Exercise Doesn’t Have to Be Fun. It Has to Help
We have got to stop making “fun” the requirement for exercise, especially when we’re talking about people with real physiological and functional issues.
When someone’s body is no longer doing what it used to do, they are not walking through the door asking whether the workout is going to be fun.
They want to know:
Will this help me get off the toilet without someone having to help me?
Will this help me walk across a parking lot without stopping because I’m out of breath?
Will this help me climb the stairs without my heart feeling like it’s working overtime?
Will this help my heart handle physical activity better?
Will this help me recover when my heart rate shoots up from doing something that used to be easy?
Will this help me breathe better when walking, climbing stairs, or simply trying to keep up with everyday life?
Will this help me rebuild my stamina after being sick, hospitalized, or inactive for months?
Will this help me control my blood sugar better?
Will this help me hold on to the muscle I’m losing as I get older?
Will this help me stop feeling so weak?
Will this help my balance so I’m not afraid I’m going to fall?
Will this help me get off the floor if I do fall?
Will this help me carry my groceries, get in and out of my car, take a shower, get dressed, walk my dog, play with my grandchildren, or make it through the store without needing to sit down?
Will this help me keep taking care of myself?
That’s the conversation.
Not, “Was it fun?”
There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying exercise. But somewhere along the way, we started acting as though movement has to entertain us before it deserves our participation.
It doesn’t.
For someone with a genuine physiological or functional need, exercise can be much more than recreation. It can be a deliberately selected stimulus used to improve what the body is struggling to do.
Your body doesn’t care whether you were entertained. Your muscles still need resistance. Your joints still need movement. Your cardiovascular and respiratory systems still need appropriate conditioning. Your nervous system still needs opportunities to practice balance, coordination, and movement. Your body still needs enough strength, mobility, stability, endurance, and cardiorespiratory capacity to meet the demands of your life.
And sometimes the work required to improve those things is repetitive. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s boring.
You may need to practice the same sit-to-stand repeatedly because getting yourself off the toilet matters more than whether the exercise was creative.
You may need to walk at the same controlled pace while monitoring your response because we are trying to improve how your body tolerates physical demand, not entertain you for 30 minutes.
You may need to practice the same balance drill over and over because preventing a fall matters more than coming up with a new exercise every week.
You may need to strengthen the same muscles and movement patterns for weeks because physiological adaptation requires repetition and progressive demand.
That is training with a purpose.
This doesn’t mean exercise should be miserable. We can laugh. We can enjoy the process. We can make training engaging. But everything beneficial does not have to be disguised as fun before we decide it has value.
When I’m working with someone who has a genuine physiological or functional issue, my first thought isn’t:
“How can I make this workout exciting?”
I’m thinking:
“What is their body struggling to do, and how can exercise help?”
Because when somebody wants to breathe easier, walk farther, become stronger, reduce their risk of falling, tolerate physical activity, manage a chronic condition, or simply continue taking care of themselves, we are dealing with something bigger than whether the workout was fun.
Sometimes exercise is fun.
Sometimes it’s work.
Sometimes it is part of fighting to maintain the ability to live your own life.
And when that is the situation, necessary wins.
-Donna M.