Find Your Fitness
by Olivia Cartwright,
Getting outside and exercising can be really hard this time of year. Gone is the momentum of New Year's Resolutions and it’s still dark and cold out. The best advice we can give to maintain consistently with your exercise regimen is to find things that don't feel like exercise to you.
In life we need to understand that there is no one size fits all. Just as there is no one optimal diet for all, there is also no one superior workout. Life is personal and since following my own likes and dislikes I have transformed my approach to exercise.
I have had an ongoing struggle with exercise since I left school, I was a very active child with very dedicated (and organised) parents forever running me from ballet, to gymnastics to swimming. Fast forward to university where I was first introduced to the gym. I have had countless expensive gym memberships in the 10 years since and never managed a routine that resembled any kind of consistency. In fact, said membership, would frequently remain dormant for months at a time. The gym has, and probably always will, feel like the ultimate chore to me.
This past year has been the first time in my adult life that I can say that has changed and I actually look forward to exercise.
Two things have shifted:
1. I stopped looking at exercise as punishment and deeming it as necessary in order to change my body. Instead I started using it as a tool for my mental and physical health and started relishing in how good movement actually feels!
2. Finding something that I love to do was a big game changer. I needed to find an activity that was a bit out of the box and perhaps a little unusual that I found fun. This took some trial and error and can feel uncomfortable but it is worth it. My favourite activity of the week is now my contemporary ballet class.
In finding something that doesn’t feel like a chore and that I actually look forward to, I have managed to exercise 3x a week for 6 months without any struggle or stress. For me that looks like swimming on a Saturday, a dance class on a Tuesday and 90s yoga on a Friday. There are so many quirky and fun classes available to us now, that you are bound to find something that lights you up!
Do some research and see what you find. Where do your likes and dislikes take you? You don’t have to be doing regular HIIT training or running marathons to have a good relationship with fitness. Some of the classes we love are @silverlinings @moveyourframe @psycle and @barrecore. Share with us your favourites and your new finds. We'd love to hear how you get on.
