Stop Exercising: Train FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT for Radical Confidence!
Does this sound like you?
I have a history of disordered eating, putting my worth into my body. I stay loyal to things I pursue, and I strive to always do my best and finish what I started. But I'm also a perfectionist. My passions turn into obsessions. I always push too hard, shouldn't go so far, now I'm desperate to find some sort of balance in my in my body and mind.
Questions spinning through your head....
Am I supposed to workout or not?
Will a physical training routine help me love who I am in my own skin?
Or, will that put me on an endless hamster wheel of self-conscious body comparisons?
Physical activity... what a touchy subject in the world of body acceptance and eating disorder recovery. Both sides can argue more than Beavis & Butthead and never produce a concrete answer....
I am a survivor of anorexia, bulimia, a?seasoned fitness professional, a lifelong athlete and performing artist, and a metal band front-woman in?Karkaza.
And with that lengthy resume, and let me tell you something that'll blow your mind...
I haven't EXERCISED a single day in 15 years!! ??
That's right!!
I do FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT TRAINING ??
There's a difference, and it's about the?3 M's:
EXERCISE
Makes me think of aerobics tapes from the '80's, and today's trendy magazine covers and viral Tiktok's. Here's what the 3-M's look like in?mainstream exercise culture:
?? Not very functional for everyday life
?? Uninspired and unoriginal
?? Void of creativity or expression
?? Unbalanced, may overuse one body part and neglect another
?? "Target" one body part at a time, as if you are just a bunch of PARTS
stuck together, not a cohesive WHOLE.
??? Focus on body PARTS to judge yourself on minute details
?? Obsessive comparison to others: with so little room for expression
and creativity, you're bound to start judging your progress and worth
by external standards
?? Boredom, thinking of fitness as a CHORE that you?force yourself
into?because enough people say you should
????Very sensitive?around topics of weight, measurements, and food,
as if they reflect your character and worth.
?? "Mind over matter" bullshit that denies the mind-body connection
and puts your physical, mental, and emotional sides at war with each
other
?? Surface-level goals that focus entirely on image
?? Obsession with external gratification: "I'll be accepted and loved if
I look "perfect."
?? Trying to meet the "perfect body" standard, imposed celebrity culture,
fitness industry propaganda, and pseudo-science.
?? Fitness goals that are not meaningful to YOU, but that you adopt
to meet some external standard (i.e. "Need" to deadlift 3x my
bodyweight STAT, so the other iron-heads in the gym think I'm "cool")
After breaking it down, it's clear that?mainstream exercise culture?can truly break down your self-esteem. You could damage yourself for social acceptance. So, it's no wonder why eating disorder specialists often recommend their clients to stop?exercising?during their recovery, and continue to be cautious of it afterwards.
That's why I have not?exercised?in the past 15 years since recovering from anorexia nervosa in high school!
Now onto the opposite end of the teeter-totter.....
FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT TRAINING
Is moving with purpose, creating your own goal that is meaningful to you as a person, helping you to accomplish something you are truly passionate about.
How do the 3 M's look in functional movement training?
?? Highly functional for your lifestyle, job, or sport
?? Inspired, with a lot of room for creativity
?? Feels good in your body- even though you'd feel the burn from a
tough training session, you know it's making you more
resilient, and better adapted to the demands of life
?? Builds you body as a cohesive WHOLE
?? Challenging, yet balanced, sensible, and sustainable
领英推荐
??? Self-respect, love, and confidence
??? Individuality, becoming the best version of YOU, not someone else
?? Enjoying the activities in your workouts
??? Can think?objectively?about weight, measurements, and food,
realizing that these numbers do not reflect your worth.
?? Honoring the mind-body connection and respecting your boundaries
??? Loving your body for what it can DO
??? Self-improvement from within
??? Wanting to function better for the physical demands of your job or
lifestyle
?? When your passion in life involves physical activity, you want to be your
BEST
??? Giving yourself what you need, even if it contradicts the?trends
?? Self-expression, emotional release, an exercise in creativity,
and building strong mind
Physical activity can be a strong motivator to maintain a healthy body
When I first got into anorexia at 12, I didn't expect to be suspended from my gymnastics team for extremely low bodyweight. It was shocking and disappointing, and was the first kick in the butt to tell me that I had taken this s**t way to far, the consequences are kicking in, and this was a?bad idea....
Then remembering that I was in a strength and power sport and that I really wanted to embody self-empowerment, not fragility.
Sure, athletes often struggle with body image issues, but this is more likely a matter of correlation, not causation: children who are very somatically-driven and focused on their bodies are more likely to attach to physical activity. And if there happen to be negative influences in the sport, such as teammate or coaches ratting about their body image, yes, that can lead to disordered eating patterns.
But at the same time, anyone can have a friend, teacher, or relative who gives them a hard time about their body image and causes the child to become insecure, athlete or not. But an athlete would probably have the discipline to starve themselves to reach their body goals, so the eating disorder behavior can be more evident and more visibly problematic. But that same discipline, determination, and somatic focus can be what allows the athlete to overcome the negative spiral and come out stronger and more logical about the differences between body image and physical function.
