last time we met we talked about why movement is such a pain in the ass. today I want to talk about some of the worthiness talk that comes up when making space for movement as well as some ways to help you reframe movement and make it more accessible for you. if this is something you’re into, buckle up & let’s go beyond.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends adult do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week, preferably spread throughout the week.
So first let’s define what that is.1
Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Physical Activity
This is exercise that is going to get your heart beating faster. It’s the type that’s going to make you feel a little flushed or warm, but keep you in a space where you could still keep up in a convo with your bestie. If you can’t talk you’re doing a bit much, which is great but not for this type of movement. Get it? Got it? Good!
So what does this look like? Truthfully it can look like anything! Dancing in the kitchen, playing with your dog, cleaning the whole apartment in one day, literally anything. But I’m sure you want a list so here’s a list of ideas from the American Heart Association:
brisk walking (at least 2.5 miles per hour)
water aerobics
dancing (ballroom or social)
gardening
tennis (doubles)
biking slower than 10 miles per hour
Can you think of any more ideas? Leave them in the comments.
Now that we know what this means let’s talk about making the time for it.
How to get to 150 minutes
Something I like to remind my clients is that all movement counts. So if we’re trying to get to 150 we have to first see where we’re at and see if we can add to that.
So let’s say you’re walking your dog 3 times a day and each walk takes 10 minutes. Right there you’re hitting 30 minutes of day from walking.
How can we get this activity to be moderately intense?
We can start by increasing the pace at our 10 minute walk to increase the heart rate. We can also increase the distance in that walk. Both adjustments use what you’re already doing and makes room for you to add more to get to that flushed feeling we’re after.
Let’s try another example:
You’re at work and you have back to back meetings but you don’t have to be on camera. Something we used to do at my old job, for some meetings, was stretching in the conference room while we were on the call. This gives you bursts of movement that gets your heart going, some warmth in the body and counts towards your total intake of movement (something I say often).
Now that we went through some examples you can apply this same tactic to areas where you are currently moving, and finding ways you can ADD to it to be in that moderately intense space.
Get it? Got it? Good!
You are worth it
Sometimes I struggle making time for movement because I have to do so many things for so many people. Keeping the house clean so we have clarity, taking care of the dog so she doesn’t get sick, doing the laundry so we have clean clothes, seeing my clients outside my normal hours, texting my friends to see how their day is going, calling my parents so they don’t forget me, catching up on all the memes people send me, the list goes on and on and in that I get pushed further and further to the back.
It took me a long time to realize the ways I was leaking from my cup because I was pouring into others without pouring into myself, or patching up my holes.
It took Tuna, our dog, to teach me a lesson in worthiness.
That girl is all about her and only her. It’s something we often laugh about but it’s so true - like she lets her needs be known, her boundaries (or lacktherof) be known, and she lets you know she is the star. When it comes to Tuna I think we all have to treat ourselves like her from time to time. Just like she has to pee at 6:00am no matter what (new thing we’re dealing with). Just like we’ll pay for her visits to the vet or her fancy foods because we know we have no other choice, we too can make give ourselves the level of dedication and commitment for our movement, no matter what.
Yes we want to be flexible but we also want to honor that we are worth it. We are worth the x minutes it takes to move our body, and it doesn’t have to be a punishment either. It can come from a place of love, just as you love everyone and their moms to do all the tasks you have to do to keep life running, you can love yourself enough to move that a$$!
Remember2 it can be something as short as 5 minutes multiple times a day or 30 minutes 5 times a week, or whatever combination works for you, it doesn’t matter, it just matters that you move and that you move in a way that brings you joy. Because at the end of the day (say it with me) it all counts towards your total intake.
I’m going to pause here
I want to know what you’re thinking. Where is this landing for you? Do you have more questions about movement that we should explore? Does this help you see movement in a different light?
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I would also like to point out other important things from the guidelines:
1. that we should be moving around more in general, some is better than none. 2. that we should also include strength based activities 2 or more days a week. but let’s focus right now on the 150 minutes.
I also want to point out that this shouldn’t be coming off as a “we all have the same 24 hours in a day” because that is not the point. The point is finding ways in our current reality to make time for ourselves no matter how big or small because we are worth it.