Why I don't believe you're ever 'Lazy' for not exercising

10 July

How many times have you told yourself (or been told by someone else) that you're 'lazy' for not exercising?

Here's the thing, I don’t believe in lazy - I believe in real life and real people getting stuck.

I like to think of the things that get us stuck as either 'Roadblocks' or 'Speed bumps'

Roadblocks are things that you can't move over, under or through- think a big illness, a new injury, a big life change - this is where we have to give ourselves grace and accept that movement has to take a back seat to other more important life stuff & we need to choose a completely different option.

e.g. finding time to work out whilst you are symptomatically unwell, you have a migraine, you just finished a 12 hour work day.

Obstacles or speed bumps- slow us down! They are things we can move or pivot around and remind us to stay flexible- for example new work hours and changing your movement sessions from am to pm, having to work late so rescheduling your class or movement session! Perhaps even feeling a bit tired and swapping out higher intensity for movement that leaves you with energy in the tank!

Here are my tips on how to move around speed bumps so you don’t get stuck:

#1 Make your speed bumps smaller

Short on time? Okay!

Consider all the ways you can make movement less time-consuming:

Move at a gym that’s close by/at home/ on the way to/from work
Do short bouts of movement (movement snacks/break a workout into small amounts
Do a class but pick a shorter one or one you feel safe stopping as often as you like
- Perhaps even give yourself permisson to do the first 5-10 minutes then decide how much energy you can give to it
- give yourself permisson to move in a 4/10 way if you feel 4/10
- have a plan to minimise decision fatigue

#2 Pivot!! Move around it

Not every obstacle needs to be faced!

Don’t have your headphones or shoes?
- You can totally do it without them if that’s tolerable for you/slightly unpleasant!
it’s cold/hot outside?
- Bundle up more & get more clothes
- Wear your coolest/more airflow outfit, put ice in your water bottle, stay in the aircon & move at a slower pace with more rest!
Hate early mornings? (me too! haha)
- Stop trying to force something you hate - perhaps instead of aiming for 6am - could you be ok with 7am? 8am? 9am? You don’t have to figure out how to get “motivated” then - do it at a time that doesn’t instantly leaving you screaming “HELL NO!

#3 Take a ‘self compassionate side quest’ - aka change your approach + take a more tolerable road!

Take a rest day

Stretching + recovery
Mobility + myofascial work
Non-gym movement - walk the dog, dance to your fav song, swim in the ocean, dance in your undies to your fav playlist, play with your kids/dog/cat
Try again another day