Exercise- Why, How, When, What and Who With?
Maybe you love exercising. Or maybe, like me, you need convincing to move your body at all.
One of the reasons I never thought I had ADHD was because I basically thought of myself as a sloth. My default was to conserve energy, moving as little as possible, like I was semi-hibernating. How could I have ADHD if I wasn’t bouncing off the walls? I didn’t throw chairs across the room in frustration or ping around like an Energiser Bunny.
What I didn’t realise was that hyperactivity can be internal: a busy mind, not a restless body.
Add in chronic pain, fluctuating energy, and an instinct to resist authority (enforced exercise? no thanks), and you can see why movement didn’t come naturally. I preferred to sit, hyperfocus on music or sound design, and stay put for hours. That worked for me… but over time, sitting still has a cost.
Why Move At All?
The uncomfortable truth: humans are meant to move. Without it, our flexibility, strength, mobility, and cardiac health decline. We find ourselves unable to lift gear, pick up kids, or run for a bus. Sometimes we even injure ourselves doing something as basic as getting out of bed.
So if we accept we need movement to function, the next questions are: what, where, when, how, and who with?
The ADHD Twist: Externalising Motivation
One thing I’ve learnt (and it came up in my Master’s research too) is that I usually only follow through when the goal is externalised. If I’m doing something just for me, it often gets lost in executive function challenges like distraction, memory lapses, or difficulty prioritising. But if someone else is involved, suddenly I’m accountable, and my brain treats it as important.
That’s why I’m more likely to move if:
I go to a class with a friend
I walk or jog with someone
I know another person is relying on me one-to-one
The social layer matters. It’s not about the class itself, it’s about not wanting to let another human down.
What I’ve Tried
A non-exhaustive list of experiments:
Adult gymnastics (including my one and only cartwheel)
Adult ballet and barre classes
HIIT, Crossfit, circuits, boxing, Kung Fu
Couch to 5K, running club, skipping, Zumba
Exercise DVDs and online workouts
Gym classes and gym machines
Personal training groups
What’s Stuck (My Regulars)
Daily walks
Tiny jogs (I mean really tiny)
Low-impact HIIT
Weight lifting and bodyweight strength
Kundalini yoga
Pilates (mat and reformer)
Barre
*all of these involve an instructor or a friend (also a dog son) being involved to give me external accountability, sometimes I use the Trainerize app but only because I know my coach looks at it!
Still On My List
Paddleboarding
Wild swimming or cold-water dips
Handstand classes
Improv or dance-based movement
My Top Tips
If you sit most of the day (desk, transport, sofa), balance it out. One exercise session is great, but small daily movements matter more.
Harness momentum: tag your workout onto something you already do.
Match movement to your energy pattern. If mornings feel impossible, don’t plan 7am workouts. If evenings are social, use that for classes or walk-and-talks.
If structured classes don’t appeal, build movement into transport: walk, jog, or cycle to get places.
Think variety: balance, mobility, strength, and cardio all matter.
Try 30-60 second micro-movements: stand up to fetch your phone, stretch while the kettle boils, dance for one song, don’t sit down to put your shoes on, get some steps in delivering things back to different places in your home, single leg squat to pick stuff up...
If you need accountability, tag onto a friend’s routine or agree a regular meet-up, add to your calendar and reminder system.
Choose things you enjoy. If you hate it, change it. You might never love moving or experience endorphins but you’ll never regret having a functionally mobile body.
Can you Gamify it? It might work to give you momentum initially but beware when the novelty effect drops off and maybe switch it up again
Experiment with formats: online classes, small groups, or outdoor activities.
Mindfulness through movement counts. Kundalini yoga works for me because it uses repetitive patterns that keep my busy brain grounded.
Reflection
You don’t have to become a runner, a lifter, or a gym rat. Movement doesn’t have to look the same for everyone. But your brain and body will thank you for some kind of regular movement.
And if, like me, you need a friend, a group, or a little external accountability to make it happen, that’s not a weakness. It’s just how some of us work best.
So: what’s one kind of movement you could try- or try again this week?