I just went for a skate along the Brisbane river and it was beautiful. I stopped half way at a quiet spot and did a 30 minute music meditation in the sun. I took my skates off and sat on one of them to help support my straight back and it was surprisingly comfortable.
Once a week I skate with a group but I go out on my own once or twice a week as well. I also walk or bike ride two or three times a week, often with a girlfriend. I’m definitely not at my peak level of fitness but this regular exercise certainly does help keep a healthy body and healthy mind.
I get asked all the time weather or not exercise is good for clearing acne. And while the answer isn’t black and white - if you do exercise every day it’s not guaranteed to clear your acne, it still certainly does help.
Why exercise is good for the skin
We all know that regular exercise is good for our health and good for our bodies, so of course it’s good for our skin. This is nothing new. Some resources I’ve read in the past also claim that the extra sweating during exercise can either help acne or make it worse, but personally I don’t feel as though this makes much of a difference.
BUT, the way that I personally feel exercise is most beneficial to the skin is for creating a healthy mind and a more positive attitude towards your problem skin. Sounds a bit trippy I know but let me explain.
I know from personal experience that whenever I’m feeling down or depressed, regular exercise is one thing that helps pick me up. Just getting my body moving, the blood flowing and my mind distracted helps tremendously.
Revisiting the mind/body connection
I blogged only recently about mindset and how important a positive mindset is for a healthy relationship with food and for clearing the skin. Mindset can also be extended to the image you have of yourself and of your skin.
I read countless emails from people telling me that they spend hours looking at their skin in the mirror, how they wake up in the morning and the first thing they do is check their skin and how their acne is always on their mind. And I know these people are telling the truth because that was me once too. I lost hours of my life staring at my skin in front of the mirror. It seems so pointless and stupid now but at the time I just couldn’t seem to keep myself away.
One thing I found that helped “fix” my unhealthy attitude towards my skin was (yes you guessed it) regular exercise. Something about the blood pumping around my body and my heart rate going up really does help to create a positive frame of mind. While you’re exercising you’re also distracting your mind and focusing on something else so you don’t have time to think about your skin. It’s nice sometimes just to forget about your acne and focus on something else that’s positive in your life, something that’s actually constructive not destructive to your health and well being.
I also always feel like eating healthy food after I exercise. I’m not entirely sure how that works but it does. The last thing I feel like eating after a skate or a bike ride is a big chunk of mud cake, I’d rather have a fresh juice or a savory meal.
So as you can see, regular exercise is just one piece of the holistic puzzle to healthy skin. Because the regular exercise helps to create a positive attitude towards your problem skin and if you’re like me, it even helps you eat better!
Choosing exercise that’s right for you
I like to exercise with other people because I’m a social person, but this isn’t for everyone. You need to find something that fits well with you. I discovered rollerblading about three years ago now and while it is considered a little lame in some circles, I love it and find it an awesome way to keep my fitness up and tone my body at the same time.
Walking I discovered about two years ago when I started going with a friend. Sometimes it’s more gossiping than walking but we always end up having a bit of a workout. And cycling is something I’ve always loved. If not just for exercise, sometimes it’s a great way just to get around. It’s fantastically good for the environment and you’re solving two problems at once - how to get from A to B and how to fit your exercise routine into the day. For a while when I worked in an office I was even riding to and from work.
There are plenty of other ways to exercise - try the gym, join a sport team, do laps in the pool, take up running …just go with what sounds FUN because that’s the most important thing!
Fran Kerr is the founding editor of High on Health. To cure your acne, sign up to Fran's FREE acne cure mini-course or download her latest how to guide, Eat Away Your Acne.
8 responses ↓
Really good article Fran. What you’ve written tends to follow my own experiences.
When I first got back to Australia after a few years in the UK I went on a health binge - I was a bit of a fatty so I completely revamped my diet and introduced a pretty intense exercise routine.
What I found was that I was getting really bad spots on my back for the first few months. As winter came along and it got cooler, the pimples stopped and as the next summer came around they didn’t reappear. Out of interest, have you heard of this happening before?
It was kind of like my body had adjusted to its new regime after the first initial shock. So I recommend to peole who start some serious exercise routines that find their skin gets bad to try and ride it out for a few months as it may well be a temporary reaction to your changed lifestyle.
Hi Chris, I can’t imagine you as a bit of a fatty! Like you said, it’s likely the spots on your back were toxins coming out, especially if you went from being relatively unhealthy to exercising and eating well. Being summer as well, you would have been sweating those toxins out while you were exercising - and one of the sweatiest areas for men is the back.
Oh yeah I definitely was - I went from almost 90kg to my current weight of about 73-74kg! I’ve had a few people mention I would have been sweating out the toxins from my body - given what I used to eat I’m lucky I only had spots!
For the record, now that I am eating better and a lot fitter I find that I don’t get nearly as many spots as I used to, even though I’m now in a sub-tropical climate again and have a fairly oily skin-type too.
Oh another testimonial that diet and acne are related, wonderful thank you
Wow, this really hit a spot. I’ve been stressing SO BAD lately over my face and every time I look in the mirror I just want to cry. I was just thinking about how much of a negative impact that must have before I read this post.
I don’t think it’s “trippy” at all. It’s so true!
About the exercise, it never makes my skin worse unless I don’t shower right after. Otherwise I end up paying for it for at least a week.
wow. i was just searching “can exercise help my acne” and found your article - really helpful! I used to exercise a lot at the gym and never had acne until recently (i havnt worked out in like a year) but wasnt sure if there was a connection between the two - now i know i need to get back out there!
I agree with Cassie. It seems the sweat itself maybe contains the toxins? Is this possible? Because I find all sorts of issues if I let sweat dry on my skin after a workout: acne breakouts/clogged pores, as well as in itchy scalp where I swear I must have sweat glands.
Definitely, sweat is one of the ways our body releases toxins so agreed - it is better to wash that sweat off.
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