How to Navigate the Pressure of At-Home Workout Perfection

Yesterday was the first time I've gotten my heart rate up via exercise in over two weeks (I think; I lost track in this YA novel dystopia we're living), and that is okay.

A few years ago, it wouldn't have been.

Now may be a time you're feeling frustrated, pressured, or panicky about your fitness routine or your body image. It's a time of high stress (an understatement), and in times of high stress (especially emotional stress), we turn to what we know, to habits that have become well-worn tracks, to coping mechanisms we've used for a lifetime.

Sometimes this is helpful; others it is not.

If you're struggling with feeling like you're not doing the "right" thing when it comes to exercise and movement amidst global chaos, I invite you to ask yourself why you're putting so much pressure on yourself to move in the first place.

Some common refrains I've noticed in the last few days, and more behind them:

"I ate all my isolation snacks," is a reason based in fear, in anti-fat bias, in more harm than I believe most of us want to be doing. And, that fear (among many many others alive and rearing their collective heads) makes sense. When we can't control our environment, we turn to what we believe we can.

"I have all this time to be productive," is a reason based in shame, in capitalism and production-as-worth, in forgetting we are not machines. That's deeply rooted, a way difficult to see past. And, we are more than robots, which is becoming more and more clear by the hour.

"Structure is helpful; I'm still working and momming and don't have time to fall apart," is a reason as valid as any other, one that provides comfort and reliability when so much is uncertain. If you're there, I see you, and invite you to give yourself a pat on the back and/or a warm hug.

Everyone is juggling a lot, and there's a lot of noise, particularly about what we "should" be doing with our bodies.

It might feel difficult to touch the reasons your routines (or lack thereof) feel the way they do, and I don't know your reasons better than you do.

I do, however, know that the benefit of being aware of what they are is that it gives you space: when you see what you're doing and why, suddenly there is more than one option. There is room for you to breathe, to experiment, to find a way that works for who you are in exactly this moment (and to allow that to shift and change as you do). ❤️