Did You Know Kelly Ripa’s Go-to Stress Antidote Is Exercise? How It Works as a Mental Reset
When stress builds up, plenty of celebrities reach for the same tool: a workout. From Khloé Kardashian and Kelly Ripa to Michelle Obama and Gisele Bündchen, A-listers have long credited movement, whether it’s lifting weights, kickboxing or a jog around the block as their go-to method for clearing their heads. And science backs them up. Exercise can reshape the brain’s chemistry, improve mood and build resilience against anxiety, making it one of the most accessible mental health tools available.
Here’s a closer look at what stars and experts have said about using fitness as a stress reliever, and why working out might be the antidote you didn’t know you needed.
Why Fitness Is a Proven Stress Reliever
Exercise isn’t just about aesthetics or weight loss, it’s a powerful tool for mental wellbeing. According to Dr. Hazel Wallace, author, nutritionist and founder of The Food Medic, regular movement changes both the structure and chemistry of the brain. The benefits go far beyond muscle tone, extending to mood regulation, cognitive function and long-term brain health.
“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 told Health & Wellbeing.
She continued: “Every time you exercise, you’re training your brain to be happier, smarter, healthier and more resilient to stress. 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.”
How Celebrities Use Working Out to Manage Anxiety
For many stars, the gym isn’t just a place to stay in shape, it’s where they go to reset mentally. Kardashian has spoken openly and often about how movement helps her manage anxiety and clear her mind, and she’s far from alone among celebrities who treat exercise as essential self-care rather than a vanity project.
“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 added: “It’s a stress reliever. I get anxiety sometimes. It takes all of that away. 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.”
Years earlier, Kardashian told Marie Claire in December 2015 that the gym had been life-changing during a difficult period: “I promise you, the gym has taken away so much of my stress. 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.”
Ripa shared a similar perspective with Good Housekeeping: “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.”
Finding Your Fit From Kickboxing to Outdoor Workouts
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to using exercise for stress relief. Some celebrities lean into high-intensity workouts to release pent-up energy, while others prefer gentler forms of movement like walking in nature or yoga. The common thread is finding something sustainable and enjoyable enough to do regularly.
Gabrielle Union told Elle in November 2014 that boxing is her preferred 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.”
Kumail Nanjiani, who famously transformed his physique over 14 months to play Kingo in Marvel’s Eternals, told HollywoodLife in November 2022 that fitness has become a grounding force in his life. “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. 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.”
His wife, writer and producer Emily V. Gordon, discovered weightlifting during the COVID-19 pandemic. “What I started doing in the pandemic that I’d never done before is lifting weights,” she told HollywoodLife. “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 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.”
TV presenter Katie Piper takes a more flexible approach. “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,” she told Health & Wellbeing in July 2019. “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.”
Building a Stress-Relief Routine That Lasts
Consistency matters more than intensity when it comes to using exercise for mental health. Bündchen and Obama both emphasize that movement is just one piece of a broader stress-management routine and that the best workout is the one you’ll actually do. Pairing physical activity with practices like meditation, time in nature and conscious breathing can multiply the benefits.
“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 on Instagram in December 2023. Her advice: “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 also recommended spending time outdoors and practicing mindfulness: “Walk in nature: Spending just 20 minutes a day connecting with nature can help lower stress and balance hormone levels,” and “Meditation / Conscious breathing: Find a comfortable spot in a quiet place, focus on your breath, allow your mind and body to calm down.”
Obama keeps it simple. “Exercise is really important to me — it’s therapeutic,” she told 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.”
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
