Why exercise is harder for ADHD

As my knees near the floor for the last time, my bones creak and all the breath in my body leaves in one exasperated gasp. The pain is debilitating and the strain is simply too much. This will be my final act, my last moment. As I reach up to my child in anguish, hoping they have a happy life without me, my child takes the toy out of my hand and my wife tells me to get up.

It's Easier Said than Done

Getting a toy out from under the bed is a deadly task with decades-old bones, 50 lbs of extra weight, and the exercise routine of an Olympic sitter. I could exercise and get in shape, you say! Just like I could get my life together and be good at time management, homework, chores, and laundry. Dear lord, the laundry! But as with everything I can just DO, it's far easier said than done. For starters, my brain works differently and struggles with many basic executive function tasks. Then add in over-stimulation, overwhelming anxiety, constant distractions, and everything else that comes with ADHD. But finally, we need to address the nature of the exercise. 

Troubles that come with ADHD

Exercise is INEFFICIENT and INCONVENIENT by nature. As an ADHDer, I need as much convenience and efficiency as possible to overcome the motivation bridge and overwhelming walls of struggles and distractions. But exercise its very nature is the opposite. While there is much nuance under the surface, at its base level, losing weight is easy. Eat fewer calories or burn more calories. Eating less is an obvious answer, but wouldn't you know it, struggling to control my relationship with food is why I have weight to lose. So exercise it is. I need to burn more calories than I would normally, but I'm not accomplishing anything. I'm running to run, lifting weights to lift. Nothing is getting done, I'm just moving for the sake of moving. So exercise is by its very nature inefficient and inconvenient. I'm giving myself more work to do and more effort to spend, with no results or reward. Let's not forget how long it will be before I see any change in my body, pushing back even that reward to a long term maybe if I can stick with it. 

Standard exercise on a treadmill or in a gym is simply ignoring everything I need to form and stick with a new habit. So do I just lay here on the floor forever? Sadly that's not an option and the floor isn't even very comfortable. There are 2 methods I try to use. I say try because as with any new system, it may or may not work. I will try dozens of methods and MIGHT find some small measure of success. But conceptually, these 2 methods have the most chance of appealing to my brain. 

Making Exercise Fun

First, have fun. I can read dozens of books on greywater applications and design in residential buildings because I want to know. But a professor tells me I have to read a single chapter by the end of the week and I'll procrastinate until the last second. I need to find things I'm self-motivated to do if I want a chance. What can possibly be more enticing than playing virtual reality games at home? It's super fun, it's self-decided, and IT'S A WORKOUT! If you haven't had the pleasure of playing Beat Saber before, you might not realize how much effort it takes to have fun if you do it right. Depending on the difficulty I choose, it can be either a slow walk in the park or a high-intensity sweating panting, or pain in the morning workout! 

Second, make a game of it. I don't just mean have fun, but make it something winnable. Make it competitive by playing with a friend. Track your scores and get that motivation of seeing your scores improve. do whatever you can to make it measurable and winnable. I often feel I am losing at basic things in life, so I am very competitive and love finding something I can excel at. I love seeing metrics and numbers and ratings. Stuff that most people hate dealing with, but I love it. It gives me something instantly to motivate me and show how I can improve. Recently I got myself a fancy D20 dice and made myself a list of small exercises 1-20. Each morning (I am supposed to) roll the die and do whatever it tells me to do. This works sometimes and is another way that might work for you.

Conclusion

Exercise in the way most people do it really isn't designed for my brain. But with a bit of tweaking, I can make it work for my brain. It still won't be easy and I'll still stumble from time to time, but doing a small something for your health is much better than doing nothing

With love and insanity equally,

J.M.