I move because I want to.
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Or something like that.
I move because I want to.
I have settled on LDC brand colors, so why not a graphic that is relatable to a lot of what I’ve been hearing lately.
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I’ve always been a mover (I type as I sit down at my computer after finishing my day job… but I digress).
I played hockey & football growing up. Then I took up running. Yoga. Hiking. Rugby. Weight training. Powerlifting. My newest - cycling. My body’s needs are simple: I move every day.
Knowing this very simple and straightforward fact took years of learning, unlearning, exploring, and frustration wrapped up in a very complicated lesson. What has changed over the years? My relationship to exercise and fitness, and specifically the quantification of movement.
I love the data. I love the stats. I love the weights lifted, the distance hiked, the kms/hr. I track to prove to myself, and others, that I choose to move. That I am committed to movement.
Why? To show I am “doing something” about my fat body.
In the past year, I realized something important - I’m a mover, and I move because I want to.
I no longer see it as a vehicle of punishment, a tool of shrinking, a box that I have to tick to be ‘doing something’ about my body. And, I don’t see my body as a limitation. I don’t allow that assumption, about a bigger body participating in movement for the sole purpose of becoming smaller, to ruin what I love.
I move because I want to. Because it helps manage my injuries and pain. Because it’s a way to spend quality time with my partner and pets. Because some of my favorite places can only be reached by foot. Because it assists in my mental health management.
And I realized that just because I love it, doesn’t mean that everyone does. It doesn’t make me better, or more dedicated. It doesn’t mean I have to ‘motivate’ others. Not everyone loves movement - and that is ok.
I move, because I love it. It’s something I often do alone. It’s a coping mechanism, an outlet, and a purely magnificent time.
In 2020, I had arguably my most active year of my life. I moved, every day. I explored new ways of doing old things, and tried things for the first time too.
Allowing myself to remove the pressure of quantifying movement and checking boxes allowed me to realize - I move, because I love it. That’s it.
Here’s to rolling all over my city this summer.
