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Mastering the sweet spot in sustainable exercise
It's normal to experience ebbs and flows in exercise habits. Life happens, we juggle the unpredictable, and we get off track. Learning how to manage setbacks and return to a sustainable routine is essential. Much of the exercise advice out there is based on achieving maximum intensity/frequency/duration, but neither the body nor the mind is naturally adapted to that level of demand. Gradually easing into physical activity is the key. It sounds simple, but in reality, it can be challenging due to obstacles that affect consistency.
The opposite of no exercise is excessive exercise, which can often become too much. Don’t get me wrong—physical activity is like a magical pill and can serve as medicine for the body and mind. However, maintaining a very intense exercise schedule can be challenging, especially if you have other interests in life, such as family, friends, work, and hobbies. It’s easy to get caught up in the high of internal and external validation and feel the urge to push yourself even further. But most likely, you’ll eventually hit a ceiling. The body and/or the mind eventually says no.
Navigating between too much and too little is the path. It’s not a static line—you need to be flexible and adapt along the way. The illusion of finding the perfect balance is never going to happen. It doesn’t exist.
Learning how to navigate is likely to be an individual process. Therefore, it can be helpful to reflect on what has been beneficial and what has been less so, with the advantage of hindsight.
In the past, what has helped you to move away from too little or no exercise?
In the past, what has helped you reduce or manage excessive or extreme exercise?
Most of our exercise sessions happen "in the middle," yet we often let the peaks and valleys define our beliefs about our bodies and decisions regarding exercise.
Our bodies are resilient and capable, but they do have limits when it comes to how much we can challenge them. For example, attempting to emulate an Ironman athlete may not be realistic if you’re a middle-aged office worker with no athletic experience in the past 25 years, especially if you’re sleep-deprived and dealing with constant worries about family and finances.
I hope this blog-post has given you inspiration to develop strategies to support consistency and developing long-term habits to create lasting improvements.
Motion is lotion. Stay hydrated.
//Magnus Ringberg
