How to Train Around Anxiety: Workouts That Calm Your Nervous System

Anxiety doesn’t mean you can’t work out. It simply means your nervous system needs a different approach to training - you can train around anxiety.

Here’s how to move your body in a way that calms your mind, lowers stress hormones, and builds strength without overwhelm.

Why Traditional Workouts Make Anxiety Worse

High-intensity training spikes cortisol and adrenaline. For some people—especially during anxious periods—this feels like:

• racing thoughts

• chest tightness

• shortness of breath

• panic sensations

You don’t need more intensity — you need controlled activation.

Understanding Your Nervous System

Anxiety is rooted in dysregulation of the nervous system, specifically the balance between sympathetic (fight-or-flight)and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) responses. When HIIT, heavy lifting, or fast-paced circuits mimic the physiological signs of anxiety (rapid heart rate, quick breathing, heat, adrenaline), your brain can misinterpret the workout as a threat.

Learning to work with your nervous system — not against it — allows your workouts to become grounding instead of overwhelming. This is why slower, intentional movements are often the best place to start during times of anxiety.

Workouts That Calm the Nervous System - Train Around Anxiety

1. Slow Tempo Strength Training

Slow, controlled movements help you stay present and reduce overthinking. Tempo work also reduces joint stress, builds incredible strength, and gives you a sense of control — something anxiety often steals.

Try:

• 4-second lowers

• 1-second pause

• 2-second lift

Great movements:

• Goblet squats

• Dumbbell rows

• Glute bridges

• Floor presses

Why Tempo Work Reduces Anxiety

Tempo training requires you to slow down your breath, maintain consistent tension, and remain mindful of each phase of the movement. This reduces nervous-system “spikes,” improves proprioception (your ability to sense where you are in space), and creates a meditative rhythm to your lifting.

The focus required is grounding — it pulls you out of anxious thoughts and into your body.

2. Walking (Especially Outdoors)

Walking regulates your breath and rhythm. It’s proven to reduce cortisol and increase dopamine — the “feel good” neurotransmitter.

Even 10–20 minutes counts.

Why Nature Amplifies the Effect

Studies show that walking outdoors improves:

• heart rate variability (your stress tolerance)

• mood stabilization

• creative problem solving

• nervous system relaxation

Visual depth (long-distance views), greenery, and natural light all help calm overactivity in the amygdala — the brain’s fear center. If outdoors isn’t possible, a treadmill walk with gentle music still offers huge benefits.

3. Breath-Led Core Work

Exercises like dead bugs or bird dogs require you to coordinate breath with movement — one of the fastest ways to reduce anxiety symptoms.

Inhale → expand ribsExhale → engage coreMove with the rhythm.

Breath Patterns for Anxiety Relief

A great pattern for anxiety is extended exhalations, such as a 4-second inhale and a 6–8 second exhale. Exhaling longer than you inhale directly stimulates your vagus nerve, lowering your heart rate and calming your nervous system.

Pair this with core work and you get a double benefit:

• a calmer mind

• stronger, more functional movement patterns

This is especially helpful for people with rib flare, shallow breathing, or upper-chest dominance.

4. Grounded Mobility Flow

Being close to the ground creates a sense of safety and reduces sensory overload. Ground-based flows are ideal for people whose anxiety causes tension in the hips, shoulders, or low back.

Try:

• Child’s pose breathing

• Cat/cow

• Thoracic rotations

• Hip openers

• 90/90 flow

Even 5 minutes can shift your state.

How Ground-Based Movements Calm You

Ground contact increases tactile feedback, which helps your brain perceive a sense of stability and support. This reduces hypervigilance and overstimulation — two common features of anxiety.

In addition, mobility flow patterns combine:

• gentle stretching

• slow breathing

• rhythmic movement

…which together reduce resting muscle tension and signal “safety” to your body.

5. Low-Impact Cardio

When anxiety makes high-intensity workouts overwhelming, low-impact cardio becomes a great alternative. It elevates endorphins without triggering the physical sensations that mimic panic.

Try:

• cycling

• incline walking

• elliptical

• swimming

The Right Intensity for Anxiety

For anxiety-friendly cardio, aim for Zone 2 — the pace where you can still talk but feel your heart rate elevated. This zone improves cardiovascular health, stabilizes mood, and increases stress resilience without overstimulating your system.

Think: steady, controlled, sustainable — not breathless and chaotic.

Tips for Training on an Anxious Day

✔ Keep sessions short (20–30 minutes)

✔ Choose movements you know well

✔ Avoid max-effort lifts

✔ Lengthen the warm-up

✔ Finish with 2 minutes of nasal breathing

Build an “Anxiety Day Plan”

Create a simple fallback routine you can turn to when anxiety hits. It should include:

1. One grounding breath exercise

2. One slow-tempo strength move

3. One mobility flow

4. One short walk or stretch

Having a pre-made plan removes decision fatigue and keeps you consistent even during anxious periods.

The Bottom Line - You Can Train Around Anxiety

Movement is one of the most powerful tools for anxiety — when done intentionally. Choose workouts that support your nervous system, not spike it. Your body will feel better, your mind will feel lighter, and your anxiety will calm instead of climb.