I know, I know, you’re busy. You’re stressed. I’m busy and stressed, too.  Every one’s stressed- it’s impossible not to be these days.

For most, their exercise routine is just another cause of stress- one more thing you have to fit into your schedule, one more thing fighting for your time, one more thing you are too exhausted to do, and one more thing that makes you feel guilty when you push it off in favor of some downtime.

We like to tell ourselves that being stressed is a good reason to skip our workouts, but exercising is perfect for when you are stressed. Exercise is your CURE for stress. A good workout stimulates your feel-good beta-endorphins, which are 30 times more powerful than morphine, (talk about feel-good) giving you more energy for the rest of your day, boosts your mood and mental focus and helps you burn off that extra tension and anxiety- the perfect mix of positive side effects to nix your stress.

A good old fashion weight training session is enough to blast stress, but there are a few modes of exercise that pair perfectly with an exceptionally stressful day.  Next time you feel like throwing your laptop through your boss’s window, head to the gym and give these a try:

Aerobic Exercise. Cardio is awesome for burning off stress, and anytime you work in repetitive motion, where your brain can go blank and you can focus on pushing your body as hard as you can will leave you tired- but energized.

Boxing. It’s the perfect combo: you get an endorphin pumping workout and to beat the crap out of something.  The added bonus of a killer upper body and core workout is only the icing on the cake.

Sports. Playing basketball, volleyball or going for a bike ride with a few friends will get you sweating, but the fresh air and fun will make it feel more like play than a workout.

Yoga. For a slower, calming, but still effective, mind clearing workout, give your body and mind a good stretch with a long yoga session. Say Om!

Don’t stress about stress, use it to your advantage. Use your anxiety and pent up energy to push yourself through your workouts.  Once that stress is burnt off, you’ll be looking and feeling better than ever.