The Truth About ADHD & Exercise (and the Hardest Barriers we Face)

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[maquenzieberriz]

Idk if this is an ADHD thing or not, but I’ve always had a problem with “making excuses”. I feel like everything needs to be perfect for me to do something I don’t want to do, like exercise, and if one thing goes wrong then I feel like I can’t do it.

[mariezguitar]

“It takes us longer to do the same amount.” - I just connected why I’ve worked longer than anyone else at work, hours longer. Thank you.

[stevenhicks]

As a health coach, I really appreciate your openness here. The fitness industry has a terrible tendency to shout "no excuses!" or "Just Do It" but I try to tell my clients that I love hearing excuses. How can we overcome challenges if we refuse to talk about them?

Thanks for your openness. This video made me a better coach

[Threektwookonk]

“My body is for me, your body is for you”. Ok I’m a full grown man with ADHD and that made me bawl like a baby. Thank you for making life livable for us. This channel helps me through a lot. Thanks @How to ADHD

edit: ok so I definitely wasn't expecting this many people to like this comment. You brains are awesome!

[eileensnow]

I remember my mother coming into my bedroom, the room still a disaster after I had been “cleaning” for an hour, and saying “did you get lost?” And most of the time, yeah, I genuinely meant to be cleaning my room, but look at this old story I started writing, I really wanna get back into this, plus I also found my favorite gel pens that I lost last year and—oh. Yeah, I got lost.

[kayarnold]

Being so mentally exhausted at the end of the day that I have no energy left for anything else is one of my biggest barriers.

[weirdalfan]

I’m sorry this is extremely off topic. I love that your videos don’t “penalize” me for zoning out visually. I keep audible attention but my eyes unfocus and a lot of videos I need to rewind because I “missed” something by not seeing it. Your videos don’t make me feel bad for that.

[marcalpena]

And yet another barrier: getting distracted or discouraged DURING workouts. It's not also getting to do them, sometimes it's completing them!

[haleyrivers]

"Those with ADHD often have to work longer hours to accomplish the same things. We don't have as much time afterwards to go out and play". I did not expect to hear this in an exercise-related video, but wow, it hit SO close to home. That and being too uncoordinated to qualify in team sports in school....(which led to social isolation for me). Jessica, you never cease to make me reflect on my past and see it in a different light (than just "I'm a failure"). Thank you <3

[TheKnightArgent]

"I was born with a brain that wants me to move... and I'm bad at moving!" I can SO relate. Thank you so much for your candor; it's very brave and can reach so many people.

[nathanlong]

I feel a lot of this. For me the biggest barrier is space. There’s just no space in my home that I can use privately to work out and because I have so much embarrassment with the movement of my body I don’t feel like going outside or going to a gym is a possibility. And that’s in addition to the fact that my eyes are extremely sensitive to wind and light and I hate driving. It’s just frustrating to have these barriers and then have my family not understand how hard it is for me to get past them. Their only answer is to just do it anyway and I’m so tired of hearing that.

[mjturner]

"My body is for me. Your body is for you." That is such an important concept on so many levels. Thank you for stating it so simply and clearly 💕

[hayley]

I am 23 and just got diagnosed with ADHD, manic depressive disorder, and social anxiety. I thought being diagnosed would be liberating and validating but I feel off. These videos are helping a lot. Especially as I face people who are closet to me telling me that I don't have ADHD because I don't act like it and I just need to work harder. Your videos make me feel like I am not alone. Thank you

[TrappedinSLC]

It made me feel so happy to see your house looking ‘normal’ in the background of some of these shots. So many vloggers look like they live in magazine houses and that’s not sustainable for me.

[JayPlazma]

My largest barrier was getting over the mental effort of starting. Just the thought of exercise seemed like too much, especially with depression and anxiety draining my energy. What I learned to do was to set the bar lower, like what you said in the video, and commit to simply walking for 10-20 minutes a day. It’s low effort and I still work up a sweat due to my fast pace and weather. I highly recommend a brisk 10 minute walk after work or school or just being sedentary for a while. It’ll really wake you up!

[mattsoukup]

My exercise tends to come from "unconventional" activities, like hiking and rock climbing. They work so well for me because they don't really feel like working out, but rather a fun activity that also happens to be good exercise!

It also helps a ton that rock climbers tend to also be the "weird" quirky types that welcome everyone. For example, my climbing friends have a group chat currently named "merry band of socially anxious and/or awkward misfits" 😃

[Luna-ziob]

In my entire 27 years I've never realized that what I was feeling often, were sensory sensitivies. I just had my mind blown. Thank you!

[everybeautifulday]

seriously the uncomfortable clothes is such a big barrier. for me personally, i just hate sweating so much and i feel like i sweat more than others or it just bothers me more. it seems all workout clothes are super tight fitting, and it just makes me more uncomfortable bc the sweat sticks to me even more. like i can’t stand sports bras especially they feel super suffocating. that’s why i just work out in my room with no clothes on. that makes it soooo much more bearable lmao. thanks for this video! i cried with you too.

[karenmcpoyle]

For me, I’ve found that if I commit to a 3/wk schedule of classes, I actually do pretty well…until the one day I don’t go. The struggle to start back even after missing 1 class is so hard. Does anyone else experience that?

[bschuber]

"I was born with a brain that tells me to move, I am hyperactive... And, I am bad at moving"
You videos are so powerful, and speak so intimately to my personal experience. Thank you for continuing to make such amazing videos to change awareness