You're Allowed to Hate Exercise (And Still Be Healthy)

I spent three years paying for a gym membership I used exactly... let me count... seventeen times. Seventeen! That's roughly $47 per visit, which makes my brief encounters with the elliptical machine some of the most expensive therapy sessions I've ever had.

And you know what? I felt terrible about it. Not physically terrible (though there was that one unfortunate incident with the rowing machine), but morally terrible. Like I was failing at being a proper adult human.

Sound familiar?

The Fitness Industrial Complex is Gaslighting You

Here's the thing nobody wants to admit: the entire fitness industry is built on making you feel broken if you don't love sweating in public while lifting heavy objects or running to nowhere on a treadmill.

We're constantly bombarded with messages about finding your "workout passion" and how exercise should be "life-changing" and "addictive in the best way!" But what if... and hear me out here... what if exercise just isn't your thing? What if you're one of those people who'd rather stick needles in your eyes than do another burpee?

Plot twist: You're not broken. You're just human.

I used to think there was something fundamentally wrong with me because I didn't get that mythical "runner's high" everyone talks about. Turns out, that's totally normal. Some people's brains just don't release endorphins the same way, and genetics play a role in how we respond to exercise. So all those fitness influencers promising you'll "fall in love" with movement? They might as well be promising you'll grow wings.

Permission Granted: You Can Hate Exercise

Let me say something that might sound revolutionary in our current wellness-obsessed culture: You don't have to exercise.

Yeah, I said it. You don't HAVE to do anything. You're an adult with agency, and you get to choose how you spend your limited time and energy on this planet.

But here's where it gets interesting... Sometimes, when we stop shoulding all over ourselves (yes, I just made "should" into a verb), something weird happens. When we remove the pressure and guilt, we might actually discover we want to move a little. Not because some Instagram fitness coach told us to, but because our bodies are designed to move and sometimes... they miss it.

I learned this the hard way during my post-breakup depression phase when I basically became one with my couch for two weeks. By day 10, I found myself actually wanting to walk to the corner store instead of ordering everything online. Wild, right?

Movement ≠ Exercise (This Changes Everything)

Here's where we need to completely flip the script. Exercise feels like homework. Movement feels like... well, like being alive.

Exercise means:

• Scheduled gym time
• Specific equipment
• Proper form
• Measurable progress
• Feeling like you should be doing more

Movement means:

• Dancing badly in your kitchen while making dinner
• Taking the stairs because the elevator is broken anyway
• Walking your dog an extra block because they're giving you those eyes
• Pacing around during phone calls
• Actually cleaning your house instead of just moving the mess around

See the difference? One feels like obligation, the other feels like living.

Last month, I helped my neighbor move furniture and realized I'd gotten more "exercise" in three hours than I had in the previous month of trying to force myself to go to the gym. And here's the kicker—it didn't feel like exercise at all. It felt like being useful.

Micro-Movements That Don't Suck

Forget everything you think you know about fitness routines. We're going micro here, and I mean MICRO.

The Bathroom Pace: Brush your teeth while walking around the bathroom. Sounds ridiculous? Sure. Does it add movement to your day without requiring any extra time? Absolutely.

The Water Cooler Conspiracy: If you work in an office, become that person who drinks a lot of water. Not because hydration is important (although it is), but because it means you'll walk to the bathroom and water cooler frequently. I started doing this and accidentally hit 6,000 steps a day just from being well-hydrated and having a small bladder.

The Phone Call Wander: Take calls while walking around your place. Conference calls become way more tolerable when you're moving, and you'll be shocked how much you walk during a 30-minute conversation.

The Parking Lot Rebellion: Park further away or get off the bus one stop early. Yeah, it's basic advice, but it works. Plus, you get to feel slightly superior to all those people circling the parking lot looking for the closest spot.

The Commercial Break Game: If you watch TV (and let's be honest, we all do), use commercial breaks or between-episode moments to move around. Even if it's just standing up and sitting back down. Your body will thank you.

The "Good Enough" Philosophy

This might be the most important part: we need to completely reconstruct what counts as success.

You don't need to love movement. You don't need to feel amazing after every physical activity. You don't need to track everything or optimize your heart rate zones or buy special clothes.

Sometimes, "good enough" is actually perfect.

My friend Sarah hates traditional exercise but loves gardening. She spends hours digging, planting, weeding, and hauling bags of soil around. Is it a "workout"? Who cares. She's moving her body, getting stronger, and actually enjoying herself. Meanwhile, I can barely keep a succulent alive, but I've discovered I don't mind walking while listening to podcasts.

The point isn't to find the "perfect" form of movement. It's to find what doesn't make you want to crawl back into bed.

The Reality Check

Look, I'm not going to pretend that movement isn't beneficial for your health. It absolutely is. But so is sleeping well, managing stress, having good relationships, and not feeling guilty about every life choice you make.

If forcing yourself to exercise is causing more stress than benefit, then maybe it's time to try a different approach. Maybe your health journey starts with getting better sleep. Or learning to manage work stress. Or finding movement that feels less like punishment and more like play.

Some days I walk for 30 minutes and feel accomplished. Other days I take the elevator and don't feel bad about it. Both can be true. Both can be okay.

Your Move (Literally)

So here's what I want you to try this week—and this is the opposite of a challenge because challenges stress me out:

Pick one tiny way to add movement to something you're already doing. Maybe it's standing while you drink your morning coffee. Maybe it's doing a weird little dance while you wait for your food to heat up in the microwave. Maybe it's walking to get your car washed instead of going through the drive-through.

Make it so small that it feels almost silly. Make it so easy that forgetting to do it would be harder than just doing it.

And if you try it and hate it? Try something else. Or don't try anything at all for a while. The world will keep spinning, I promise.

The goal isn't to become a fitness enthusiast. The goal is to figure out what works for you, in your actual life, with your actual preferences and limitations. You're allowed to hate traditional exercise. You're allowed to move in ways that don't look like anyone else's idea of fitness. You're allowed to start small and stay small if that's what works.

You're allowed to be exactly where you are right now... and maybe, just maybe, take one tiny step from there.

Whatever that step looks like for you.