\n Community is one of the most valuable parts of a workout class like this, said Martin, who is dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Wisconsin \u2013 Green Bay.\n <\/p>\n
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\n For someone searching for a grief community, a grief or trauma support group might seem intimidating. Walking into a grief weight-lifting class, though \u2014 that could be an easier task.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis might provide a community where you know you\u2019re connecting with other people\u2019s similar experiences, but you\u2019re not just doing it over that experience, which could be too much,\u201d Martin said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Betsy Kaplan, 29, had that idea in mind when she founded Grief, Sweat & Tears. After she lost her father to suicide eight years ago, Kaplan didn\u2019t have a \u201cgrief space\u201d at home in New York. She wanted to create a \u201cno-pressure zone,\u201d where no one felt obligated to share their grief stories.\n <\/p>\n
How to get help<\/p>\n
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, please call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 to connect with a trained counselor, or visit the 988 Lifeline website<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe\u2019re here to work out,\u201d Kaplan said. \u201cWe\u2019re here to meet people who get it and just make new connections.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n At an early GST event, Kaplan connected with Jake Montiel, who quickly became one of her best friends. Montiel lost his mother three years ago when he was 30. As part of GST tradition, participants say the name of the person they\u2019ve lost at the start of each workout class. Montiel said he was petrified the first time he shared his grief out loud, but he found community in the young woman standing next to him, who\u2019d lost her mother.\n <\/p>\n \n They clicked immediately, but they also had the workout to bond over. \u201cIt\u2019s really an honest, open safe space to basically open up and get that weight off your chest just from saying those powerful words of who you\u2019re grieving,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n \n Over the past six months, about 400 people have participated in a GST class, according to Kaplan.\n <\/p>\n \n In Westminster, Colorado, Elisa Thurston held her engagement party at E-motion Fitness<\/a>, an event space that\u2019s branded as part rage room, part gym, part sanctuary. Participants smash paint-filled glass bottles against the walls, one of which they\u2019ve decorated with an emotion they\u2019re feeling, such as rage or fear. Trainers then lead participants in a 45-minute full-body workout before the class moves into another room fashioned as a recovery space with art and quiet music.\n <\/p>\n \n Thurston wanted her family to experience a session \u2014 and get out last- minute wedding jitters, she said. After all, the class was her sanctuary through a breakup, during feelings of inadequacy and when she was frustrated with work.\n <\/p>\n \n She needed \u201cto sit and reflect with a group of people that I know care about me, and to be able to talk about that together, and then to be able to express that in a really fun and cathartic way,\u201d Thurston said. \u201cTalk therapy is great to talk through things with somebody, but I do feel like this workout class is just a different way of engaging my whole self in that experience.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Participants often describe \u201creleasing\u201d negative emotions during a workout class, but Martin, the Wisconsin-based psychologist, cautions against saying this. The emotion isn\u2019t going anywhere.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt keeps the heart elevated at a time when the goal is typically to decrease the heart rate,\u201d he explained, referring to the physical activity. \u201cIt keeps your muscles tense at a time when the goal is often to decrease that muscle tension.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n While the concept of choosing to box or run when you\u2019re on the brink of an emotional breakdown might seem like a positive outlet, it isn\u2019t for everyone, according to Martin.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cBe wary. One of the things that cardiovascular activity does is it simulates panic in a lot of ways,\u201d Martin said. \u201cFor a person who is prone to panic disorders or has difficulty with panic, simulating that in some settings might be dangerous.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Among refugees who\u2019ve experienced significant trauma, a 10-week physical activity program led to \u201csignificant reductions\u201d in PTSD, depression and anxiety, a March study found<\/a>. Yet researchers still don\u2019t understand specifics around the effects of exercise on people in adverse emotional states.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWhat we don\u2019t know yet is exactly why it worked so well \u2014 whether it was the exercise itself, feeling safe and supported while exercising, connecting with other people, or some combination of all of those things,\u201d Martin said of the study.\n <\/p>\n \n Those considering emotion-centered workout classes should ensure they are able to opt out of a workout whenever they need to, said Dr. Ethan Kross, professor of psychology and management at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He said he encourages people to \u201cself-experiment.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n What\u2019s Martin\u2019s biggest piece of advice? Don\u2019t just rely on workout classes to process adverse emotions. If you\u2019re dealing with profound trauma or grief, work with therapists or in group therapy, he said.\n <\/p>\n \n There are other ways to process negative emotions, Martin said. In addition to therapy and exercise, he recommends speaking to your doctor about medication, spending time in nature and reading books about grief.\n <\/p>\n \n Kross said he advises participants to first recognize there are multiple tools to deal with their experiences. If you\u2019re someone who engages in negative self-talk, think about how you\u2019d talk to a friend in the same situation, he said.\n <\/p>\n \n He also suggests \u201cadopting a more detached perspective on what\u2019s happening, becoming an observer, a fly on the wall, thinking about what\u2019s happening to you from a distance.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Kross said the community component of a workout class is \u201cjust the tip of the iceberg.\u201d These classes could do more to help people process their emotions, but there isn\u2019t much science informing the class workout structure, he said. For instance, venting anger might seem like a good idea, but it could sustain it, a 2024 study<\/a> by The Ohio State University found.\n <\/p>\n \n In Borowska\u2019s Liftonic class though, it\u2019s a Friday night \u2014 and no one is concerned about the science. Participants gathered outside the studio, mixing laughs at weekend plans with the tears of grief and deadlift-induced sweat.\n <\/p>\n \n Montiel and Kaplan, who both attended the session, carried the class\u2019 momentum into a local bar.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI now have a boatload of friends who, if I\u2019m having a \u2018grief moment,\u2019 I can pick up the phone and call. \u2026 I can ask if they want to meet for coffee, and I\u2019m seeing it with other people, too,\u201d Kaplan said. \u201cIt sucks that we\u2019re all in this club, but it\u2019s really great to know we have this.\u201d\n <\/p>\n![\"After](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc0054.jpg\")
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