Adapting Movement for Sensitive Bodies in the Heat
With the summer being so gnarly hot, and living in a sensitive body, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to adapt movement and exercise for folks whose bodies often rebel against them, whether it be through fatigue, POTS, hypermobility, etc.
Here are some ideas I’ve been playing around with:
-Stop seeing exercise time as an isolated time period-What I mean by this is-what if “exercise” is what you do while you watch TV? What if you move for 5 minutes, read on the floor for 10 minutes, and then do some more? Instead of orienting to movement like, I’m going to do this 30 minute youtube strength training class, start blocking off longer periods of time where you can mix exercise in with other activities you enjoy. For example, I’ve been trying to block an hour for “workout” but really i’m probably moving for about 20 minutes total and resting/reading/closing my eyes and breathing for many moments in between sets
-Break it up-similar to the above tip; but what if we move for 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes after work? This allows the body to rest and recover a little bit more
-Play the game of: how much can I do on my back, on my side, or on my belly? It’ll be harder to do heavier weightlifting, which often involves moving against gravity. But if gravity is your enemy, let the floor be your friend. Simple movements like dead bugs, glute bridge variations, sidelying leg raises, or superman exercise variations are great ways to get movement in while staying more connected to the ground. I also do something that I refer to as “floor dancing” on my back, which is very silly but still gets the lymph flowing
-I’ll be the first one to say–the research really supports lifting heavy weights. BUT if that’s not accessible right now, let’s not fall into all or nothing; you can always use adaptations like: lighter weights, slower reps, less reps, less sets, using therabands instead of weights, etc;
Working with a pelvic floor physical therapist or occupational therapist who understands the complexity of living in a sensitive body can really help to strategize what kinds of movement might work best for you! We also can develop a menu of movement options tailored to you when adaptation is necessary.
