Who I am.

Hello and thank you for visiting my bog! I’m excited to have you here, so allow me to tell you about myself and my purpose for this blog. My name is Elda Negrete. I’m a personal trainer working towards a license in marriage and family therapy (LMFT). I’m a senior at Texas State University wrapping up my undergrad studies in Psychology. Following graduation, I’m going right into my graduate studies to complete a Masters in Professional Counseling where I’ll also begin my internship as a counselor.

As a personal trainer, I discovered a love for group exercise. I enjoy bringing people together to workout, support and push each other. What I love the most about being a personal trainer is seeing the mental state differences from the start of a training session to the end. Amazingly, there are noticeable positive changes in mood, a reported decline in feelings of anxiety and depression, and enhanced mental clarity.

One of my goals as an LMFT is to create a program that fuses group therapy with group exercise. I aim to bring real meaning to the word “wellness”, a meaning that encompasses not just good physical health but a healthy state of mind as well.

I will use this blog to explore the many types of exercise and their effects on my personal mental health. Each post will be a review of a type of exercise I did with pictures or a video along scientific research. This blog will also include short interview videos of my friends expressing their thoughts on the mental health benefits they get from exercising.

I’m enjoying the process of exploring this phenomenon in my academic studies, in my personal life, and as reported in the lives of my clients. I welcome you to follow along as I explore the various types of physical movement and its benefits on mental health!

For today’s research topic, I found an article on “BetterHelp.com” that discusses six mental health benefits of exercise. Better Help is an online platform for mental health support where you can connect with an online licensed therapist from just about anywhere.

The article is titled “The Top Six Mental Health Benefits of Exercise” was medically reviewed by Wendy Boring-Bray, DBH, LPC and last updated August 2020. What’s great about the article is that the author stresses on the fact that any beginner can reap the following benefits by starting with a walk, light jog, beginner friendly yoga/stretches, or bike ride.

• Stress reduction: using exercise as a means to reducing daily stressors is one great way in managing our level of stress.
• Clearer thoughts and memories: this process may happen through the natural chemical processes in our brain, like the production of endorphins which is a “feel good” hormone.
• Better sleep at night: our body temperature increases as we exercise which may help us wind back down when we’re ready for sleep. Exercise is also shown to help regulate our circadian rhythm which determines when we feel sleepy or awake.
• Allows for connections with other people: I can attest to this benefit! Connecting with others is an important factor in happiness and life longevity. Creating relationships with other humans builds a sense of community. Add exercise to the mix and some feel good hormones to raise our sense belonging and esteem.
• Help you learn more about yourself: In this sense, it’s an exploration of your likes and dislikes when it comes to physical movement. Why not jump on the opportunity to learn a little bit more about what makes you feel good and what doesn’t. Finding that we actually like doing an activity will more likely lead to repetitive behaviors, creating a great habit.
• Reduces your likelihood of physical health issues: The more we exercise the more we are using our muscles, flexing and extending our tendons and ligaments. When we add weight training we are also compacting our bones, making them stronger and less likely to sustain injury. When our body feels good, our minds are likely to follow.

Have feedback, thoughts, or want to share how exercise affects your mental health, let me know in the comments below!

Per this blog’s disclaimer, statements made here are not for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All the information contained in this blog is for educational and informational use only.