There was a tragic shooting in my city recently where a very stressed man walked into his former business and opened fire.  After the initial reaction of sadness and disbelief, my next thought was “This man needs to get to the gym!”

No I did not see a picture of an out-of-shape felon, but I just knew that this man was not managing his stress well.  The world can often seem crazy and we see examples all around us of fellow citizens stressed out to the max.  Frowning faces, impatient drivers, angry parents, they are everywhere.

I think that everyone needs to channel this stress into something productive, and my suggestion is to get to the gym!  Working out has been my number one stress reducer for most of my life.  Whenever I’m feeling stressed out or challenged by something, I find my best therapy is to go to the gym and move some iron!  When I was teaching I had days when I wanted to strangle a student or, more likely, body slam a clueless parent.  Instead I found myself in the gym that night benching 225 for reps and putting that aggression and stress into building a better body.

Everyone should find their own “safe channel.”  It doesn’t matter if you do hours of yoga, play tennis, or do some power-knitting, just find something you enjoy that also has a productive side.  I’ve seen some housewives do some serious “power-cleaning” and I’ve seen surgeons kick-box their way to equilibrium.  Even our President Barack Obama spends time in the gym or on the basketball court to keep himself centered and focused, channeling his extra stress and energy in a productive way.

I’m a huge believer in using the gym to manage stress.  The sheer physicality of moving your body is a great way to productively channel excess energy.  It produces results which are good for you, improves your self-esteem, makes you stronger, and makes you feel better.  And there’s just something about grabbing that iron and steel and pushing it around that feels “right” as a stress buster.

We may not be able to eliminate all of the world’s problems, but we CAN make sure we are not ONE of them.  Serve as a good example and channel your stress into a productive workout.