Choosing the right type of exercise for you.

These days we’ve made choosing the right type of exercise as ridiculously over-complicated as we’ve made trying to eat healthy.  We track everything, count calories, watch heart rates. We’ve become so disconnected from our own bodies that we’ve lost confidence in our own intuition to know what’s best for us.

I completely subscribe to Michael Pollan’s very simple philosophy of food – ‘Eat real food. Mostly plants. Not too much’.  It makes sense and it doesn’t require a complicated formula to work it out.

The reality is our approach to exercise should be just as simple.

Exercise should feel good and challenge you.  That’s it. 

It’s no secret here that yoga is often my first choice when I want to move my body, but that’s not the only reason I make it to my mat.  I go because it connects me to my body, it makes me ‘check in’ and get out of my head. Some days my yoga looks very much like lying on the floor not doing much, other days it is very strong and involves a lot of inversions.  Why? Because they are fun, they feel good and they challenge me.

I also run, go to combat classes, lift weights, do circuits, ride my bike.  Not all in the same week and not every week.  Why?

Because they are fun, they feel good and they challenge me. 

I don’t track calories. I don’t write down what I’ve done and when I’ve done it.  And I don’t need a strict program to follow.

I know when I am feeling tired and need to take it easy (or when I’m just lethargic and need to push myself to raise some energy.)

I know when I’ve challenged myself because I feel strong and sore the next day.  And I don’t need a heart rate monitor to tell me so.

Let’s keep it simple.

Eat real food. Exercise to feel good and challenge yourself. Simple.