Enrich's Guide to Joyful Movement

Movement is one of Enrich core pillars, not just for shaping our bodies, but for supporting overall wellbeing. Too often, exercise can be framed as solely a way to sculpt our body, or to ‘make up’ for something we feel we should not have eaten. However, there is much more to movement than this hard, punitive approach. Our bodies are designed to move, with a whole host of mental and physical health improvements coming alongside. We want to help you incorporate movement into your everyday life, something to look forward to and enjoy rather than a punishment. Movement can create a feeling of wellbeing within our body, adding a sense of connection and accomplishment that has nothing to do with aesthetics. Embracing movement for its own sake can even help us to want to increase its frequency, which can have incredible benefits for our overall wellbeing such as stress management, improved sleep, and community building.

Committing to a regular habit of moving your body is one of the best things you can do for your health, both in body and mind. The key is to shift our thinking about exercise from workouts, to simply moving more in our everyday lives. Building a life where you can move freely in your body, with ease, allows you to keep doing whatever it is that you love, for as long as possible. Modern lives are not set up to encourage movement, and it is very easy to spend a lot of time sitting, at our desks or relaxing watching TV. Unfortunately, simply doing a couple of exercise classes a week will not balance this out. We need to think of movement in a more holistic way in our lives. When we zoom out and think about how we can bring more movement into our weeks and months, we begin to build a life that is more healthful and sustainable.

I want to increase my daily movement but have no idea where to start?

Almost everyone has the goal to move more and make it a part of their lifestyle, but we know that it can be a challenge to form a consistent habit. To begin, let’s consider some of the most common barriers that can be experienced when trying to incorporate movement into our lives.

Overload:

Trying to take on too much too soon is usually the reason people give up on including movement in their daily lives. Setting small, achievable goals might feel frustratingly slow, but overtime they will add up. Going from never exercising to setting yourself the goal of going to the gym four times a week is daunting and will set you up for burnout and potentially injury.

Choices:

The most effective exercise plan is the one that works for you and that you enjoy, not the one that looks the best on Instagram or promises the quickest results. It can be anything from a structured programme in the gym, to something as simple as gentle stretching. Get curious about all different kinds of movement, to consider what might suit your personality best.

Confidence:

It can be easy to hold back from beginning or wanting to continue with our new habits because of a lack of confidence in our own abilities. The gym and the world of fitness can be intimidating, filled with people who seemingly know exactly what they are doing. To the best of your abilities, stay away from the comparison game. Everyone starts somewhere, and this is for you and your wellbeing, not to impress a stranger.

Here are our top tips for building that movement habit and making it something that will become a part of your life:

• Don’t forget to warm up. Five minutes of dynamic stretching, using active movements to flex and warm the muscles that you will be using, eases your body into movement, and can really help reduce the sore, aching muscles the next day.
• Find a time of day that works for you, whether that be early morning, during lunchtime, in the evening after work or even on the weekend. Remember also that this can change. Different seasons of life bring different pressures and priorities, so although right now you might only be able to schedule in a quick 15-minute sweat in the morning, this might not always be the case. The most important thing is to get moving in whatever way you can.
• Plan and take rest days whenever you need them.
• Focus on moderate intensity. What this looks like varies depending on your fitness level, but generally it’s breathing a little heavier and feeling warmer, but not completely out of breath or sweating a lot. Getting this level of exercise two to three times a week is a great place to start.
• Wear comfortable clothing. In a space where you already might feel unsure of yourself and our abilities, be kind and take all the steps you can to make yourself more comfortable.