:37:35Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > After, literally, decades of exercise I’ve finally discovered heart rate monitors and it’s transformed every thing for me: Changed my mind set and .. pretty much everything. > > Once you understand your zones and start to get to know your body it becomes a journey of discovery - what you can do now, what you might reasonably aspire to, when to push it, when to cruise a little .. and most importantly what you’re actually achieving by doing this thing. In measurements. Relative to you personally. Marvellous! Can you expand on this? I’ve just purchased a heart rate monitor and haven’t the slightest idea about how it will shape my workouts. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/77 "2012-07-02T18:47:46Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > For two, you’ve made yourself the judge and arbiter of what yoga is. For three, you’ve called cardio yoga “shit”. [Yoga](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga) has a long and storied history and it’s popularity in West in recent years has given rise to many new forms of “yoga” that focus on things like fitness and cardiovascular training; but real yoga is a spiritual activity that seeks to unify the mind and body. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/78 "2012-07-02T18:49:06Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Good lord. We are talking about _exercising_, right? Not a gang-bang? > > I can’t help but think some of you are doing something terribly wrong, or maybe not exercising often enough that you begin to improve and don’t get your ass kicked every time. > . Probably. If the only thing something does is make me feel bad, I’m not likely to do it often, ya? Look, from the time I was a little girl, physical activity was associated with feelings of failure and being mocked by my peers. And I wasn’t a fat kid - just more interested in sitting in a corner reading than in doing anything physical. I was clumsy and didn’t know the rules to the sports that everyone seemed to know, so I was always picked last for teams, been told it was my fault our team lost, etc. I literally have zero pleasant associations with exercise. Nowadays, I’m a fat adult. I _know_ that I need to exercise. But I’m still clumsy, and I always fall behind in group exercise classes. (Having no real sense of rhythm doesn’t help either.) I compare myself to the agile, not-fat people around me and I feel like a loser again. I don’t know how to use the machines properly, have no clue what sort of form I’m supposed to have, and tend to stop when I get winded (which is like 10 minutes into it). Running hurts my knees and I feel like I’m causing seismic shifts with every step. So yes, all-around, I would say it’s only slightly more desirable than a gang-bang. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/79 "2012-07-02T20:11:42Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > [Yoga](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga) has a long and storied history and it’s popularity in West in recent years has given rise to many new forms of “yoga” that focus on things like fitness and cardiovascular training; but real yoga is a spiritual activity that seeks to unify the mind and body. No one here, I don’t think, particularly cares about the degree to which Western cardio-centered yoga adheres to the dictates of the Bagavad Gita. What’s annoying people is that you’ve dismissed a perfectly legitimate form of exercise, and one that has benefited me immensely, as “shit.” That’s in quotation marks because I’m quoting you. That is a dismissive comment. > [@Ambivalid](#): > > For 1, what in the world is wrong with speculating as to what the reasons are for posters who say they feel “ashamed” after working out? I was giving NO OPINION. I was assuming NOTHING. When people say you’re dismissive and sanctimonious, they aren’t referring to your logic. They are referring to your tone and your attitude. Your comment may well have been considered perfectly appropriate _if you had stated it differently_. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939/80 "2012-07-02T20:23:11Z")
Oops. I forgot to comment on the actual content of the thread. > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Tired and rejuvenated at the same time? However that works. This. Most of the time. > [@amarinth](#): > > I’d work out hard at the gym and end up trying to not cry my eyes out on the way home and for about an hour after. It was not pleasant. Luckily, I’m not getting whatever that was anymore. But also this. I’m glad that I’m not the only one this has happened to. I think being on the verge of tears happens because at the end of a workout, I’m fairly worn out, and if there are bad emotional things that I’m trying to keep at bay, they come out at this point. It is annoying though, since I much prefer the feeling of rejuvenation which helps me get through the rest of the day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-exercise-make-you-feel/626939.md?page=5)