How Intensity Erases the Doldrums of 9-to-5

We here at Cardio High are all about intensity without hurting yourself, so we don’t suggest any of you sign up for a Tough Mudder event unless it’s really want you want to do.

But this article about the benefits of intense events is connected enough to what we’re all about.

A recent study looked at what people get out of Tough Mudder events, which is a no-nonsense obstacle course that often causes people to scream, cry and wipe mud from their eyes. To run a Tough Mudder is to tell everyone that you are willing to literally bleed to achieve your goals.

The researchers talked to 26 Tough Mudder participants and dove into their community on the internet and discovered that the reason a lot of people take on these challenges, especially those who are stuck in white collar office jobs, is because it makes them sense themselves differently; something that is far more spiritual and zen than you may imagine.

As the article notes:

Tough Mudders and other painful forms of exercise allow people to “rediscover” their physical bodies, as revealed in participant comments like, “I hurt in places I didn’t even know existed.”

The study and article argue that there may be more to this, and that people who are stuck in indoor 9-to-5 jobs may also have a different outlook on success and setting goals, but they do generally feel as though there is is something illuminating about this kind of physical intensity.

So if you want to get that rush, but don’t want to end up jumping through fire and swimming under barbed wire, maybe try something like a Cardio High workout. All gain – no pain.

-Shane M.