Why You Don't Exercise Even Though You Know You Should. And Strategies To Get Over the Hump. | Katy Bowman
Biomechanist Katy Bowman discusses "movement as nutrition," offering strategies to overcome common barriers to physical activity. She provides a toolkit for integrating diverse movements into daily life, addressing issues like lack of motivation, time, and discomfort.
Deep Dive Analysis
11 Topic Outline
The Problem of Not Exercising and Broken Resolutions
Introducing Biomechanist Katy Bowman and Her Work
Defining Biomechanics and Movement as Nutrition
Distinguishing Movement, Physical Activity, and Exercise
Overcoming Lack of Motivation: Values, Attention, and Enjoyment
Strategies for Sticking with Movement Programs
Addressing 'No Time': Time Affluence, Movement Breaks, Stacking Life
Overcoming Embarrassment, Shame, and Physical Discomfort
Strategies for Overcoming Screen Addiction
The Importance of Ancestral Movement Patterns
Recognizing the Body's Subtle Signals for Movement
10 Key Concepts
Biomechanics
This field studies how biological systems are affected by physical forces like pressure, friction, weight, and loads. It applies principles of physics and math to understand the mechanics of the moving body.
Movement as Nutrition
This concept posits that movement is a non-optional input for the human body, affecting cells and physiological processes similarly to dietary nutrients or sunlight. Its absence leads to predictable physiological issues, defining it as a literal nutrient.
Movement Diet
A framework for understanding the variety of movements the body needs, analogous to a dietary nutritionist's approach to food intake. It encompasses different categories (macronutrients like cardiovascular, strength, mobility) and specific, refined movements (micronutrients).
Movement vs. Exercise vs. Physical Activity
Movement is the broadest category, encompassing any change in body orientation, position, or location. Physical activity is movement that uses the musculoskeletal system enough to burn calories. Exercise is a subcategory of physical activity, specifically chosen for mode, duration, and intensity, with the intention of physical betterment, typically done in leisure time.
Values (as a motivator)
A psychological tool where identifying what truly matters to you (e.g., productivity, connection, service) can be linked to movement. This connection provides immediate payoffs and stronger, long-term motivation than abstract 'shoulds' or distant health benefits.
Attention (as a tool)
This involves learning to redirect one's focus from negative or unhelpful aspects of movement (e.g., perceived flaws, self-consciousness) to a broader perspective. By noticing positive details or others' enjoyment, individuals can debunk unhelpful thoughts and engage more freely.
Stacking Your Life
A permaculture-inspired technique for accomplishing multiple needs within the same unit of time by layering activities, often with movement as a core component. This approach increases the 'nutrient density' of a period, making it more efficient than completing discrete tasks serially.
So What Muscle
A concept for strengthening one's ability to overcome embarrassment or shame related to movement. It involves challenging perceived negative judgments or self-consciousness by asking 'So what?', recognizing that the harm from embarrassment is often less than the negative impacts of avoiding beneficial activities.
Time Affluence
The perception of having enough time, which can be increased by regular movement. While literal time is fixed, the feeling of having more space in one's schedule can be cultivated through physical activity, making it feel less constrained.
Ancestral Movements
Fundamental human movements like walking, squatting, hanging, and carrying that the body evolved to perform but are often neglected in modern, convenience-centric cultures. Incorporating these diverse movements is crucial for nourishing all body tissues and maintaining mechanical wholeness.
13 Questions Answered
A biomechanist studies how biological systems are affected by physical forces like pressure, friction, weight, and loads, applying physics and math to the moving body.
It means movement is a literal and non-optional input for the human body, affecting cells and physiological processes similarly to dietary nutrients, and its absence leads to predictable physiological issues.
Movement is any change in body orientation or position. Physical activity is movement that uses the musculoskeletal system to burn calories. Exercise is a subcategory of physical activity, done with the specific intention of physical betterment, often in leisure time.
Identify your personal values and connect them to movement, either indirectly (movement helps you achieve a valued state like productivity) or directly (movement itself is an act of a value like service). Also, use attention to focus on positive aspects rather than aversions.
Recognize that there are many ways to move that don't involve sweating, and focus on finding types of movement that you genuinely enjoy or find meaningful, possibly by recalling joyful movement memories from childhood.
Weave movement into the fabric of your daily life, environment, and community, rather than treating it as a discrete, temporary program. This makes it less susceptible to being thwarted by other demands.
Cultivate a sense of 'time affluence' by recognizing that movement can create more perceived space in your schedule. Take short 'movement breaks' throughout the day, and use the 'stacking your life' technique to meet multiple needs (like movement and chores) simultaneously.
Movement breaks are short periods of physical activity, often just 5-10 minutes, that can be done anywhere without special gear or a shower. Examples include bending to touch toes, doing a yoga lunge, a brisk walk around the block, or even just standing and checking balance.
Broaden your attention beyond self-focus to observe others or positive aspects of your environment. Also, strengthen your 'so what muscle' by challenging the perceived harm of embarrassment, recognizing that avoiding movement due to shame can have greater negative impacts.
Instead of avoiding movement, lean into those feelings by finding movement forms that resonate with your current emotional or physical state (e.g., moody walks during grief, gentle stretching during menopause). Start with small, doable changes appropriate for your context.
Reduce friction by using an alarm clock instead of your phone as the first thing in the morning. Set cues to interrupt scrolling, like a second alarm or preloaded short exercise routines on your phone, to leverage momentum and shift from passive consumption to active movement.
Movements like walking, squatting, hanging, and carrying are crucial because the human body evolved to perform them, and they nourish diverse tissues. Incorporate them by choosing labor-rich versions of daily tasks (e.g., chopping food, carrying groceries), using low seating, or adding hanging rings at home.
