Digestion’s worst enemy: stress

Stress and Its Impact on Digestion

Stress can significantly affect our metabolism, especially how we digest and process food. Digestion is not just about eating; it’s a complex system that influences mood, energy, nutrient absorption, and overall health. When stress becomes overwhelming—whether from work, relationships, or other challenges—it can disrupt digestion and trigger negative health outcomes.

The Nervous System’s Role in Digestion

We have discussed the autonomic nervous system’s role in the past, we explored the autonomic nervous system’s role in digestion. Here’s a quick recap:

Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS): Known as the “fight or flight” system, it activates during stress and redirects energy away from non-urgent functions, including digestion. This response helps in immediate danger but disrupts digestion when triggered persistently by chronic stress.
Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS): Often called the “rest and digest” system, it supports relaxation and proper digestion.

Consequences of Chronic Stress on Digestion

Chronic stress can lead to:

Nutrient Deficiency: Reduced ability to break down and absorb vitamins and minerals.
Hormonal Imbalances: Stress hormones like cortisol can disrupt other hormone functions, worsening digestive issues.
Gastrointestinal Discomfort: Symptoms like bloating, cramping, or conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Depleted Energy Levels: Poor digestion means less fuel for your body, leaving you tired and sluggish.

Managing Stress to Support Digestive Health

The good news is that you can take steps to protect your digestive system from stress. While stress is unavoidable, focusing on what you can control helps create balance. Here are some practical tips:

Exercise and Movement: Physical activity regulates stress hormones and promotes the PNS. Whether it’s a class at R3VIVE, a walk, yoga, or strength training, find what works for you.
Mindful Eating: Avoid eating in stressful situations. Slow down, focus on your meal, and chew thoroughly to help your digestive system.
Meditation and Relaxation Techniques: Deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or mindfulness meditation can calm the SNS and prioritize digestion.
Social Connections: Connecting with others, even virtually, can lower stress and support mental health, which is closely tied to digestion.
Balanced Diet: Focus on whole, nutrient-dense foods and limit processed or sugary options to fuel your body effectively.

Small Changes, Big Impact

Stress often makes us feel like there’s no time for self-care, but even small adjustments can yield significant results. Reclaim control over your health by asking yourself: What small change can I make today to improve my digestion and well-being tomorrow?

It could be:

Adding a short meditation session.
Preparing a nutrient-rich meal.
Taking a moment to breathe deeply.

Supporting Your Health at R3VIVE

Your digestive system does more than process food—it’s a cornerstone of your physical and emotional well-being. By managing stress, you not only protect this vital system but also enhance your quality of life.

If you need support, our coaches at R3VIVE are here to help. We’re dedicated to your holistic health and well-being, and we’re ready to help you thrive!

The post Digestion’s worst enemy: stress appeared first on R3VIVE FITNESS.

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Ultimus Training Cycle

By Derek Saffold • October 30, 2025

Hey R3VIVE Athletes, The Ultimus training cycle, going from November 10th to January 2nd, is our next training cycle! Functional Fitness will be launching into a blend of olympic lifts and diverse strength progressions. Including more intense conditioning and gymnastic strength and skill development. Functional Fitness: We're taking the solid foundations from all our Machine work (which we know you loved) in the Persist Cycle and launching into a blend of olympic lifts, foundational strength, and diverse strength formats. Prepare for tough but fun challenges, gymnastic strength and skill development, and an intensified focus that will push your limits and build your confidence further than you ever imagined! Build: This Build cycle is your blueprint for forging general strength with a rock-solid, consistent split. While we will have linear progressions of Front Squats, and Bench Press, we will also be embracing varied, dynamic strength orgressions. That will not only keep delivering results but also keep our strength fun. Our gymnastics focus will be on pure, raw strict strength, helping you build capacity with both external loads and the incredible power of your own bodyweight. Prepare to feel incredibly stable and powerful! Conditioning will focus on unleashing your engine, that we built in the Persist Cycle . We will Shift gears to a fastermore intense "for time" AMRAP and Chipper style workouts, moving beyond simple interval work and aerobic base building. These conditioning workouts will rotate dynamically throughout the week to maintain variety and deliver a fun and powerful exeriance. our cycle test, "Super Bario Bros.", is a chipper that will progressively challenge your kettlebell/dumbbell and gymnastics movements, demanding peak intensity and absolute confidence in your strength.

Persist Training Cycle.

By Derek Saffold • September 22, 2025

Hey R3VIVE Athletes, Our next programming cycle runs from September 15th to November 7th. It's an 8-week cycle that will continue to see strength progression carrying from what we did last cycle in Functional fitness. While Pump will begin working unilateral strength progressions. Functional Fitness: This cycle will continue our progression from the skill and lifts from last cycle, while trying to integrate them into more of our conditioning. We will do this by focusing on different portions of the lifts during our strength portion then performing smaller sets of gymnastic skills in our conditioning. You will also see conditioning that is purely focused on our aerobic capacity and working mainly on monostructural elements, such as running, rowing and biking. Build: This A-B week cycle is designed to build foundational strength through consistent progression, with a strong focus on Back Squats and Strict Presses, including variations for balanced weekly training. Conditioning will have some longer aerobic pieces and begin to include more skills like strict Toes-to-Bar, and Pull-ups from last cycle. See the chart below for details.

Man performing a barbell squat in a gym, wearing dark blue shirt and shorts.

Functional Fitness Training Block: Resurgence Cycle

By R3VIVE Fitness • July 23, 2025

Our next programming cycle runs from July 12th to September 12th. It's an 8-week cycle, so it's a bit shorter than the last one. We'll be bringing back some Olympic lifts and continuing with the A-B week progressions. The post Functional Fitness Training Block: Resurgence Cycle appeared first on R3VIVE FITNESS.