It is flawed logic to say "sports cause eating disorders in girls."
More likely, the girl was predisposed to disordered eating from very early on in childhood, is a very somatically-driven person by nature, and therefore is attracted to sports, but likely would have developed some sort of disordered eating, body insecurity, or addictive pattern either way.
Love of a sport can be a motivator to channel her natural qualities into a productive path instead of hopping on the hamster wheel of chronic dieting and body shame that so many adult women stay on throughout their whole lives thinking that it's normal.
Sports and peer pressure may bring out disordered eating patterns early on in life, but the fact that they are brought out to the forefront is what pushes us to resolve them. So many fully grown women have lifelong disordered eating patterns- chronic dieting, hopping on every exercise trend, body insecurity- and don't realize it because they don't qualify for a specific diagnosis.
Athletes EAT and TRAIN, they don't "diet" and "exercise!"
Now that we've broken down the differences between EXERCISE and FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT TRAINING, which of these looks like it'll?break you down, and which looks like it'll?build you up??....
Regular physical activity is important, but you'd be much better off practicing FUNctional movement instead of trendy exercise fads.
Because even the BURN of pushing your limits can be FUN if you genuinely enjoy what you do!
Of course, if you're working on eating disorder recovery with medical professionals, respect their advice if they give you limitations on physical activity. It's?not?functional?to push past your realistic limits!
But if you (or your clients) are cleared for at least some amount of physical activity, take inspiration from the principles of my somatically-driven program on?How to Build Mindsets with Movements
Basically, dump the word "EXERCISE" and replace it with "PHYSICAL ACTIVITY" or "FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT." I say that as a survivor of anorexia, bulimia, and substance addition who is a lifelong athlete and performing artist, and a strength and conditioning specialist, and the creator of the program?MyoBeat Hardcore Wholistic Athletics.
The Somatosensory System in Training
In a nutshell, the?somatosensory system?describes that love-triangle between your body, mind, and environment. In particular,?my coaching in MyoBeat?is a form of?somatic practice, built on the concepts of Proprioception and Kinesthesia applied to functional fitness.
Key Concept: The way you move influences how you see yourself as a person.
So taking ACTIONS that reflect how feel go a long way in helping you become the person you want to be.
My coaching programs in the?MyoBeat App?are optimized to help overcome eating disorder, addiction, and emotional trauma by using movement as a way to build a healthy, resilient mentality.
For example, I like to coach handstand training because handstands are a highly MENTAL skill. Handstands take intense concentration and a focus on balance, both physically and mentally. They highlight the mind-body connection, bringing all the focus onto the skill itself, with no concern to your appearance.
Constantly focusing on balance, connecting with your body, and staying strong in your core self during regular training sessions helps you translate those mindsets onto other areas of your life. Hand balancing teaches you how to stay clam, focused, and clear-minded under tension, a valuable skill for all walks of life!
In the?free version of the MyoBeat App, I included a tutorial on handstand drills that can take you from never having thought about a handstand to having a solid working knowledge about how to learn that skill. Great for beginners who've never tried, and for those of you who do a bit of hand-balancing and want to improve.
Move How You Want to Feel
Let’s say you badly about your body image- doing graceful movements like ballet, and sexy movements like pole dance lets your body tell your brain “I am sexy and beautiful” without your appearance needing to change. Because?beauty is a feeling and mindset, not an image!
If you feel weak and hopeless, doing powerful movements like weightlifting, sprinting, boxing, or hip-hop dance lets your body tell your mind “I am strong and can overcome resistance." There will always be someone who is more "toned" and people who can lift heavier, but digging deep into?proprioception?gets you to?internalize?the feeling of strength and power without needing to compare yourself to others for validation.
Start your strength training with some?free video tutorials in the MyoBeat app
All of my instructional videos, I include coaching cues on proper technique in the skill, and also?mental cues?about the mindset to channel through your action.
What's more, doing flexibility and agility training teaches you how to be adaptable, mobile, and ready for change in both your body and mind. Agility requires you to be quick on your feet, and to THINK fast, and they do go hand-in-hand. Physical flexibility reminds you to let your mind be flexible and adapt to new situations.
I included a?free mini-course about agility & mobility training set to energetic rock music?in the Forever Free version of MyoBeat, and the all-access subscription has a lot more of everything you need to build your strongest body & mind without missing a beat!
When it comes to body positivity, training the SOMATOSENSORY SYSTEM is your golden ticket!
Move your body to create a general mentality that is confident, healthy, and self-respecting. Eventually, you can achieve one of the biggest hallmarks of psychological recovery- being able to think objectively about food, weight, and your body, not tying your self-worth to your appearance or any numbers.
Somatic work is the?basis of my coaching?and how I keep my eating disorder and addiction thoughts away as an athlete and performing artist (both jobs can be highly triggering if you're not careful!). That's how I know the somatosensory system works wonders and I want everyone to use this idea to harness their full intrinsic power!
I hope this brings you clarity on physical activity and body confidence! ?
NSCA-CSCS, Integrative Trauma Practitioner, Musician, Coach