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Kahlil Mariani Professor Catherine Bayly English 101:0404 October 28, 2013 Exercise is More Than Just a Workout So I had a problem, I hated myself for being out of shape, I felt useless, like I was not worthy of my dream of being one of the glorified superhero type soldiers. I was beginning to decline and give in to the doubt, and just accept the fact I was going to work at a hardware store for the rest of my life, just like some of the other employees there. I was not a very active person leading up to high school. I just wanted to play video games as a kid, given that, I was severely out of shape, which was what was killing my dream of what to do next after high school: joining the military and being accepted into the Special Forces. I tried to do their PT testing of pushups, sit-ups, running on my own, and failed miserably. This problem branched out to the rest of my everyday life, when I did not get a good grade on an assignment, or was rejected by a girl, I would say to myself its because you suck, youre only good for playing a video game. There is nothing wrong with playing video games; it just was not what I wanted for my life. My mom desperately wanted to get me out of the house. Therefore, one day she told me about the parkour/cross fit gym that was just down the street from me. As a result my stepdad and I went to check it out. By the time an hour had passed we were on our backs gasping for breath, I know I wanted to throw up and my stepdad had the same look as I felt. However, we felt great, as if we were stronger already. We both registered ourselves for the parkour class, where it was just the trainer and us. Four days a week, two for parkour, two for conditioning, it was brutal, but it felt great. I knew I was going to be able to reach my goals in no time at this pace. By the end of six months, I gave the PT test another try

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and ended up tripling my score from the first time around. It was great, not only was I reaching my goals, I felt awesome. I would go into the gym after a long day or night of stress, and mental overload and walk out wondering why I was so caught up in whatever it is that was getting me down or in a funk. I had found my haven, my cure, my passion. I have become fearless, confident, and happy through this discovery. I am constantly discovering what my body is capable of and how it can do so much more so long as I put my mind to it. Therefore, I am urging that people resort to exercise to aid in handling their lifes struggles. That medication may help someone conquer his or her problems, but it cannot help you as much as discovering your potential that you are not worthless or weak. There is a positive correlation between your physical activity and your mental/emotional well-being. Even though the people involved with the exercise can become addicted to exercise, it is good for alternative therapeutic uses, because people suffering depression, anxiety, or stress use medication to cope but are vulnerable to becoming addicted to the drugs. In addition, there are many forms of physical activity that people can choose from. It helps to strengthen or activate your brains activity to aid in intelligence. The chemicals involved in physical activity cause the person to just simply feel better from working out, by providing the individual an outlet for their emotions. Whenever you work out, go for a run, or play a sport, you feel your senses heighten. Essentially, what your body is doing is releases chemicals to allow your body to perform these functions adequately. Exercise causes your body to release chemicals that stimulate your neurotransmitters and allow better cognitive functioning(Deslandes and others 2009). Thus aiding in the mentality that if, you get out and do something physical, when you are done, you

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can come back and write that English paper or do your math homework with greater ease. Exercise helps to work both your mind and body and allow you to perform to the fullest. On top of allowing your brain to perform more efficiently, exercise helps to allow you to maintain your cognitive ability longer than those with less physically active lifestyles do. Individuals who partake in exercise more often tend to have a higher IQ level or better cognitive ability than those who do not do as much exercise and those who dont get any exercise at all(O'Callaghan 2013). Therefore, by staying active, you keep your brain active, preventing a decline in mental and physical performance. Have you ever noticed when finishing any type of physical activity that feeling of relief or renewal, despite having just worn yourself out physically? It is because your body does not approve of a sedentary lifestyle, it enjoys exercise. For example women experience an increased amount of stress, anxiety, and depression as compared to men, but based on the intensity of their activity their levels of negative emotions were decreased(Arazi and others 2013). There is a theory that exercise helps with depression when it concluded that the neurotransmitters emitting chemicals that induce positive emotions naturally helps to reduce depression(Brown 2013). It is as if your body and mind gets stir crazy or anxious from sitting around and causes you to overthink and stress yourself out. Having a means to physically express or exert your feelings onto something allows you to clear your mind and enjoy life. Therefore, as a means to help conquer your negativity, you should participate in an activity that is equally as strenuous on your body as your emotions is on your psyche. Part of having a good well-being is being able to socialize well with others. The ability to socialize well can be hindered due to lack of motivation or feelings of negativity. Some worry that having to incorporate exercise or physical activity into their schedule that it will take up too

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much free time. However, those who participated in vigorous physical activity had better mental health, and having a proper social life helped to mediate those aspects(Vankim and others 2013). By incorporating more exercise or a sport into your daily routine, you would be providing a new activity for you and your friends to partake in. Thus making it more fun to improve your wellbeing, and allowing those close to you to do the same. So as you can see Exercise doesnt has to be serious, it can be an instrument to aid in your social skills, allowing you create or strengthen bonds to better your lifestyle. So in essence physical activity works wonders for you, it can ward off depression, anxiety, and stress. As well, as stimulate your brain. Exercise is a widely forgotten or overlooked method to aid in our everyday struggles. Despite the fact that people can become Healthnuts and become obsessed with exercise, it is a much better alternative than becoming addicted to anti-depressants and other medication people use to fix the problems that are already addressed through exercise. Audience Analysis: Solely English101 students and professors instructing English101 will most likely read this paper. Therefore, the language used to relay the information will be formal but not too complex, since the audience will probably be unaware of the terminology used in the studies that are referenced for this research. Thus causing this paper to be as to the point as possible for the audience to ensure they stay interested and understand the topic and my side in the argument.

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Works Cited Arazi, Hamid, et al. "The Effect of an Aerobic Training on Perceived Stress, Anxiety and Depression of Non-Athlete Female Students. / Uinci Aerobnog Treninga Na Opaeni Stres, Anksioznost I Depresiju Kod Djevojaka Nesportaa." Acta Kinesiologica 6.2 (2012): 7-12. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. Brown, Helen, et al. "Physical Activity Interventions and Depression in Children and Adolescents." Sports Medicine 43.3 (2013): 195-206. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. Deslandes, A, H Moraes, C Ferreira, H Veiga, H Silveira, R Mouta, FA Pompeu, ES Coutinho, and J Laks. "Exercise and Mental Health: Many Reasons to Move." Neuropsychobiology. 59.4 (2009): 191-8. Print. O'Callaghan, Frances, et al. "Physical Activity and Intelligence: A Causal Exploration."

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Journal Of Physical Activity & Health 9.2 (2012): 218-224. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. VanKim, Nicole A., and Toben F. Nelson. "Vigorous Physical Activity, Mental Health, Perceived Stress, and Socializing Among College Students." American Journal Of Health Promotion 28.1 (2013): 7-15. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.