Healing our relationship with Fitness and Exercise
The words exercise and fitness are loaded with a history of assumptions and beliefs our culture has cultivated over the decades. Originally developing and becoming mainstream as a response to sedentary lifestyles brought on by the industrial revolution, exercise and fitness has grown and developed into a tremendous array of options and practices that have admittedly become ridiculously overwhelming to the general population!
As someone who enjoys exercise, I too am overwhelmed by the number of options available, and all of the information to sift through - especially in my world that is influenced by elitist fitness culture. The information is a wonderful thing, but it also overcomplicates what is in fact, a natural part of being a human.
Humans need to exercise. Humans need to move, and humans need to build and maintain strength to stay mobile, healthy, and independent. How many of us have witnessed ailing 4parents and grandparents struggle to get out of a car, walk down the street, carry their groceries, tie their shoelaces, cut their toenails, or shoulder check when driving a car. And in one sentence, I said car twice! Because cars and conveniences like them (think; dishwashers, laundry machines, microwaves at eye level) have become go-tos that allow us to get to places faster and do things with more ease, but also limit our movement nutrition on a day to day basis. And these conveniences have increased our need for exercise, outside of our daily routines.
And so we are stuck with a conundrum: we need to exercise, formally. And we feel guilty when we don’t exercise formally!
Herein lies the question - what is formal exercise, and why is it better than natural movement throughout the day? The fact of the matter is that formal exercise is NOT better than natural movement throughout the day. We know this because of studies of the Blue Zones and the people who live in them. But for the vast majority of people, and very likely those of you who are reading this blog post, we don’t live in Blue Zones, and therefore we do need to formally exercise. What we don’t need to do is punish ourselves when we aren’t doing “enough”, when we aren’t doing it “right” and when we truly need rest and recovery.
Navigating what we “should” be doing, how often we should be doing it, what it is, what we should be doing, and how we feel when we are doing it, are the most interesting aspects of being a strength, posture, and movement coach. I LOVE what I do, because I get to work with individuals and small groups of people who are seeking a different relationship with fitness and exercise than they have been taught by past generations. They have come to a place where they realize that they are no longer trying to get “slim” or exercise for vanity reasons. Rather, they are working on a new approach to working with their bodies, understanding the various aspects of fitness, introducing strength training into their practice, and learning what rest and recovery truly is. They are healing their relationships with fitness and exercise, and they are doing that gently, lovingly, with curiosity, with patience, and with an approach that was once deemed “too easy” “not sweaty enough” and “not hard enough”. Exercise, strength training, and fitness does not (and in my opinion, should not) be what we all too often see people doing on TV, what athletes do, what social media images show. There are SO many ways to approach exercise, to feel fit mentally, to be fit physically, and to develop strength to create more freedom and independence in our lives.
My hope is that slowly, over time, our culture comes back to a place where we enjoy building strength because it feels good. Where we exercise in a loving manner, for our mental health, and where we move for the joy of being able to move our bodies in dynamic ways.
Myself, and all of my StrongFirst certified Kettlebell Wellness coaches are passionate about slowly shifting your mindset and approach towards your body, your fitness, your exercise style, and therefore, your wellness. We love being right by your side as you transform your relationship with your strength, the skills that help you understand your strength better, and your lifelong movement practice - however that looks for you.
Join us in the Virtual Strength Studio to learn how to use kettlebells at home to develop your foundational and forever strength practice. When you are strong FIRST, the world is your oyster. Our StrongFirst kettlebell and bodyweight coaches will help you get there.
