Not every body is built for the same kind of movement, and that’s not a flaw, it’s biology.
Some people feel alive after a hard, sweaty workout. Others feel wrecked for days. Some bodies crave strength and resistance. Others soften, open, and heal through slower, gentler movement. None of this is random, and none of it means you’re doing it wrong.
The problem starts when we treat exercise like a one-size-fits-all prescription, usually filtered through influencers whose bodies, lifestyles, hormones, stress levels, and nervous systems look nothing like ours.
Your body is not an algorithm. It’s a living system.
The same workout just doesn’t work for everyone. Bodies differ in metabolism, nervous system tone, joint structure, muscle fiber composition, recovery speed, and stress tolerance. Bodies also differ in trauma history, sleep quality, life demands, parenting load, emotional stress, and overall capacity.
A workout that energizes one person can dysregulate another.
A routine that builds strength in one body can cause pain or burnout in another.
A trend that looks “healthy” online can quietly push someone further away from balance.
This is why copying someone else’s routine rarely works long-term.
Instead of asking what workout you should be doing, it’s more useful to ask: How does your body feel before you move? How does it respond during movement? How do you feel later that day, or the next morning? These answers matter more than aesthetics, calorie burn, or what’s trending.
It’s very important to understand that listening is not laziness. It’s regulation.
For some bodies, strength looks like lifting heavy,
things like barbell work, kettlebells, progressive resistance training, or slow, controlled strength work that builds power and density. This kind of movement often supports bodies that feel weak, depleted, or lacking tone, where tissues need stimulation, structure, and clear feedback.
For others, strength looks like improving joint stability,
through movements like Pilates, controlled bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, physical therapy–style training, swimming, or slow functional movements that protect the joints while building support. This is often helpful for bodies that feel unstable, loose, or easily irritated, where joints and connective tissue need guidance and steadiness rather than force.
For others, strength looks like learning how to relax muscles that never turn off,
through yoga, restorative stretching, breath-led movement, mobility work, tai chi, or gentle flow practices that teach the nervous system it’s safe to let go. This kind of movement tends to support bodies that are tense, tightly held, or always “on,” where stress shows up as chronic muscle gripping.
For others, strength looks like simply moving consistently without crashing afterward,
through walking, light dance cardio, swimming, cycling, rebounding, or short, repeatable movement sessions. This approach often works best for bodies that are easily fatigued, slow to recover, or sensitive to overdoing it, where consistency matters more than intensity.
Terrain cues matter because they help you choose movement that supports your body where it actually is, not where you think it should be so health is not defined by how extreme your movement is. It’s defined by how well your body adapts and recovers.
Let your body be the authority. Influencers don’t live in your body. These influencers don’t feel your digestion, your hormones, your sleep debt, or your nervous system load. They don’t wake up inside your joints. You do.
Respect the signals.
Choose movement that supports your body, not one that competes with it.
Your body isn’t behind.
It’s communicating.
And when you learn to listen, movement stops being punishment and starts becoming support.
Honestly, Vanessa 