Reducing your chance of depression

It seems rather an odd thing to say when we talk about exercise and health, but I feel that exercise can help combat the feelings of "feeling down" and getting depressed.

A good example yesterday. First day of real "winter" weather here in Perth. After a scorching summer, yesterday felt cold and it was raining too. What happened - class numbers were down! Now people may have had a good reason for not coming out in that weather, but we see it all the time. If it's too hot people don't tend to exercise as much, ditto cold and raining.

And I know it can be hard to get going again once your routine has been changed. We slip into the habit of doing a little less than we know we should, we start to feel guilty and without the benefits of the serotonin releases our bodies and minds have gotten used to, start to feel a little "depressed".

Which is interesting because most people don't tend to associate their "depression" from a lack of exercise, but I know of many cases where a combination of not enough exercise and additional foods / drinks consumed can all contribute to our feelings and our moods.

So what can you do?

Don't let the weather affect your training routine, your mind needs the exercise as much as your body does.