Friday thread: What gets you moving when you truly. just. cannot.
Share your ideas here!
Happy Friday and happy Valentine’s Day to those who observe!
This week, I’m inviting you to join me for a fun comment thread. The main thing I’d like for us to discuss is ideas for getting moving when you reeeeally don’t want to. I’ll start and place my own suggestions in the comments, but I really want to hear from you!
If you are drawing a blank but still want to join us, feel free to tell us about a workout you’ve done recently that felt awesome, whether it’s one of mine, something you tried on an app or YouTube, a class you checked out IRL, or something else. Maybe your suggestion will hit just right with someone else here!
Reminders: While your approach to exercise is completely up to you, this is an anti-diet and body-neutral space, so please respect your fellow HTM’ers and avoid discussing aesthetic motivators, or anything about “earning” food, drink, or rest, etc. (Comments that don’t align with this approach will be removed.)
Be cool, have fun, and have a wonderful weekend.
xo
Anna
OK, I have two: First, I choose a "bare minimum" approach and remove all barriers to entry — I'll move on the living room rug in my pajamas (won't even go to my workout space with a mat) — and either do my actual bare minimum workout (https://howtomove.substack.com/p/a-bare-minimum-workout-you-can-do) or pick a very short video on the Peloton app, i.e. a 10- or 15-minute barre class.
The other thing I'll sometimes do is, instead of saying, "I'm going to the gym for a workout," I'll literally just say in my mind that all I have to do is GET to the gym. Get dressed, put on shoes, walk over there. That is often the hardest part, and when I get there I find I am super ready to go and will end up doing a whole 45-minute or hour-long session.
I allow myself to do a giant loud weird groan, like one a dog makes. It's usually so goofy that It makes me just light enough to heave myself up to move in some way.