How to Make Movement Work for You

How much exercise is ‘enough’? What kind of exercise should you be doing? And if you haven’t been exercising regularly, how do you start and turn it into a habit? In this blog post I tackle these questions and more.

As a health coach working with women who are pretty darn stressed, exhausted, and feeling heavy in their bodies, exercise is almost always one of the topics that we deal with. And rightfully so: moving your body daily can help you to manage stress, boost your energy, lose weight, and overall feel better about yourself both inside and out.

I don’t need to convince you of the value of exercise, though. You already know it! What you might be struggling with, however, is how to insert (or re-insert) daily exercise into your life. And you might also be struggling with what sort of exercise you should be doing. So let’s address these issues.

But first, a little of my story.

My relationship with exercise

I’ve been consistent with exercise for most of my adult life- key words being “consistent” and “most”. When I’m on it, I’m on it, many times over the years feeling like I’m “in the best shape of my life”.

But there have also been plenty of times when I’ve gotten way off track.

For example, for a couple years after finishing my PhD I was living an extremely stressful existence only a 3 minute walk from a wonderful yoga studio where I had a paid monthly membership. But, I just couldn’t get myself to MOVE! I had lost my motivation. Even the fact that I was losing money on this yoga membership was not enough to motivate me. And, I was exhausted, seemingly all the time.

Second example: for a period of time in 2020, the pandemic basically closed down my gym for a number of months. And so I ended up going a few months hardly doing any kind of exercise other than surfing (which is great exercise but unfortunately the waves are inconsistent where I live). Bottom line, between not being able to go to the gym and having to stay at home all the time, I really lost my motivation to move. And I started feeling crappy. And the motivation tanked further. A vicious cycle.

So, I get it. Starting to exercise, and doing it consistently, can be quite a struggle. If you haven’t been moving your body regularly, getting started can be tough. If you’re stressed out and always feeling exhausted, getting started can be even tougher- even if you know, rationally speaking, that exercising is going to relieve some stress and give you energy.

Why can exercise seem so hard?

Two things are going on here. First, you’re building a new habit, which in itself is not easy (for tips on creating new habits, check out this blog post). And second, you’re exerting energy in a way you’re not used to. If you haven’t moved your body much in a while, going for a run or doing a HIIT class can be hard. This is normal!

So what should you do? You need to be more strategic and creative so you can find ways to move you body each day. Exercise doesn’t always need to mean going to the gym. And you need to be OK with wherever you’re at in terms of your physical fitness, and just take whatever’s the easiest next step. So let’s talk about that.

What counts as exercise?

First, I advocate reframing the idea of what “counts” as exercise. What if we talked about moving our bodies instead of “exercise” or “working out”?

Historically speaking, exercise for the sake of exercise, especially in a gym atmosphere, is a new thing. At the same time, sitting at a desk all day long is also, in the long historical perspective, a new thing for humans. We need to move our bodies, and it used to be a natural part of everyday life- doing chores, working outside, walking everywhere...

But these days, many of us are chained to a desk for much of the day. And if you work from home, you have even less need to move from that desk. Any of this resonate?

So first of all, let’s think about what really constitutes moving your body. It could be going to the gym, running, swimming laps, doing spin classes and cross fit. But it could also be:

• working in your garden

• raking leaves

• running around and playing with your kids

• cleaning the house

• taking the stairs

• walking the dog

• biking to work

This is definitely not an exhaustive list. But my point is, if you think creatively, I bet you can come up with ways to insert more movement into your day that don’t require going to the gym.

But is that kind of movement really sufficient, in order to release stress, boost energy, and lose weight?

Your NExt Steps: what kind of exercise should you be doing?

When it comes to movement, the general consensus is that physical fitness and health benefits will be greatest not only when you’re finding ways to move throughout your day, but also when you’re doing a combo of the following on a regular basis:

• cardio (building heart health),

• strength training (building muscle), and

• stretching or ‘mobility’ (preventing injury, among other things).

You probably already know this, right?

But there’s a difference between what health science says you should do, and what you realistically can do based on your current situation. On any given day and at any given time during your life, your exercise needs and abilities can vary.

When I was recovering from a traumatic brain injury, for months my exercise was extremely limited. A short walk would leave me exhausted. When I was ready to get back to the gym, I had to take things super easy.

By contrast, these days, when I know I have a surf trip coming up in a couple months, I really kick it into high gear: targeted strength training, yoga, and even swimming laps sometimes. For a surf trip, I like to be in top shape to catch as many waves as possible (and to feel safe and strong in the water). But for me, this sort of intense training is usually not sustainable 365 days a year. And that’s ok!

You can apply the same logic to wherever you are in your life at this moment. What sort of exercise should you do? It really depends. Here are three common scenarios.

If you’re hardly moving at all right now

Let’s say you haven’t exercised in a month. Or maybe longer than that- a year, or more. You’re basically at or near square one.

Your immediate goal? Start moving, and get into a daily habit. Create consistency.

At this point, if you decide to kick things off with a HITT or bootcamp-style class at the gym, what do you think might happen? My prediction: it’s very likely the class will feel difficult, you won’t be able to keep up, and you might even get injured. At the same time, you might beat yourself up (mentally) for not doing better, you may feel discouraged from doing it again, and… you’re back at square one.

Instead, what if you shifted your mindset a little to accept that you’re a beginner, and chose to do something simple that you can commit to for 5 days a week? Maybe you’ll start with 15 minutes of yoga each morning, or a walk around the neighborhood each day after work. What if you chose something that feels enjoyable, even if it’s a little challenging?

When I was trying to motivate myself to move daily during the pandemic when my gym was closed, I started small: a brief yoga practice in the morning. Then I added on a walk outdoors. And when that all started to feel like habit, I started adding on other activities and switching things up.

In sum, when you begin exercising and experience success, you’ll feel more motivated to keep doing it. You’ll build momentum. And then you’ll be ready to stack on more and different kinds of movement. And it hopefully won’t feel like a chore anymore!

If you’re ready to take things to the next level

Maybe you’re not a beginner, but you’re not yet doing “all the things”. Perhaps you’ve successfully transitioned from doing nothing to walking daily. Or maybe you’ve been going to the gym for months or even years, but you’ve mainly stuck to doing 30 minutes on the elliptical machine 4-5 days a week, or the same old classes, over and over again.

Exercise has become a habit, but you’re not really challenging yourself.

A personal example: for years, my mother was going to her local gym. She loved the place, hanging out with her friends and chatting away. She did the same exercises over and over again, 3-4 days a week. She was consistent. But she wasn’t really challenging herself.

Recently, she started exercising at a new gym, as part of a cardiac rehabilitation program. And instead of choosing what she does each day, the rehab trainer tells her what to do: what machines she’ll use, how fast she needs to walk, how hard she should be breathing, what her target heart rate should be, and what strength exercises she must do (when before she was doing none). All of a sudden, exercise has become more challenging for her, and she is seeing results. Her energy and mobility have improved, and her has weight gone down.

What does this mean for you? First, assess: are you at the point where you should take things to the next level and start challenging yourself more? If yes, assess again: what kinds of exercise are you already doing, and what kinds are you not doing? For example, if you’re only doing cardio, can you find a way to start doing some strength training? If you’ve mainly been using the stair climber machine, could you switch things up and try a class that will challenge you in a new way?

If you’re a cross-fit junkie (but maybe also Type-A and stressed out)

The third common scenario many of us find ourselves in- especially if you’re a type-A kinda gal- is overachieving at the gym- just as in life! You’re doing the HIIT classes, the bootcamp, the cross fit, the spin. You’re working out hard. You love it!

But you also might feel exhausted and hit a wall. And did you know, if you are experiencing a lot of stress in your life, then working out very hard like this can actually exacerbate the impact of that stress on your body? In other words, while exercise is a great form of stress relief, if you’re chronically stressed, too much or too hard exercise can actually have the opposite effect.

If this sounds familiar, then here’s a challenge: what if you took a step back and did something lower key? For example, an easy walk, tai chi, or a yin yoga class. You don’t need to stop moving. But what if you experimented with restorative kinds of movement?

Making Movement Work Better For You

Summing up, daily movement is good for your body and mind. But depending on what’s going on in your life, and what your current fitness level is, the type of movement you engage in can and should be different.

So here’s some homework: review the three scenarios above. Which one best describes where you’re at right now? Based on your answer, what could you do to make movement work better for you?

Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!