Find Your Fit

I posted at the end of May about the idea of finding the right kind of exercise for YOU, as opposed to just falling into whatever “they” say is good for you, and just this past week, a new study came out essentially reinforcing this idea of the importance of individualized exercise. More specifically, the study looked at sets of twins and determined that even among twins, responses to exercise varied widely and could therefore not be attributed strictly to genetics.

I have a client who reported a few weeks ago that on the days she does a specific restorative yoga class, she always has aches and pains those evenings. We talked about the fact that just because yoga is a very popular form of exercise/movement, doesn’t mean that it works for everyone, or that every type of yoga is suitable for every body and every brain.

What we have to remember is that when we exercise, we are introducing a lot of stimuli to our brain, and sometimes, this stimuli is evaluated by the brain as threatening. It could be that we don’t have enough energy that day to do the movement safely, but it could also be that a previous experience with that movement led to some kind of injury or trauma, and our brain is protecting us from a potential recurrence.

So how to find what kinds of exercise work for you? First, ask yourself how you feel after you exercise. Yes, it might be temporarily fatiguing, but you shouldn’t have pain (I’m distinguishing between pain and discomfort — you may experience muscle soreness, but I would consider that discomfort). You should feel capable of moving through the rest of your day with energy. And if you find that your exercise program doesn’t leave you feeling good and pain-free, it’s time to re-evaluate. There is no need to push yourself to do something just because it’s “supposed” to be good for you — everyone is different! You will have the best results when you find that right fit.

Not sure what exercise might be a good fit for you? Send me an email and we can discuss your individual needs :)