Tired/sad/lazy girl* fitness

Here's how to start working out when it's the last thing you can imagine doing.

iStock, Vadim Cherenko

*Not just for girls. I’m just participating in/lightly making fun of the explosion of Girl Branding in 2023! And hey, thanks for reading! Please click the ❤️ at the bottom if you like this, and share it with a friend using the Share button down there.

I’m also running a special 20% off paid subscriptions offer to celebrate the imminent end of summer, because I don’t like summer. It’s too hot! And so is this deal — claim it by 9/30 for a discounted paid subscription for all time.

---

🎉Welcome to the first official installment of the Body Type Guide to Safe, Sane, Sustainable Change, a recurring series for paid subscribers! 🎉

This series is chock full of insights into how to gradually make changes to aspects of your life that have something to do with your body and/or your body image. Whether you’re interested in getting started with any kind of exercise, changing your body composition, thinking differently about food and eating, or just feeling better in and about your body, you’ll find something useful here.

What I’m offering, really, are my thoughts on meaningful habit and behavior change, based on my experience with eating disorder recovery and using exercise and nutrition to improve my life. You’ll get one post a month for the next several months (in addition to other free and paid posts). Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss it.

What we’re tackling first is how to get started with working out when you feel the opposite of energized, motivated, or happy about it. I wrote a bit about this already, regarding mindset and not comparing yourself to others, in this post. Read it if you don’t like exercise!

For my other posts specifically about exercise, check these out:

• Pushing is not punishing (free)

• 10 things I know after 10 years of weight loss and strength training: Part one (paid)

• An at-home exercise equipment guide (paid)

• Is ‘exercise’ a bad word now? (free)

• I will never run again (free)

• Pilates isn’t magic, because nothing is (free)

• The exercise class customer is always right (free)

• Solo workouts vs. group classes: A showdown (free)

• Why are ‘fitness’ people so annoying? (free)

So let’s say you’re into the idea of exercising because you know it’s a good thing to do for yourself and you theoretically want to get started but you can’t seem to bring yourself to surge past your exhaustion, your bad mood, or your body’s unwillingness to get off its ass and work. Been there!

I stumbled into a means of breaking through those feelings over a decade ago when I got started with exercising. It’s what I’m now calling The Ladder of Nonspecific Response, and it’s how you get started with exercise by not exercising at all.

Let’s get into it: