Gym

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I'm curious if anyone else with AS uses gyms?Has anyone got into a training regime, and stuck to it for years?

I got into this when at university and still at it now. Generally I've found it really helpful but when speaking to mental health professionals they said it wasn't usual for people with AS.

For Aspies and High Functioning autistics, there is a very important reason for exercise. In general Aspies experience much higher stress than your average NT. This stress builds up in the body. It is cumulative in nature. Unless one can learn how to relieve this stress energy it can lead the body into a distress state. A distressed state can produce many mental health problem, such as anxiety, trauma, depression, self harm, bipolar, agoraphobia, etc.

The reason why exercise is important is because it can help vent this stored stress energy.

Animals have a natural way to shed stress quickly. Peter Levine studied the physiology of stress and trauma. He observed, “animals will complete the full sequence of a response to danger, by noticing, reacting, and recovering from the threat. Humans often interrupt it. When in jeopardy, animals will access and expend enormous amounts of energy providing the “fuel” to escape the danger. He observed that, once the threat has been successfully overcome, there is a discharge of excess energy through the body. The body returns to [its natural] baseline by allowing a chemical discharge to move through the nervous system—for example by trembling, shaking, bucking, or running further than necessary simply to escape the predator—which resets the mind and body and prepares it for the next challenge.
When humans encounter a threat, we have a natural desire to run away or fight or scream for help or project our voice to drive fear into the heart of the enemy. This is an automatic response in the middle layer of the brain. Our middle layer automatically prepares for the encounter by releasing a flood of chemicals into our system. But when our outer layer (the social brain) constraints our actions because of social norms, our body suffers a major conflict between the middle and outer layer. The unused stress energy is stored within our body in our 5 limbs (legs, arms and neck). Long-term containment of this energy will damage our body both physically and mentally. Therefore this stress energy must be purged, but it must be purged in a socially acceptable manner.

Physical exercise is an activity that is known to provoke large and diverse stress responses within the neuroendocrine system. However, chronic exercise training is also known to cause abatement in the stress responses of the neuroendocrine system to certain forms of stress. This dual role of exercise as both a stressor and a modifier of stress within the neuroendocrine system, both in acute and chronic exposure settings provides a key for unlocking and releasing stress from the body. This responsiveness occurs since the neuroendocrine system is a key signaler and modulator of many of the other physiological systems attempting to accommodate stressors and re-establish homeostasis.

So light and moderate exercise normally only reduces stress levels for a few minutes. For the stress reduction effects of exercise to be long lasting, one needs to perform maximal or supramaximal exercise. This is exercise where the intensity or individual’s maximal oxygen uptake (percentage of VO2max) is 100% or greater. Examples are sprints and power exercises.

So if you find that stress energy is building up within your body, here are a couple approaches to focus on:

An example of exercise that will purge deep stress from the legs is to perform ten 6-second maximal sprints (a 50-yard dash), running like a bat out of hell with a 30 second recovery between each sprint. [This emulates the flight response in a panic.]

A similar approach can be used to purge stored stress energy from the arms long-term. Use a punching bag, speed bag or even a pillow as a target. Strike the object as fast as you can and as many times as you can in 6 second burst. Move your arms/hands so fast that they become a blur. Perform ten (6-second burst) with a 30-second recovery time in-between. You don't need to punch the bag hard, a light touch will do. It is the intensity and speed that counts.

I typically don't like gyms sensory-wise an I don't like the social aspects of them - except for some climbing gyms, climbers are often okay.
If I can choose, I prefer to swim in a lake not in a swimming pool and run in a forest not on a treadmill, even in bad weather. If I had any rocky cliffs nearby, I would probably go there instead of climbing gyms, but my city is on alluvial quicksands.

I exercise by doing work in my garden. I suppose some repetitive stuff I do like pulling weeds works like stimming in reducing stress.

germs

I do weightlifting. The gym is my sanctuary. Most people in the weightlifting section are introverts who do not bother anyone.

This is interesting.
The human stress hormone, cortisone, is also reduced through exercise, right?

I would hypothesise that AS typically produces more cortisone than that found in neurotypical individuals.

This raises the question as to whether cortisone can be reduced through drugs, some of which are natural (can't remember the types off hand but there's a good few).

Perhaps a combination of these drugs with exercise (as you describe), along with more calming activities (of which I additionally hypothesise time in nature and with animals is key) wholly eradicates the stress and anxiety of AS, even to the point where it could be LOWER than NT individuals!?

Next step is to look at the communication/social barriers and, if these are addressed somehow, surely we have an effective treatment for Asperger's... ?

P.s glad to know I'm not the only person with AS who likes to do weights! Swimming is also great, and interesting enough it is thought to reduce cortisone levels more than any other exercise.

Indeed.

I used to go to a gym near where I live with a support worker three times a week. Once she asked if I would like to have a go on the punching bag and offered me some gloves that were on a shelf. I was like, NO WAY! Not a chance in hell would I wear gloves that countless other people had worn before me. And sweated in. Yuck!

I used to use sterile wipes on equipment before and after I used it.

Like BTDT, I've been weeding the garden. I find it relaxing.

When your body perceives a threat it triggers a reaction in the brain. This generates a hormonal cascade that prepares your body to react.

The reaction begins in the amygdala, which triggers a neural response in the hypothalamus. The initial reaction is followed by activation of the pituitary gland and secretion of the hormone ACTH. The adrenal gland is activated almost simultaneously and releases the neurotransmitter epinephrine. The release of chemical messengers results in the production of the hormone cortisol, which increases blood pressure, blood sugar, and suppresses the immune system. The initial response and subsequent reactions are triggered in an effort to create a boost of energy. This boost of energy is activated by epinephrine binding to liver cells and the subsequent production of glucose. Additionally, the circulation of cortisol functions to turn fatty acids into available energy, which prepares muscles throughout the body for response. Catecholamine hormones, such as adrenaline (epinephrine) or noradrenaline (norepinephrine), facilitate immediate physical reactions associated with a preparation for violent muscular action.

But the problem is that unless these hormonal chemicals are used up immediately they are stored in your muscles and nervous system. This is hormonal stress energy. Too much of it can throw your body out of balance and into a state of distress. You body can then become stuck in a constant state of stress unable to turn itself off.

One of the things that can vent stress energy is exercise. Exercise release the following hormonal energy:
Major Stress-Related Hormones Typically Affected by Acute Exercise
Adrenocorticotropic hormone
Atrial natriuretic peptide
Arginine vasopressin
β-endorphin
Brain natriuretic peptide
Corticotropin-releasing hormone
Cortisol
Cytokines
Dynorphins
Enkephalins
Epinephrine
Growth hormone
Norepinephrine
Prolactin
Renin–angiotensin–aldosterone
Testosterone

So acute exercise can vent this stress energy that is stored in your body. So in general those on the AS undergo more stress than NTs. But also they do not generally use the technique to vent the stored stress energy that are commonly used by NTs. This technique is acute exercise. This may have to do with the fact that we tend to be clumsy, out of step, and not interested in exercise, that we are rarely chosen for teams in sports because of our poor performance, asthma, sensory overload, etc. It is the combination of the two that makes us more vulnerable to stress.

As to your question about drugs. Generally I would stay away from them. There is some research that indicates the hormone oxytocin may be able to turn off the stress state and help it return to normal when it is overloaded. This oxytocin is normally inhaled using a nasal spray. I experimented with it but noticed no difference. But then again my body is not in a state of stress overload. But research is moving off in this direction. But the other perspective is that once you reach the age of puberty, you can naturally release this hormone and vent stress energy.

If you are interested in this subject, I would recommend two books to read:

In an Unspoken Voice by Peter A. Levine
The Revolutionary Trauma Release Process by David Berceli

Thanks jimmy m, I've made a note of those books and will try to get them.

Locker room, men's and women's

No trans



Dress code

Changing clothes is exhausting

Idiots are impatient for machines


Just like all other social activities s**t


f**k mister redelings

Gym is for apes

And Wolfmen when they are not lazy.

yes right or vampires, if they not hanging around a park and searching new blood.

Real power of muscles is inside and not pumped up outside, if you want to get real strength go in forrest, lift wood, run parcours in nature, do workout on paths, overcome obstacles, be creative and do jogging, you also using your lifetime much better than looking at a mirror in a cage and on other people, it is also not a good place for meeting nice people, trust me.

Instead of going to the gym I maintain a large collection of flowering shrubs in my yard. Which includes trimming and cutting down small trees as necessary.

Best work to do great workout and using lifetime meaningful!

btw. The gardner is the only job EVERY HUMAN can make on this planet and life from it, think about!

p.s.: woman also love flowers, plants and nature (if they are real of course), so this is a big bonus for you when getting to know ladies