The Best Types of Exercise When You Are in Recovery from An Alcohol Addiction

When you are in a state of recovery after detoxing from alcohol, whether you attended a good treatment center or tackled your addiction at home, one of the hardest things can be deciding what your life without drinking is going to be like. You may decide that some friends are people you need to distance yourself from if they are heavy drinkers, at least for a while, as this may not be good for you right now. You may also decide you need something new to fill your time and stop you thinking about alcohol.

Sport for Recovering Addicts

For many people, doing a sport, especially one that allows them to meet new friends, can be a great way to answer these problems. Many recovering addicts and alcoholics find that integrating into a group with healthy goals and interests really helps them find a new way of life rather than there being a hole in their schedules which drinking used to fill. You can effectively begin to do some form of mild exercise such as walking as soon as you start detoxing. However, anything more strenuous should be left for a week or two after your last drink if you are at risk of withdrawal symptoms.

But, which kinds of sport are the best choices?

Running

Running is mostly a solitary activity, though you can join clubs and meet people while you do it too. It is the best free, full body and cardio workout there is, and it can also be something that really lends itself to goals you can focus on. Perhaps you want to run a 10k race or do a marathon for a good cause. All of this is good and will give you achievements to aim for.

Dancing or Martial Arts

An activity where you get to take regular classes, improve your skills and meet new people can also be very good for you at this time in your life. Depending on what you are more interested in, dancing or martial arts in all their forms can fit this category. You will get in shape while also being forced to interact with people and therefore get to know them, and you will develop new skills you can be proud of over time.

Yoga and Pilates

If you don’t feel you have recovered enough to handle an intense cardio workout and want to ease yourself into regular exercise while also strengthening muscle, core strength workouts like Pilates or yoga-style stretching and balancing exercises can be really good for you. You will meet people and have classes you can look forward to attending. However, you don’t have to worry if your aerobic fitness isn’t where you’d like it, as these workouts focus on slow movements that develop strength and tone your body.

There are lots of styles of exercise you can choose from as you continue on the road to better health, but these can be a good place to start