How to Stay Connected to Yourself During the Season of “Too Much”
Why Strength Training Is the Most Powerful Ritual You Can Keep Right Now
The weeks between now and the New Year tend to move in fast-forward. Calendars fill, expectations stack, and somewhere in the chaos we abandon the one thing that keeps us feeling steady: ourselves.
This is the season of “too much.”
Too much to do.
Too much noise.
Too many people needing something.
Too many opportunities to put yourself last.
And yet — this is also the moment when staying connected to your body, your rhythms, and your internal cues matters the most.
At RITUAL, strength training isn’t about perfection, punishment, or chasing extremes. It’s about creating a reliable ritual that acts as an anchor in the messy, beautiful, overstimulating parts of life. Especially the holidays.
Here’s why:
The Link Between Stress, Cortisol, and Losing Yourself
When you get pulled in ten different directions, your body shifts into a state of long-duration stress. Cortisol rises, focus drops, decision fatigue sets in, and emotional resilience thins.
But here’s the empowering part:
Multiple scientific studies show that strength training significantly reduces cortisol levels and improves mental clarity.
Resistance training performed at moderate intensity lowers cortisol while improving mood state and cognitive processing.* Regular strength training enhances emotional regulation, executive functioning, and overall stress resilience.**
In simple terms: Lifting weights literally shifts your brain out of “survival mode” and into “I can handle this.”
That’s why movement during this time of year isn’t optional — it’s protective.
* Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2014) **Frontiers in Psychology (2020)
Ready to Stay Ahead of Burnout? Start Here.
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Tailored sessions that meet you exactly where you are — designed to support your body, your schedule, and your capacity this time of year.
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→ Join a class at RITUAL this week
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