Crying during a workout doesn't make you weak — it makes you human.

Jogger taking break against bridge
Credit: Getty Images/ Kevin Kozicki

You already know that working out releases endorphins that can do wonders to boost your happiness and overall mood. (*Insert Elle Woods' quote here*) But, sometimes, breaking a sweat leaves you with a symptom you commonly associate with sadness (sans the pain): tears.

Candace Cameron Bure recently found herself in that situation during a Peloton ride. In a TikTok video, the actress is shown tearing up during a tough workout on the bike.

"Who else is me on the Peloton?" Bure wrote across the TikTok video. "Waves of sadness, the weight of the world but also gratitude and everything in between overwhelm you."

Bure said exercise helps her "release" her emotions. "[It's] OK to ugly cry," she wrote on TikTok. "I felt so much better and brighter after!"

Bure definitely isn't alone. Wellness influencer Britney Vest has opened up about not one, but several times that she's cried during a workout. She shared her experiences on Instagram in an effort to shed light on the touchy-feely side of fitness.

"I would definitely consider myself an emotional person, but I never thought I would be the one to shed tears over a workout," she wrote. "The first time it happened, the teacher was talking about so many things that resonated with me that it felt like she was talking directly to me. Between her words and the timing of the exercise we were doing, I found myself with tears slowly rolling down my face and a tightness in my throat. Not necessarily boohooing but tears nonetheless and as much as I felt sad the tears that released helped me feel free. I felt a weight lifted." (Did you know your sweat can literally spread happiness?)

"Another time it happened I was on a retreat in Bali, I was doing an obstacle race and I felt like I was dying a little as I ran it," she continued. "I was also thinking the entire time as I struggled about how much more fit I used to be a year or two ago and I was so frustrated! Plus I let the self-doubt creep into my head and then it was basically downhill from there. As soon as I crossed the finish line I burst into uncontrollable tears and I was in shock that it came out that way! But it did and I embraced it for what it was!"

Vest said she feels that her long yet fruitful 85-pound weight loss journey is part of the reason why fitness can be so emotional for her. "The thing that always makes me so proud is that I haven't given up on myself," she wrote. "Over the past 8 years, I've managed to maintain some sort of workout routine and I've come to love it and look forward to it! But man oh man does it have its rough days! As adults, I think we sometimes bottle up our emotions way too much, and it's OK to let those emotions come up and come out in the form of tears!" (Related: Experts Explain Why You Can't Stop Crying During Yoga)

And she does have a point. There's no denying that fitness can truly be a form of therapy if you're open to it (though there are also times when you shouldn't rely on workouts as your therapy). Not only is it a way to escape from the real world to clear your mind, but it is also an opportunity to process what's going on in life — and, as Bure said, if that leaves you "ugly crying," that's totally okay.

As Vest said herself: "It doesn't make you weak and it doesn't make you a baby. It makes you human! So if you've ever found yourself crying in a workout or right after just know you are not alone! It happens to the best of us!"