October 25: The 4 Types of Exercisers

Having taught fitness classes for over a decade, and been in the health coaching space for 4 years, I've noticed something.
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There seem to be 5 general types of people when it comes to exercise, & there is *no* judgement here. Whichever you relate with, there’s a good diet culture reason for you to have that relationship with exercise. Compassion, friends. Remember: how much we exercise has no bearing on our value as human beings.
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1. The Exercise Obsessed
This is the person who *has* to exercise most days (sometimes even twice a day). They can feel ruled by their exercise routine, and definitely defined by it. It's rigid. Vacations are stressful due to lack of structure or usual exercise. They're always thinking about how they can fit in their exercise, and sometimes it's at the expense of family, friends or other important life events/obligations. They're often very fueled by fitness trackers and/or burning calories. They may experience injury due to over-use.
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2. The All-Or-Nothing Exerciser
This is the person who only exercises if they can go *all out.* Otherwise, it's "not worth it" or "doesn't count." Gentle yoga? Not for this exerciser. Walks? No, they should be runs. They're either going all-out, or doing nothing at all. There is no in-between.
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3. The On-The-Wagon, Off-The-Wagon Exerciser
This is the person who will get into stints of exercise, where they'll stick to something pretty regularly, but then something throws them off, and they fall off the wagon, not exercising at all until their next wave of 'motivation' hits. They can sometimes feel some guilt attached to not exercising at first. There can also be rebellion taking place. When they do exercise, they feel as though they are "being good." There is often a subtle "I should exercise" thought in their mind... whether they're doing it, or not.
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4. The Never-Exerciser.
This is the person who never exercises. For whatever reason, they can't bring themselves to make moving a regular part of their routine. Sometimes past trauma can inform this. It can be a form of self-protection.