Kristen Bell Opened Up About the "Big Difference" Exercise Makes In Her Mental Health

Kristen Bell is crushing her quarantine home workouts. She recently shared a time-lapse video on Instagram showing herself doing a series of at-home cardio and strength moves, led by Los Angeles-based trainer Charlie Curtis.

Huffing and puffing between sets, a red-faced Bell can be seen doing weighted squats (with dumbbells), renegade row push-ups, boat pose, and burpees in her video. "I thought the burpees at the end would kill me," she joked in her caption.

As exhausted as she was post-workout, Bell said she also felt "alive and incredibly grateful" for the "blood-pumping session."

"I don't work out to get a certain body shape. I work out for my mental health. And I notice a BIG difference when I do and when I don't [work out]," she continued. "When I don't, I'm sad, irritable, anxious, and lethargic. When I do, I'm content, motivated, peaceful, and energetic."

Of course, there's no denying the many mental health benefits of regular exercise. As Bell said, working out—even socially distanced fitness—can help you stay alert, sharp, motivated, and ~alive~, thanks to the flood of mood-enhancing chemicals to your brain that follows a good sweat session.

But remember: You don't have to dial up the intensity to reap the brain-boosting benefits of exercise. "Taking a walk stimulates the release of serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, and endorphins and makes you feel calmer and happier," Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D., a professor of neural science and psychology at New York University, previously told Shape. (In fact, here's why you might want to cool it on high-intensity workouts during the COVID crisis.)

If you need recs for your own quarantine home workouts, Bell invited followers to join her for the virtual classes she does with Curtis (you can find his Zoom classes here; he goes live at 11 a.m. PT Monday through Saturday). "[His classes are] always challenging, which I love (and also hate)," Bell joked in her post. (These trainers and studios are offering free online workout classes amid the coronavirus pandemic, too.)

Bell said she even made a new friend in one of her recent workout classes after being partnered up over Zoom. Imagine being so blessed that you're Kristen Bell's fitness buddy in a Zoom workout class?!