Besides the brilliant word selection in the title, I believe this simple phrase has kept me healthy and free from anxiety for most of my life. Most of you know that exercise, no matter what form, helps with managing anxiety. Most of you might not know however, why that is, besides the 'happy hormone' effect. First, let me break down what anxiety can be characterised as. Anxiety is described as complex. However, in my mind - a simple definition comes to mind. Anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness or worry when there is uncertainty about an outcome. I like to extend this a touch further. Anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness or worry when there is a perceived lack of control about the outcome. Worrying about the uncertainty in an outcome is no different to worrying about whether you have CONTROL of the outcome... in my mind anyway. So the question is - why does working out seem to help with anxiety? There are a few reasons for this. The first, working out gives you an immediate sense of control. There is nothing more in your control than your body. Only you can choose to move your arm from one end of the table to another. Only you can choose to run for 10km. Only you can choose to get under a heavy weight. When you start to workout, your feeling of 'not having control' starts to disappear. And you will find that your anxiety comes down. This will make sense to most of you. In fact, many of you have likely experienced it already. However, I bet this next reason might not have crossed some of your minds. When you start to workout, you start to experience the sensory pain associated with training OVER the anxiety you might be feeling. Let me put it this way. If you stub your toe and it is hurting... one of the best ways to dull it... is to get slapped in the face. Now, you're more focused on your face hurting than your toe. When you are anxious, your senses are occupied with how the uneasiness feels. You might be controlled by the racing thoughts of 'what might happen.'