The body gives complex signals beyond just physical aches, similar to how it signals hunger beyond a growling stomach. Emotions like crankiness, lack of patience, or feeling tired and blue can be subtle communications that you are 'under-moved,' which can be alleviated by movement.
25 Actionable Insights
1. Reframe Lack of Movement
Understand that not exercising is often a challenge in habit formation and life’s complexities, rather than a sign of laziness, lack of understanding, or character flaws.
2. Movement as Nutrition
View movement as a literal and metaphorical nutrient essential for cellular behavior and overall physiological well-being, similar to dietary nutrients or sun exposure, recognizing predictable physiological issues arise in its absence.
3. Broaden Movement Definition
Adopt a fluid and broad definition of movement (anything that changes body orientation, position, or location) to discover more opportunities for physical activity beyond traditional, narrow ’exercise’ categories.
4. Align Movement with Values
Identify your personal values and connect movement to them, focusing on how physical activity helps you show up in life (e.g., for productivity, connection, or service) to find immediate payoffs and overcome aversions.
5. Shift Your Attention
Practice shifting your attention away from disliked aspects of movement (e.g., sweating, embarrassment) and broaden your perspective to notice other positive or neutral elements, challenging unhelpful thoughts about exercise.
6. Challenge Movement Rules
Identify and challenge your internal ‘movement rules’ or tight boundaries (e.g., exercise must equal sweat, or must be a 60-minute block) to open up more possibilities for physical activity that fit your preferences and schedule.
7. Practice ‘Stacking’ Activities
Combine multiple needs into the same unit of time (e.g., walking to the grocery store with kids, carrying bags, and having conversations) to increase the ’nutrient density’ of your time and meet more needs simultaneously.
8. Integrate Ancestral Movements
Incorporate foundational human movements like walking, squatting, hanging, and crawling into your daily life to ensure a varied movement diet that nourishes all parts of your body, as these patterns created the ‘body government’.
9. Cultivate Self-Compassion
Treat your body with the same care you would a beloved pet, a garden, or a child, ensuring it receives basic physical needs like movement and play, reframing self-care movement as an act of self-compassion rather than selfishness.
10. Listen to Body’s Signals
Develop fluency in your body’s ‘primitive software’ signals (e.g., crankiness or impatience as a sign of under-movement) to recognize when physical activity is needed, rather than attributing all feelings to external factors.
11. Diversify Movement Diet
Distribute your movement across different categories like cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and mobility work for joints, rather than focusing solely on one type, to nourish all tissues of your ‘body politic’.
12. Modify Your Environment
Make permanent modifications to your physical environment (e.g., hanging rings in the living room, using lower seating) to integrate movement into the fabric of your daily life, making it more accessible and less susceptible to being thwarted.
13. Incorporate Social Support
Make movement more consistent and enjoyable by entwining it with your social life and community, as having an obligation to others or engaging in conversation can redirect attention from discomfort.
14. Start Small with Discomfort
When dealing with chronic pain or significant discomfort, start with small, doable, and appropriate movements, gradually scaffolding for action rather than attempting giant changes.
15. Choose Non-Sweaty Movement
If you dislike sweating, choose movement activities that don’t cause sweat, such as lower intensity options or different gear, rather than avoiding movement altogether, and then gradually work on your relationship with sweating.
16. Utilize Micro-Movement Breaks
Take short, non-sweaty movement breaks (e.g., bending, stretching, brisk walk) for 5-10 minutes throughout the day, recognizing that these small bursts of physical activity count and instantly connect you to your body.
17. Integrate Movement with Chores
Avoid outsourcing movement-rich chores (e.g., gardening, carrying groceries) to weave physical activity throughout your day, making it a natural part of your routine.
18. Desensitize Body Shame
Desensitize yourself to body shame (e.g., ‘jiggly body’) by intentionally engaging in movements that highlight it, like bouncing on a trampoline, to realize you’re safe and still here.
19. Strengthen ‘So What’ Muscle
Strengthen your ‘so what muscle’ by asking yourself ‘so what?’ when embarrassment arises (e.g., being the least coordinated), recognizing that the perceived harm is often minimal compared to the benefits of moving.
20. Grieve Physical Changes
Acknowledge and grieve the physical changes that come with aging or life transitions, moving through that discomfort to then re-engage with taking care of your body in its current state.
21. Create Grief Rituals
Create movement-based rituals to process grief, such as walking in honor of a loved one or having walking cemetery visits, to find connection and honor.
22. Reduce Screen Friction
To combat screen addiction, use a physical alarm clock instead of your phone as your morning alarm, and remove distracting apps from your phone to reduce friction and minimize screen time.
23. Set Screen-Off Cues
Set a secondary alarm or reminder (a ’note from yourself’) a few minutes after your main alarm to cue yourself to put down your phone and start moving, especially if you get caught scrolling.
24. Leverage Phone for Movement
Utilize your phone for positive movement by preloading short (5, 10, 15-minute) exercise routines or movement games, using it as a tool for activity rather than just scrolling.
25. Learn from Overdoing It
If you overdo movement and experience discomfort, recognize it’s temporary, learn from the experience, and adjust your choices for future movement sessions.
7 Key Quotes
movement is not really an optional input to the human body.
Katy Bowman
All exercise is movement, but not all movement is exercise.
Katy Bowman
Movement is for every body. It's sort of a biological imperative.
Katy Bowman
health is very tricky. It's not working out as a strong motivator for most people.
Katy Bowman
no one has ever actually died of embarrassment, but many people will have negative impacts from the things that they're keeping themselves from doing because they're embarrassed.
Katy Bowman
Your body's like a garden. It's watered and weeded through movement.
Katy Bowman
When I go take a walk, then everyone agrees not to annoy me. And then I come back and everyone's better. No, just kidding.
Katy Bowman