Movement. It’s a tarted up word for exercise, but that’s partly due to the stigma that has become attached to exercising.
When I think about exercising I think hot and sweaty, gyms (group fitness classes or weights circuits), boot camps, punishment, uncomfortable physical exertion and expensive workout wear that never looks as good on me as it does in the store or in the advertisements.
Exercise, to me, always meant “not good enough as you are”. Too fat. Too wobbly. Too weak. Too slow. Too scrawny. Too average.
I wore it as a bit of a medal of honour in my younger years that I didn’t “need” to exercise.
It’s not a pleasant undertaking to me, even less so if someone tells me its good for me.
There are two important truths here:
- If you’re looking to move some body weight, most of the answer lies in what you put into your mouth, not what exercise you are doing;
- Exercise is good for you for a range of reasons. But it’s more than pounding it out on the pavement or in the gym.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
Exercise – moving with some vigour – for at least 20 minutes every day has a range of health benefits including reducing stress, depression and heart disease. So no matter where you are on life’s journey, daily exercise is helping you to live a longer, healthier life.
Exercise takes many forms, which is why I prefer to think of it as “movement”. It just has to be something that elevates your heart rate (sex doesn’t count as exercise). It could include:
Walking, hiking in your local national park, horseback riding, trampolining, ocean swimming, frisbee throwing, kayaking as well of course as organised sports, including social touch football, netball etc.
Family type activities such as beach cricket, throwing a footy in the backyard or a friendly game of tips count as does work around the house such as digging in the garden, mowing the lawn or a rigorous spring clean.
The point is, movement can be incorporated to suit your schedule, your preferences and what needs doing around the place.
I also learned this: find what works for you.
Signing up to the latest fad (like pole dancing), or a 30 day gym challenge, a work social sports team or 8 week fencing class is fine – if that’s the kind of movement you like.
But if dancing in your lounge room is more your style, or you prefer a running club that can help keep you accountable and supported, then… go do that! Anything else you commit to will likely end in failure, injury, wasted money or a combination of all three, without any of the benefits of why you started moving in the first place!
It’s OK to play around with a few different types of movement if you’re not sure what works for you.
As a former dancer, I thought Pilates or Barre classes would be great for me, but I quickly became bored with the repetition and the pressure of attending scheduled classes. I tried hot yoga and became an instant fan… although these days it’s a You Tube based class with Adriene at the beach because, again, scheduled classes at a venue where I’m not in control of what the flow will be today doesn’t work for me anymore.
I also started running again last year. Having tried it many years ago, with hopes of running a half marathon and failing (twice), I gave it another go and, over a long period of time, and in support of local charity Got Your Back Sista really found my groove with it. Side note: committing to a form of exercise to raise money for charity is a great way to stick with something!
For my partner Craig, it’s a daily visit to the beach for a workout on the sand and ocean swim. And for my girlfriend Janine its a mixture of many things, so long as it’s interesting, can fit in with her schedule and can be done at a venue, outdoors or in the convenience of her lounge room.
I can also tell you this. When I am regularly scheduling movement into my day – yoga, running, even a 20 minute walk to the beach and back – I notice the following:
- I sleep better (which also has a range of proven health benefits that help you live a better, longer life);
- I think better (more clarity, more creativity… am less irrational!);
- I feel better. This is BIG. Less prone to anxiety, and less patches of feeling lost, hopeless and depressed. In fact, its getting to a point where I ONLY feel this way if I have NOT exercised daily in a while.
For this reason alone, I wanted to share my experience on movement with you.
So, where to from here? Some tips:
- Pick your movement. If you’re not sure what you might like to do, ask some friends what they’re doing, check social media for local sporting groups. Once you start thinking about it, options will start appearing!
- Set a goal. Not a weight loss goal! The purpose of setting a goal is to make movement a habit, not a reward. Your goal might be to attend 3 x 1hr yoga sessions per week for a month. Or, to do 20 minutes of something (anything!) every day. If you’re a bit further along the journey, it might be to move from 20 minutes of walking to 20 minutes of running per day in a 3 month period.
- Find a cheersquad. Having someone you trust support your goal not only gives you a person to celebrate success with, its also a proven method for increasing your chance of success. (It has to be, right?!). Your cheersquad could be an exercise buddy, who you know will help you haul your ass out of bed on a cold winter morning (like my partner Craig), or it could be a peer who asks you each day at work about your latest run pace, or it can be virtual, with a Facebook group based on your common sporting interest.
- Be kind to yourself. When I started half marathon training, I felt like I was really up against it, that maybe my body would not hold out. I scheduled regular massages, gave myself treats as rewards (like wine and pizza on a Saturday night after a big run) and if I missed a scheduled run because I was tired, or it was raining (or I was too hungover), I’d just let it go. Because of these little rewards, and my end goal in sight, it was much easier to stay the course.
- Celebrate success. When you meet your goals, or reach a milestone (like lifting a certain weight, or completing 10 yoga sessions in a row, or getting to 1 month of 20 minutes of daily movement), congratulate yourself. Share your success with your friends (your cheersquad may already be doing that for you), give yourself a pat on the back and a little reward. Knowing there’s a finish line – even if it’s only one of many – is a great motivator for starting and continuing on your movement journey.
So, over to you now. There’s no better day than today to start your movement journey!
I’d love to hear how you’re going, share in the comments below what works for you, and any tips you have for our Well Club community.
the-well-club.com 