Exercise tips by a therapist (who is also a fitness professional)

As a therapist with two decades of experience working in the fitness industry, many people ask me for advice on a body positive, balanced, and self-compassionate approach to exercise. I love to sing from the rooftops about Intuitive Movement - a sustainable and enjoyable approach to movement that takes the guilt, rules, and punishment out of exercise.

Want to know how to make your exercise Intuitive Movement? Here I outline some tips

How to do Intuitive Movement: 

Important Note: The whole point of something being intuitive is that it can’t be dictated to you from the outside.  If Intuitive Movement is not a program or a set of rules, then how do we go about it?

Here’s a little ‘recipe’ for hints towards finding your own moderation with movement.  It’s important not to turn it into rules, or feel like you’ve ‘failed’ at it.  These are merely points that will help you to become more mindful of the movement or rest your body needs.

Choose activities you enjoy

Don’t like running? You don’t have to run! Stop doing it. Choose only activities you enjoy (or feel neutral about). Maybe it’s dancing in your lounge room, gardening, stretching, walking whilst listening to podcasts, doing Tai Chi You Tube sessions, hitting a tennis ball against a wall… Any movement you enjoy (or don’t mind) is an option! Refrain from forcing yourself to do physical activity you hate.  

Explore new ways to move that interest you

Building a repertoire of activities is a great way to boost variety, engagement and desire to move. Remember that all movement ‘counts’ towards your wellbeing, it doesn’t have to be running or gym.

focus on what you can do

Do you have limited mobility due to injury, illness, or disability? Focus on what you can do rather than berating yourself for what you can’t. You may need the help of a fitness professional, GP, or exercise physiologist to find out what’s suitable for you.

select activities that are appropriate for your current level of fitness and experience

If it’s been a while since you were active, it’s important to start gently and gradually.  Throwing yourself into a difficult, high intensity option is a sure-fire way to hate it, feel awful, and risk injuring yourself.

Focus on the immediate benefits

In one single bout of movement you can feel a boost in your energy levels, mood, self-esteem, and a reduction in anxiety, stress, stiffness and back pain.  Remind yourself of these benefits often.

remind yourself often of the importance of rest and recovery days

Professional athletes have these scheduled weekly for a good reason - they are an essential part of a fitness program and good health! Practice tuning into your body and trusting what it’s telling you. Do you need to get up and move to feel more energetic and less stiff? Or does your exhausted body need sleep and rest? Are you feeling pain that would be made worse by exercise? Intuitive Movement is about listening to what you need rather than following external rules or ‘shoulds’. If you struggle to take days off exercise even when you wish you could this article might be helpful.

if you feel pain during movement, STop

Continuing to exercise through pain is very common when we focus on the ‘shoulds’ and external rules rather than letting our body be the expert. Ignoring pain and continuing to push on with exercise is very likely to lead to longer term injury and pain. Seek professional guidance from a physiotherapist or fitness professional.

Let go of associating movement with ‘burning off’, compensating for, or balancing out food

You do not need to ‘earn’ your food. Our bodies need calories simply because they are alive and breathing. Diet culture has firmly fused food, body size, and exercise together so this one can be tough and slow to unlearn. You may need professional help from a therapist for this.

stop using movement as punishment for anything (food, alcohol, or your size/appearance)

How can we associate movement with enjoyment if we’re connecting it with guilt, shame and punishment all the time? Our relationship with exercise becomes very fraught when it’s seen as a tool for “fixing” what is “wrong” with us.

Give up counting calories burned

Please take a break (or quit) your wearable fitness tracker and calorie burning counters. Cease logging your calories eaten and calories burned. This is an important step in healing our relationship with exercise.

set goals that are not about weight or appearance

(If goals are your thing - it’s ok if they’re not!).  There are so many goals we can set around movement that have nothing to do with changing our weight or appearance: improving our cardiovascular fitness, improving our strength, improving our flexibility, being able to do something we are not currently able to do, mastering a new skill, trying a new activity… Let go of seeing physical activity as a tool for shaping your body.

I hope this piece helps you to view exercise in a new way. May you find movement you enjoy and learn to trust that your body can tell you when, what and how much is right for you at any time. If you would like to explore and improve your relationship with movement, I’d love to work with you.