How Kumail Nanjiani Uses Fitness as a Way to Relieve Stress After Transforming His Body for a Role
With burnout, anxiety and overwhelm dominating wellness conversations, readers want to know how famous faces actually cope with stress — and many of them point to the same answer: exercise. Stars including Kumail Nanjiani, Khloé Kardashian, Kelly Ripa, Gisele Bündchen and Michelle Obama have all spoken publicly about how working out helps them manage stress, anxiety and emotional overload.
How Do Celebrities Use Exercise to Manage Stress?
Many celebrities turn to workouts when stress builds up, treating fitness as a mental health tool rather than only a way to stay in shape. The list spans Hollywood, music, fashion and politics.
Arnold Schwarzenegger framed the connection years ago. “Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body,” he once said.
Experts back up what these stars describe. Dr. Hazel Wallace, author, nutritionist and founder of The Food Medic, said exercise carries benefits that go well beyond appearance, according to Health & Wellbeing.
“I’m passionate about exercise for reasons beyond aesthetics and weight loss. Exercise can not only transform your physical health and reduce your risk of multiple diseases, such as heart disease and certain forms of cancer, but it can also improve your mental health,” Wallace said.
“Every time you exercise, you’re training your brain to be happier, smarter, healthier and more resilient to stress,” she continued. “This is because exercising can actually change the structural and the chemical make-up of your brain. So just as exercising improves the strength of your muscles, it also strengthens your brain and the connections within it. This reduces your risk of brain related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, but also reduces your risk of developing depression and other mental health disorders. However, just like a muscle, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it, so in order to get long-lasting effects, we need to do it regularly.”
The science helps explain why famous faces from daytime TV hosts to Oscar nominees keep returning to the gym, the boxing ring or the running path when life gets overwhelming.
What Have Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon Said About Exercise and Anxiety?
Actor and writer couple Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon have both spoken about how exercise plays a role in their mental health.
Nanjiani transformed his body over 14 months after he was cast in Marvel’s Eternals. He reflected on the experience in November 2022 with HollywoodLife, explaining that his relationship with fitness stuck even after filming wrapped.
“I really got a lot out of it, so I do it. I’m not as rigid as I was, but I just saw a lot of benefits for myself in it,” Nanjiani said. “It’s sort of become part of my routine. Now, I feel antsy if I’m not going to the gym, it just really sort of grounds me and it’s great for stress relief.”
Gordon, a writer and producer, told the same outlet that “working out is really great for anxiety,” something she discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What I started doing in the pandemic that I’d never done before is lifting weights,” Gordon said. “In some ways, I had been a little scared of pushing my body to any kind of physical limits because I’d been afraid of of getting sick. I’ve been afraid of kind of what that could do, but what I learned was that I’ve been kind of babying my body a little bit, when I can actually push it more than I thought I could.”
How Do Kelly Ripa, Gabrielle Union and Michelle Obama Use Fitness for Stress Relief?
Several high-profile women have credited fitness with helping them work through stress and emotional overload, each in their own way.
Daytime host Ripa described exercise as her go-to remedy when she has had a bad day or feels overwhelmed.
“I like what [exercise] does for my mind. If I’ve had a bad day, if I’m feeling stressed out, if I’m feeling overwhelmed — it takes it all away. It’s my antidote for everything. If I feel any sort of emotional upheaval, I go for a jog, and I feel better,” Ripa once told Good Housekeeping.
Gabrielle Union takes a more physical approach. She told Elle in November 2014 that she leans on kickboxing when she needs to release frustration in a healthy outlet.
“I like kickboxing because I can work out some aggression without judgment. Because you can’t go around hitting people, apparently they arrest you for that. A good boxing workout is the best stress, anxiety, and rage reliever there is, so I definitely look forward to that,” Union said.
Former first lady Obama has long talked about fitness as part of her own mental health routine.
“Exercise is really important to me — it’s therapeutic,” Obama once said, according to Vogue. “So if I’m ever feeling tense or stressed or like I’m about to have a meltdown, I’ll put on my iPod and head to the gym or out on a bike ride along Lake Michigan with the girls.”
Whether the choice is a jog, a heavy bag or a bike ride along the lake, the common thread is using movement to defuse stress before it takes over the day.
What Has Khloe Kardashian Said About Working out for Stress?
Kardashian has been one of the most vocal celebrities about using exercise to relieve stress, describing the gym as essential for clearing her head and managing anxiety.
“For me, working out is a huge part of my life and it clears my head,” Kardashian told People in March 2021. “It makes me feel strong and accomplished. That little bit of self-care is what I need.”
She also told the magazine that exercise specifically helps with the anxiety she sometimes experiences and changes how she shows up for her kids.
“It’s a stress reliever. I get anxiety sometimes. It takes all of that away,” she said. “A by-product of [working out] is you look good. But my main focus isn’t about, ‘Oh, I need to lose 5 lbs.’ I don’t care about the scale. I feel energized and I’m ready to chase my daughter [True] around for the day. It gives you that little oomph that I need.”
She had made similar comments years earlier. “I promise you, the gym has taken away so much of my stress,” Kardashian told Marie Claire in December 2015. “It has helped calm me down. When I’m fidgety and I just feel like everything is closing in, I go to the gym. You’re building endorphins and feeling good about yourself. It’s saved me.”
How Do Gisele Bündchen and Katie Piper Manage Stress Through Movement?
Supermodel Bündchen has spoken openly about stress management as part of her overall wellness approach. She shared her advice on Instagram in December 2023.
“Managing stress is part of life and while we can’t always control our circumstances, we can choose how we respond to them and try to find healthy ways to deal with it,” Bündchen wrote.
Her first recommendation was physical activity. “Do a physical activity: it doesn’t need to be weights at the gym. Find something that you enjoy, dance, yoga, run, play a sport. The important thing is getting your body moving so you can benefit from the release of endorphins,” she wrote.
Bündchen also pointed to time outdoors and quiet reflection as complementary tools. “Walk in nature: Spending just 20 minutes a day connecting with nature can help lower stress and balance hormone levels,” she wrote, adding, “Meditation / Conscious breathing: Find a comfortable spot in a quiet place, focus on your breath, allow your mind and body to calm down.”
TV presenter Katie Piper takes a similar view of exercise as a mental health practice. She told Health & Wellbeing in July 2019 that movement helps her feel in control of her life.
“For me, exercise is just as much about my mental health and wellbeing as it is about keeping fit. Exercise helps me release stress, feel in control of my life and helps me be the best version of myself that I can possibly be. It sounds so cliché,” Piper said. “But I really do believe in the mantra ‘healthy body, healthy mind’. Even if it’s just as simple as running around the park with the kids. Just getting outside and moving my body for 20 minutes makes me feel so much better.”
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
