Go for a spin on your bike

Biking is the best of both worlds sort of, since your endorphin levels will increase not only by exercising, but also by taking in the beautiful outdoors. On top of all that you can adjust your workout in a way that benefits your mood even more. Cycle across hilly landscapes to create an alternative interval training or add some extra weights to your pedals to intensify your bicycle tour. In Amsterdam, just pay a visit to Rapha Cycling Club. They go for tours between 60 and 80 kilometers with an average speed of 27 km/ph. Rather stay inside? The next best thing is a class of RPM at Active Sports Premium Club in Rotterdam or a plain spinning workout at InTension Health Club in The Hague.

Start sprinting smart

While everyone is talking about their runner’s high, you should go and be a smart boy or girl by skipping your endurance run and go for a set of sprints instead. The concept is simple: run, recover, repeat. Run as fast as you can for 30 seconds, take 30 seconds to recover by walking and repeat the whole thing at least 10 times. By doing more of a HIIT workout, you’re optimizing the endorphin release as a whole. Go to an Asics Running Clinic in Amsterdam to become the best sprinter ever or take a yoga class at Yoga4Running in The Hague to improve your running skills.

Optimize your cardio

The above actually goes for all kinds of cardio. The shorter the intervals, the harder you can push your body. Plus, you can pull back before the cortisol kicks in, which happens when the body is dealing with sustained stress. Result: the purest dose of endorphins you could get, because the nasty side effect of cortisol is practically banished this way. You might wanna try a training at High Studios in Amsterdam or a tabata workout at Spark in Utrecht to experiment with this hormone adventure.

Make compound movements

To really, really, really boost your endorphin levels, you should make sure you’re putting several movements in to one. Ehm, whut? Well, this basically means you should try to get your blood flowing in as many directions as you can, so the feel-good hormones can go anywhere. Try workouts like jumping jacks, or squatting while you press some dumbbells in the air. There defo will be workouts like this during Compound Gym Rotterdam training’s (what’s in a name), so why not give that a go? In Utrecht De Workout Club has a wide range of workouts that fit the description. Check out their schedule to find out more.

Team up to boost you endorphin levels

Another way to maximize the mood-benefits of working out is to add another happy hormone to the equation. This one is quite simple: by working out together with a loved one, you’ll stimulate the release of oxytocin on top of all the endorphins you’re already releasing by just doing sports. So, what about a game of tennis at Amstelpark Tennis or Tennisvereniging Linneaushof in Amsterdam? Or maybe unleash the circus artist in you during a class of acroyoga at Balanzs Rotterdam?

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