The Exercise I Hate Is Usually the One I Need 😜

I have developed a very sophisticated method for identifying the exercises I probably need most.

I look at the exercise.

I try it once.

And if my immediate reaction is:

Absolutely not. 😂

There is a very good chance I should probably keep doing it. 😜

I think most of us have our favorites when we train.

The exercises that make us feel strong.

The movements that come naturally.

The ones where we know exactly what we are doing and can almost convince ourselves that we are incredibly athletic.

And then there are the others.

The exercise that exposes your balance.

The stretch that suddenly reminds you that flexibility is not quite where you imagined it was.

The Pilates movement that looks ridiculously easy when someone else does it and somehow becomes completely different when it’s your turn.

Or that innocent-looking exercise that makes muscles you didn’t even know existed introduce themselves the next morning.

Those are usually less popular.

At least with me.

But there is something interesting about the exercises we instinctively dislike.

Very often, we don’t dislike them because they are useless.

We dislike them because they show us something.

A weakness.

A lack of mobility.

A coordination problem.

A part of the body we haven’t trained enough.

Or simply a movement we haven’t learned to control yet.

And I actually think that’s one of the most useful things about training.

It gives you information.

Not every difficult exercise needs to become your favorite.

And I certainly don’t believe we need to suffer through every workout just to prove that we are disciplined.

Training should also be enjoyable.

I like moving.

I like experimenting.

I like discovering new exercises.

And yes, sometimes I also like laughing at myself when something that looked incredibly simple turns out to be anything but simple.

But I’ve learned not to dismiss an exercise just because my first reaction is:

I hate this.

Sometimes I try it again.

And again.

And something changes.

The movement becomes easier.

The balance improves.

The body understands what you’re asking from it.

And eventually the exercise that once felt impossible becomes completely normal.

That’s a very satisfying moment.

Because improvement doesn’t always arrive as a dramatic transformation.

Sometimes it is simply realizing:

Wait. I can do this now.

Maybe that’s why the exercises we struggle with can be so useful.

The ones we’re already good at remind us what we can do.

The others show us where we can still improve.

So yes.

I will probably continue having exercises I don’t particularly like.

I will probably complain about some of them too. 😜

I’ll just complain while doing them.

Silvia