3 reasons to switch to gentle exercise (and how to do it)
For so many of us, the words gentle and exercise just don’t make sense together. We might have memories of having to run laps of the oval at school and then made to do some extra exercise as punishment for not being fast enough. It never made sense to me. Why more exercise when exercise is not your forte?
Or perhaps your more recent experience of exercise is to flog yourself for a few weeks in the name of weight loss only to get injured, burnt out or disappointed when you don’t end up looking like Elle McPherson in a TAB commercial. I swear to god, growing up in the 80’s was pretty catastrophic for body image!
And so maybe, just maybe, you’ve pretty much stopped exercising all together. Because, what’s the point? It hurts, it takes up too much time, and it doesn’t “work”.
But here’s the thing, exercise is essential for so many reasons - maintaining lean muscle mass, supporting a healthy metabolism, mental health support and facilitating flexibility so that getting up and down from the ground is not impossible! So instead of working out at all full strength, my recommendation is to switch your workouts to gentle exercise. And here are 3 reasons why.
Respect your body (and it’s limits)
Why all this punishment? What did your body ever do to you? I know this is a loaded question, believe me (I have multiple chronic illnesses), but seriously, why do you have to punish yourself all the time?
Practicing gentle exercise means you get to call the shots. Sometimes you might be hard core (if you’ve got the energy or the strength) but oftentimes you’ll take it fairly easy. You know your body better than anyone so if you need to be gentle then do it. You can always build your strength and go harder later down the track. Or you might just realise that gentle exercise is just how you like it!
2. You might actually do it!
Okay, so how’s all this punishment going for you? Is it working? Does it make you want to get in the gym?
Nah, I didn’t think so. It might be hard to imagine, but when you take the gentle exercise option you get to a point where exercise becomes enjoyable. It’s something you really want to do. And from there you might end up getting into something a bit more strenuous. Or not. You decide. It’s your body.
3. Say “F You” to diet culture
We’ve been made to believe that the only way to be healthy is to be thin. And that the only way to be thin is to be on a constant diet and thrash ourselves at the gym. But guess what… it’s not the weight that matters, it’s our behaviours.
Regular exercise, gentle nutrition, good sleep and stress reduction are essential for good health, even if you have a few extra kgs.
So if you’re not doing exercise because you are tired of punishing yourself in the name of being thin (because you don’t like it and/or it no longer “works”) then gentle exercise is your saviour. You get the exercise your body needs for good health, but no punishment. Yay!
So, how do I do this gentle exercise, Emma?
Dear reader, I am so glad you asked! For a moment, let’s put aside the actual exercise and talk about logistics.
Firstly, make sure you are creating a gentle fitness regimen that fits into your lifestyle. Exercise is just one small part of your life so you don’t want it to take over. Find a class, personal trainer or online community that fits into your calendar. For example, my online fitness membership has live Zoom classes (so you save commuting time), but also has replays so if the time that the live workouts happen don’t suit you, you can do it later at your leisure.
The second way to make gentle exercise work for you is to vary your workouts according to your energy & strength levels on any given day. We don’t have the same energy levels every day so it doesn’t make sense to workout at the same intensity every day either. In my online fitness membership, I use the phases of the moon to plan the workouts as our energy levels ebb and flow just like the moon. (If you’d like to find some workout ideas for the different phases of the moon click here.)
And now let’s talk about WHAT gentle exercise you should be doing. According to the Australian Government:
Adults should be active most days, preferably every day. Each week, adults should do either:
2.5 to 5 hours of moderate intensity physical activity – such as a brisk walk, golf, mowing the lawn or swimming
1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous intensity physical activity – such as jogging, aerobics, fast cycling, soccer or netball
an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous activities.
Include muscle-strengthening activities as part of your daily physical activity on at least 2 days each week. This can be:
push-ups
pull-ups
squats or lunges
lifting weights
household tasks that involve lifting, carrying or digging.
So, let’s take the 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate intensity exercise example:
Take a yoga class (1 hour), Do 3 x 30 minute workouts (1.5 hours) and go for a walk with a friend (45 minutes). That’s 3.25 hours and pretty do-able I should think?