Life has been getting in my way

I talk all the time about making exercise plans that can flex when life gets in the way - and the last few weeks have really tested that for me.

I’ve been busy with work. I’ve had many more (lovely) social plans than usual. Even the heatwave(s). All of it has pulled me in lots of different directions, and as a result I've loosened my exercise routine a little.

Some weeks I haven’t managed to swim. I’m doing my physio exercises less frequently. And very uncharacteristically, I’ve had to miss a lot of my usual Friday morning Pilates classes.

But here’s the thing: life should get in our way. 

For most of us, a life that's full of meaningful work and time with the people we love is a good thing. These joyous things should be taking up space. And I would hate to think that I missed out on any of it, just so that I could keep to my workout routine - that isn’t the life I want to lead.

So I’ve worked hard not to judge myself for this recent shift. Instead, I’m noticing how it’s made me feel - and viewing it as a temporary loosening of my routine, rather than the end of it.

How it’s made me feel - and how I’m reframing it

Honestly? It made me feel a bit crap. Not in an emotional guilt or avoidance kind of way - but in a literal physical way. My pain has been worse. Some days, I’ve struggled to rest because my body felt tense and unhappy. My head’s been less clear.

I really wish that dialling down my exercise didn’t make me feel like shit, I honestly do. Part of me is tempted to frame it as “oh god, clearly regular exercise is something that I have to do, even when I don’t have time or don’t want to” - but I know that this will just make me kick out against that “should”, and want to do nothing.

So instead I’m doing my best to reframe it. I’m telling myself: “Yes, I’m feeling less good in my body at the moment because I’m moving less. I like how my body feels when I move regularly, so I’m going to work to prioritise it as much as I can, without feeling guilty”.

It’s a subtle reframe, but it moves me from focussing on movement as “a necessary evil”, to something that enables me to feel good. From a chore, to a gift. 

Staying connected

When I was in a diet culture mindset, in times like this I'd completely lose my connection with movement - I’d tell myself that if I couldn’t do it all, it wasn’t worth bothering. Habits had to always be the same amount of exercise on the same days, or not at all. 

Now I think about it differently. My connection with movement stretches and loosens, but I don't let it disappear altogether. Sometimes I might have periods when I do less, but that doesn’t mean I don’t do anything. I've simply made decisions day by day about what felt right. My routines are looking different each week, and some weeks there's much less movement than others - but I’m never “stopping” or giving up. I’m just doing what I can, and reminding myself that every bit of movement still counts.

This is what I mean when I talk about building flexible habits. It's not about having a perfect backup plan for every eventuality. It's about building a relationship with movement that's strong enough to stretch without snapping.

And is it working?

Mostly. It made me prioritise a swim this week and last (earlier than usual to fit it around work), because I knew it’d make me feel better and more productive. It’s kept me doing my physio exercises at least a couple of times a week. And it’s got me back to my Pilates class on the weeks when I’m free.

But most importantly, I think the biggest shift is in my mindset. It used to feel as though, when life got busy, I severed my connection with exercise - and then had to make an enormous effort to connect with it again when space freed up. 

Now it feels more like a tether. It's always there - supporting me in a positive way. Sometimes it needs to stretch to make room for everything else that's going on, and sometimes I pull it back in a little tighter. But it never breaks.

How do you keep going, when life gets in the way?