Rethinking our Relationship with Exercise

Do you have an abusive relationship with exercise? I did. For years, I never realized the damage and stress I was putting on my hormones, my body and my mind.

I played competitive soccer from age 5 and until age 21. What started out as a game and time outside with friends, quickly turned into a job that required constant physical commitment in order to perform. I used to stay after and run extra if it was a light practice. I used to feel like I needed to go for a 5-6 mile walk on my 1 or 2 off days each week. I used to run 10 miles “for fun”.

None of this is inherently wrong but it wasn’t what my body or mind needed. There comes a point where overwork becomes unproductive. What many people don’t know is that exercise is actually a stressor on our body. Now when our body is put under stress for a short amount of time, this creates resilience in the long term; however, when our body is chronically put under stress it can lead to damage. Sadly, this is what can happen to many female athletes and women who over-exercise.

I think exercise often gets put into 2 camps:
High intensity whether that be chronic cardio, HIIT, excess heavy lifting/CrossFit.
OR
Walking, yoga, more slow and steady forms.

There are some people who engage in both of these types but I rarely see if from a place of balance. Like myself, many people who engage in more intense physical activity end up feeling like a walk or something light does not count or is not enough. We get in this mindset of pushing ourselves daily and if we don’t burn X number of calories or walk X number of steps, we failed.

The last 7-8 months, the only form of exercising I have been doing is walking with the occasional hike or climb. I used to say that walking didn’t count for exercise but guess what, my body feels better than it ever did when I was playing division 1 sports. I actually lost weight by simply going for a walk every morning and doing nothing else. Why? Likely my hormones were imbalanced due to chronic stress, likely that my nervous system finally had a chance to calm down after years of over activation, likely that I stopped putting so much pressure on my body to look and to perform a certain way. Instead, I just let it be.

I don’t advocate for one type of exercise more than the other but I do advocate for having the right intention behind your exercise. When I was doing all of that “extra”, I used the excuse that I needed to do it to perform but had I really understood or done it for the right reasons, I would’ve have known that resting when I could was the most important thing. I had no idea of the repercussions of over exercise on my performance and my long term health. A good place to start is to ask yourself…what would my exercise routine look like if it wouldn’t alter my body at all?

I went for a run today for the first time in 8 or 9 months, not because I had to, not because I wanted to change my body but because I felt like it, i wanted to enjoy it. I knew I could stop anytime, I knew I didn’t have to run 10 miles and I knew I didn’t have anything to prove.

I encourage you to rethink your “why” when it comes to exercise. Your internal health is much more important than the external and often times when you support your longevity first, you end up getting better results.