Move it or Lose it: How to Start Exercising and (and Stay Motivated) for Better Mental Health
When it comes to practicing positive mental health, exercise is an invaluable tool to helping you feel your best. When clients are struggling with their mental health, we often start by implementing a plan to improve the three building blocks of health:
1) Sleep – read my article about how to get a better sleep here
2) Nutrition – read my article about fostering a healthier relationship with food here and
3) Movement - the topic of today’s article
The notion that exercise as an essential tool to staying mentally healthy is new to many people. I recently watched Jonah Hill’s documentary “Stuz”, where he shares that exercise was constantly suggested by the people in his life because his body was “wrong” and had to change, instead of something that he could engage in for self-care and wellbeing. I had a similar experience growing up, too. I understood exercise as a way to make myself look “right”. Needless to say this lead to many failed attempts at getting into a movement routine, and I only successfully started a consistent fitness routine in my mid-twenties. As a young person I tried to exercise but pushed myself past my fitness capabilities, which led to injury and left me feeling like consistent exercise just wasn’t for me.
It’s only through discovering yoga in the last decade that I learned that movement can feel amazing. Movement, when done from a place of self-love, can work wonders for mental health and confidence. Like Jonah Hill, my motivations for movement have shifted from wanting to look a certain way to wanting to feel a certain way. I encourage you to reframe exercise as an act of self-care - your mental health will thank you.
In this article, I’ll share with you the importance of exercise for mental wellbeing, and ten tips to overcome the three main barriers to exercise that people face: time, finances, and motivation.
The importance of exercise for mental wellbeing:
Exercise is proven to prevent mental health challenges and is an important part of a mental health treatment plan for anxiety and depression. Improvements in mood are attributed to increase blood circulation to the brain and a reduction in the physiological reactivity to stress. Engaging in exercise supports a distraction from distressing thoughts, supports body-awareness and regulation, improves self-esteem, and increases cognitive function. Exercise can also decrease the risk of chronic disease connected to a sedentary lifestyle.
Research shows that just thirty minutes of exercise of moderate intensity, such as brisk walking three days a week, is sufficient to improve health. Moreover, the thirty minutes recommended doens’t have to be continuous - three 10-minute walks are believed to be as beneficial as one thirty-minute walk.
Exercise improves sleep, boosts libido, improves endurance, relieves stress, improves mood, increases energy, boosts alertness, and improves cardiovascular fitness. If you’re looking to improve your physical and mental health, implementing exercise is an essential component.
Read on to learn how to incorporate exercise into your life and how to stay motivated, because you deserve to feel amazing.
Finding Time to Move:
1) Make exercise a priority: If you’re looking to create an exercise routine, you need to start by seeing it as a non-negotiable part of your life. Consider that introducing movement into your life, increasing the frequency of exercise, or staying motivated to continue is a project that will require regular problem solving. It also requires that you continue even when you don’t feel like it, since you’ve grounded yourself in why you’re doing it (see: the benefits listed above!) Making time to move doesn’t just happen when you feel like it, which leads me to….
2) Schedule exercise into your calendar: I encourage you to take a look at your schedule each Sunday. Chances are that by the end of the weekend, you have a sense of what your week ahead will look like, which can include your work schedule and any personal engagements. If you decide you’d like to work out three days a week (as is recommended), you can look at your schedule and decide when that’s most convenient to happen, and what has to fall into place to make that possible. Do you need childcare/pet-care? Access to a vehicle? Need to leave work by a certain time? Scheduling exercise ensures that you have the supports in place to make it happen and keeps you committed to yourself. Don’t leave something as important as movement up to chance.
Finances:
3) Fitness is for everyone, regardless of income level: A lack of finances to devote towards exercise is one of the most common barriers I’ve heard when it comes to engaging in regular fitness. The good news is that there are many low-cost or no-cost ways to exercise, and you can be especially creative if you live in a city like Toronto that’s full of amenities that you may not even be aware of.
Here are some ways to get moving which are budget-specific.
Many types of fitness are entirely free:
walking/jogging - other than clothes to bundle up, this requires no special equipment.
lane swim at a community pool - the city of Toronto has a plethora of community centers that offer a range of hours for lane swim, which is an amazing low-impact workout for folks of all abilities and requires only a swimsuit to participate.
Low-cost fitness options:
Budget gyms - If you know me, you know that I’m an enthusiastic member at my local, low-cost gym. Having frequented a variety of boutique (read: costly) fitness studios across the city, I’m happy to report that your local budget gym can get the job done just fine. If you’re like me and benefit from working out in a lead/class structure, many budget gyms have excellent classes. Some lower-cost gyms include Planet Fitness, Hone, Fit 4 Less, and the YMCA. Check out what’s available in your neighborhood - you may be surprised at what you find.
Online classes: Many online classes are completely free on Youtube, my favorite being “Yoga with Adrien”. A $10 a month option also inlcudes Melissa Wood Health’s platform of hundreds of pilates classes, ranging from 10 minutes to an hour, add-free.
