Break Free From Your Exercise Police!

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Do you need to break free from your Exercise Police?

Like your internal Food Police, the voices in your head that try to enforce food moralism and the harmful food rules our diet and wellness cultures have created, your inner Exercise Police are the voices in your head that try to enforce rules regarding what is and isn’t acceptable when it comes to movement.

Your Exercise Police may sound something like this…

  • It’s not really exercise unless you get your heart rate up or break a sweat.

  • You must work out for at least X minutes, otherwise it doesn’t count.

  • You can’t stop until you go a certain distance or burn a specific number of calories.

  • If you skip a workout, you need to eat less to make up for it.

  • No matter how your body is feeling, you have to do the workout you planned.

  • It’s not worth it if it doesn’t burn very many calories.

  • If you don’t work out today, you’ll have to work out twice as hard tomorrow.

  • You don’t have the right body for that type of exercise.

  • If you ate “badly,” you have to work out to make up for it.

  • If you want a “bad” food, you have to work out to earn it.

  • If you don’t exercise, you’re bad, lazy, undisciplined and unhealthy.

  • If it doesn’t result in weight loss, there’s no point in doing it.

Does any of this sound familiar? I bet you can think of some rules that aren't on this list. I could have gone on and on!

Squash Joy and Connection
When your Exercise Police are driving your decision-making, you may find yourself frequently ignoring the messages your body is sending you, like pain or fatigue, to adhere to your exercise rules.

You may also find yourself feeling less motivated to move, dreading your workouts, pushing your body beyond its limits, experiencing frequent injuries, exercising when you’re sick, or prioritizing exercise over friends and family.

With their very black-and-white, all-or-nothing approach to movement, your Exercise Police likely amplify your stress rather than alleviate it, leave you feeling depleted instead of invigorated, and make you feel guilty and ashamed when you break a rule.

Basically, your Exercise Police suck all the fun and joy out of movement and disconnect you from your innate body wisdom.

How to Break Free
The good news is that you can break free from your Exercise Police by recognizing their presence, challenging their commands, defying their rules, and giving yourself permission to experiment with other possibilities based on what feels right to you.

Instead of adhering to external rules, plans or authorities when it comes to movement (and eating!), listen to your internal cues. This means checking in with your body and honoring what it’s needing and desiring.

Perhaps it’s gentle stretching instead of a fast-paced yoga class, a relaxing walk versus a vigorous run, or a kitchen dance party rather than a boot-camp workout.

Or maybe it’s a rest day, a soak in the tub, or a nap!

Joyful, Intuitive Movement
To help you cultivate a relationship with movement that’s joyful, flexible, balanced and intuitive, ask yourself questions, such as:

  • What is my body truly needing and desiring right now?

  • What’s my motivation, what am I hoping this activity will do for me?

  • If this activity had zero capacity to decrease my weight, would I still do it?

  • How is this movement making me feel?

  • Does this feel kind and respectful to my body?

  • Does this feel pleasurable or punitive?

  • Is this alleviating or amplifying my stress?

  • Is this energizing or exhausting me?

  • What would a more flexible, intuitive approach look like?

  • Am I having fun right now? If not, what would be more fun?

There are a million ways to move your body. Why do something that doesn’t feel good or you don’t enjoy? 

It's important, however, to remember that it's a privilege to even have a choice whether or not to engage in movement. And for some, exercise may never feel good or joyful for a variety of different reasons from a chronic condition to just simply hating it.

If this is the case for you, yet you want to experience some of the benefits of movement, then I encourage you to pick whatever feels the most tolerable and pair it with something that makes it a bit more tolerable, like a favorite friend, show or podcast.

Beware of Exercise Moralism
Despite what our diet, wellness and fitness cultures want us to believe, exercise isn’t a moral obligation.

How you choose to move your body, including choosing to not exercise at all, isn’t a reflection of your moral character. 

Just like with food, your exercise choices do not make you a good or bad person or superior or inferior.

What matters most is that you honor what works the best for you and feels the best for your body