Exercise is good for you. Brilliant, in fact, by nearly every objective measure. For this reason, the world is full of fit people telling less fit people to do more exercise \u2013 but this rarely works. Why? <\/p>\n
There\u2019s a quote I love from my chat with experienced trainer, author and all-round sensible chap Ben Carpenter. <\/p>\n
\u201cFitness professionals are hardcore exercise enthusiasts who often don\u2019t know how to empathise with people who are not also hardcore exercise enthusiasts.\u201d<\/p>\n
This causes a massive divide between those who exercise and those who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Those who exercise regularly (group A) often built this habit as a child. Exercising regularly is their default, they are good at it, it feels fantastic, and (as with anyone who has ever hit a dopamine goldmine) they are keen to encourage others to do it too. <\/p>\n
But for those who don\u2019t exercise regularly (group B), it doesn\u2019t feel good or natural at first \u2013 quite the opposite, actually. This is especially true when a member of group A recommends they start with a high-octane exercise class or hardcore workout programme. <\/p>\n
No one is in the wrong \u2013 we are all just playing the cards we have been dealt. But there is a solution: start where you are, not where you want to be.<\/p>\n
To do this, it is important to realise there is no one-size-fits-all fitness plan. The same workouts will affect people differently depending on individual factors such as genetics, environment and training experience.<\/p>\n
This means, when a fitness figure or influencer tells you, \u201cYou can look like me by doing exactly as I do,\u201d you would do well to question it. <\/p>\n
Instead, it\u2019s best to find a fitness routine that meets you where you\u2019re at. (I think this plan from coach Darren Ellis<\/a> offers a good framework for getting started, alongside a few options to scale it to your specific needs.) <\/p>\n If you currently don\u2019t do any exercise, adding any new healthy behaviours into your regular daily routine will likely see an uptick in your fitness fortunes. For example, an extra portion of fruit and veg<\/a>, a walk<\/a> or a short mobility session<\/a>. <\/p>\n If you\u2019re a seasoned runner or gym-goer wanting further fitness progress, you need to upgrade the intensity of your existing workouts. For example, quickening your paces during interval sessions or adding a few extra kilos to the barbell for your next set of squats. <\/p>\n In both situations, picking appropriate workouts for you and progressing them in line with your fitness levels is the key to long-term success. <\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth noting that exercise doesn\u2019t always feel good at first, especially if you bite off more than you can chew. <\/p>\n I remember listening to elite coach Chris Hinshaw describe a running session he did with a former professional powerlifter who wanted to learn how to sprint. Powerlifters are juggernaut figures who excel at lifting heavy barbells, but they are often less adept at moving their own bodies. <\/p>\n So, Hinshaw gave his client a beginner sprinting drill he knew the athlete could excel at. \u201cThe first bite of the apple has to taste good,\u201d Hinshaw later explained. Spurred on by his early success, the motivated athlete continued to work on his sprinting. <\/p>\n Perhaps hypocritically, given the intro, I am now going to tell you that exercise does ultimately end up feeling inexplicably good. My recent interview with 47-year-old Irishman David Keohan reinforced this belief. <\/p>\n \u201cIn my 20s I was into art and music and drinking and smoking,\u201d he told me. \u201cI was obese and unhealthy, mentally and physically. Then you get to your 30s and your body says, \u2018Hold on a second, we need to start doing something about this, kid\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n So, he went and bought a pair of trainers, fending off questioning glances from the man behind the till. Within six months he had run his first marathon. In the next few years he became a world champion at lifting kettlebells. Then, during Covid lockdowns, he started lifting huge boulders in his garden and stumbled across the lost Irish culture of stone lifting<\/a> (this is one of my favourite recent interviews). <\/p>\n \u201cI got bitten by the bug of feeling good,\u201d Keohan continues. \u201cBefore, I never knew what feeling good felt like, if that makes any sense? But once you start to feel good, it\u2019s amazing, and you realise how bad you felt for the last 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, you don\u2019t have to lift 170kg stones in your back garden to get in shape. This is an extreme example. But it does pay to do something slightly challenging (for you) on a fairly regular basis \u2013 whether that\u2019s a short walk or a gnarly workout. <\/p>\n Because eventually, I\u2019m afraid to say, exercise does have a tendency of making you feel rather good. <\/p>\n Get the Well Enough newsletter<\/p>\n![\"Get](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Well-Enough-Harry-3_2.png\")
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