Check out the gyms in your area and consider what you might may work for you financially. Remember, if you prioritize fitness, this may mean that you cut back on other expenses to contribute to your fitness budget.
Fitness Treats:If you’d like to treat yourself to a boutique fitness class, I highly recommend joining Classpass. Classpass is a service that allows you to sign up for hundreds of the best fitness classes across the city at a reduced rate. Often times fitness studios will open up Classpass spots in their classes based on if there are spots left in the class. I often work out at fitness studios for a rate of $10-20 per class for classes that would otherwise cost $40+. I like to treat myself once a week to a class at studios with amazing amenities as a way to pamper myself, and if that’s an option for you I would recommend doing the same.
If you’re interested in trying out a group sport, I highly recommend JAM sports, formerly known as the Toronto Sport and Social Club. The organization hosts a range of sports teams from beginner to intermediate, with leagues running each season. Engaging in a group sport is a great way to get motivated, meet people, and make exercise fun.
Motivation:
4) Grab a buddy, make a buddy: The single biggest motivator for keeping up a consistent fitness routine is to grow relationships in the fitness community and/or grab a buddy to help you stay motivated . If you have a plan to work out with a friend, you’re much more likely to stay accountable and resist faltering if you’re not up for moving that day. If you don’t have a buddy to work out with, see if you can start to recognize familiar faces in your workout classes - something as simple as “see you on Thursday!” can help you feel like showing up at the fitness class matters. There’s also an amazing atmosphere across the fitness community - everyone has those feel-good hormones flooding their brain after a workout which means that strangers in your gym are generally a pleasure to talk to.
5) Focus on frequency, and reduce intensity: One of the biggest setbacks to instituting a regular workout schedule is injuiries. If you’re starting a fitness routine for the first time, it’s likely that you need to do WAY less than you think to see growth. Having worked out consistently for 10 years, I’m still shocked at how difficult workout classes can be. The difference is that I finally feel confident to take things at my own pace, which is generally much slower than the instructor recommends. Whether you’re starting out or are a seasoned fitness fanatic, remember that the goal is to feel amazing, and that hurting yourself or feeling bad during or after a workout isn’t the goal.
6) Put your workout clothes on: If we break down the task of working out into smaller components, you can start the process by putting your workout clothes on. Putting your workout clothes on from the moment you wake up primes you to get ready for fitness and increases the likelihood that you’ll go. If you can’t wear fitness clothes during the day, at least make sure that you find clean and comfortable workout clothes that morning, and put them in a place you can see for ease of getting dressed when it’s time to go. If you don’t own workout clothes, go out and get some. There are awesome conscious options from places like Old Navy/The Gap. You don’t need to be decked out in Lululemon to get fit.
7) Get back into a routine when you stray from it: Part of maintaining life-long fitness is returning to fitness once you fall out of the practice. Inevitably there are going to be experiences that get in the way of a routine - holidays, trips, illness, pregnancy, and family obligations can all impact the frequency that you work out. The idea is to know that fitness is something you will have to return to time and time again. When you’re out of practice, you may have to reduce the intensity of your workouts and build strength back up, which requires growing the tolerance to being a novice at something once again. When you fall off the fitness horse, be kind to yourself as you get back on.
8) Let go of all or nothing thinking: With fitness, every little bit counts. If you’re unable to make a workout on a day that you had planned, go for a 10 minute walk instead, or engage in some gentle stretching at home. Ditch perfectionism and the “I’ll start my routine tomorrow” mentality. Remember: fitness feels good, and you’ll feel better once you get a little bit of movement in.
9) Reward yourself: Let’s be honest - while working out feels amazing, aspects of working out can also feel challenging (e.g. getting out of bed early to make it happen). Try and pair your workout with something that you feel rewarded by. If you do a brisk Saturday morning walk, go for coffee after as a reward. Maybe you book a massage the day after your workout. Even putting a checkmark in your schedule next to a completed workout can feel incredibly satisfying. The idea is to pair exercise with all things pleasurable in your brain. This will encourage you to continue, since we’re naturally drawn to things that feel rewarding.
10) HAVE FUN: Exercise can feel amazing, but only if you’re doing the type that’s right for your body and feeds your interest. If you position exercise as fun, your whole approach to working out will change. The best advice I ever got about running races is that they can be fun - a concept that I had previously not even considered. Now when I run races I make it a point to have a smile on my face, wave at the amazing volunteers, dance to the music blasting from the speakers, and jump into the arms of friends and family at the finish line. I’m not there to set a world record, and showing up and having fun is truly all that I’m aiming to do.
When deciding what’s fun for you, think about what you’re drawn to - walking/jogging, dancing, swimming, biking, rock climbing, tennis, basketball, volleyball, golfing, yoga, or Thai-Chi. Find what works for you, and remember, HAVE FUN!
I sincerely hope that this article has inspired you to get moving and stay motivated, and I wish you all the best on your exercise journey!
Jenn