My morning Fitness First ritual has been an essential component of my ADHD management strategy for over a decade. Even when I’m fully medicated, I rely on my workout to help me plug in my brain and get myself going.
Having spent the past 11 years building my daily Fitness First ritual has turned into the best investment I’ve made in my physical and mental health and wellbeing. It’s especially been a lifesaver while I’m dealing with medication shortages that have left me without my usual medication.
Even when dopamine is low, I’m able to get myself out the door to the gym. This is where “riding the streak” sometimes becomes the motivating force. After 11 years of daily workouts, I’m not going to let the lack of medication cause me to break my streak.
Many women with ADHD struggle with that catch–22 of knowing they need to workout but lacking the energy to do it.
Here are 7 tips to working out consistently even when you’re off your meds.
(1) Decide and Commit in Advance
Remember this: Decisions drain dopamine.
Decisions will deplete your energy before you even start your task.
They are also distractions.
The fewer decisions I have to make in my day — especially at the start — the more energy I have to do the work.
The entire premise of “Fitness First” is based on the idea that by making the decision once to workout first thing in the morning I’ve eliminated that decision forever.
The more consistency I can have in my morning routine the fewer decisions are required.
This applies to the content of my workout too. Knowing what I’m going to do before I arrive helps me avoid the puttering that can happen while I’m trying to figure it out.
Either I rely on the class to set my agenda or I get a plan from my coach so I know exactly what I need to do.
(2) Commit to a Schedule
It helps to have something that forces me to show up by a certain time. Having some urgency to get out the door keeps me moving in the morning.
Usually I do this by committing to taking class. The other motivating factor for me is the small parking lot at my gym. I know if I don’t get there by a certain time I will have to circle the block for a spot. That often motivates me to hustle out the door.
(3) Get to a Gym or a Studio
A fundamental principle of getting things done, with or without ADHD:
Environment is more powerful than willpower.
As I like to remind my clients:
There’s a reason you eat in your kitchen and pee in your bathroom, and not the other way around. (Graphic, yes. But it gets the point across unambiguously.)
The environment sets the tone for the activity. Unless you have a proper full gym set up in your home, go to a place that has the space and equipment you need.
It’s much easier to generate the spark that will light your fire of action when the environment supports your activity.
(4) Don’t Do It Alone
Even if you do have a full gym set-up in your home, if you’re working without your usual meds, the spark to action can be harder to come by.
The people around you can provide the energy you’re lacking to help you get started. I don’t always love doing classes, but when I’m without my usual meds, the structure of CrossFit class helps me a lot. Being surrounded by other people doing the same thing helps give me energy to get started and keep going.
The commitment to show up for class also takes care of items (1) and (2): you’re committed, you have a plan created for you, and it will keep you to a schedule.
Hopping into a class will also play into that tendency ADHD women have to show up well for others before we show up for ourselves.
While it’s essential to learn how to show up for ourselves, challenging times call for leaning into natural tendencies as much as possible. If feeling like you have to show up and do it for the group helps you show up, then ride that wave.
(5) Embrace Your Pace
Riding urgency all day is a recipe for chronic stress and trauma that can backfire later in the day.
Too much urgency can create a dopamine spike, but this can lead to a crash.
Once I’m at the gym, it helps me to start slow and ease in, to avoid overloading my nervous system too fast.
Even if I’m in a class, I embrace my pace — even if that means I am the slowest and finish last.
(6) Harness the Power of Repetition
Low dopamine is correlated to challenges with muscle coordination.
Rather than a typical yoga flow that is a long sequence, I move between 2 poses at a time for many repetitions. When I build a longer sequence, I add slowly, repeating the first part before each addition.
Repeating movement helps create fluency in movement patterns.
Repetition is not just within the practice, but from day to day. Having a standard go-to warm up sequence eliminates the decision of “how should I start?”
Here’s an example of one of my standard warm-up practices:
- Cat/cows
- Child’s pose to table top
- plank to downward dog
Each couplet is a separate flow that I might repeat 10 or 20 times.
Because it’s the same thing every day, it helps me assess where my body is that day, so I know what I have bandwidth for.
(7) Find the Right Intensity Level
Finding the right intensity level in my workout is crucial.
If my workout is too low in intensity it won’t give me a dopamine boost.
If it’s too intense, it might give me a dopamine spike that results in a crash, or it will fatigue me too much.
I want to get a vigorous enough workout that gives me a dopamine boost without creating a dopamine spike that leads to a counter-productive crash.
This is the hardest part because I don’t always know how my body will respond.
This is not the end of the tips. Come back tomorrow for more workout tips and learn what elements I’m particularly focused on without my meds.
Need more support? I help mid-life women with ADHD move with confidence and ease by creating the systems and strategies that work best for them and how they work. Contact me to schedule a call to discuss how I can support you.
Love it? Hate it? What do you think? Don't hold back...