Exercise Like a Minimalist

As a former personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach, I have tried so many different types of exercises and exercise routines. Yet, every single one of them was missing something. Most of the time I would push through the feelings completely burn out, exhaustion, and a lack of motivation to workout. Th This is where I ended up because I was forcing my body to cooperate in a certain way instead of tuning into what it needed from me in a workout.

woman doing a cobra yoga pose while exercising like a minimalist

What I love about minimalism is that it encourages you to pay attention to what will help you thrive rather than giving you more advice or information on what you “should” be doing. This is where I believe all other forms of workouts failed for me. When I say they failed, I mean that my body was actually suffering rather than benefiting from the exercise I was doing. I would get the quick hit of cortisol and adrenaline from the workout and then crash the rest of the day, having little energy to complete the rest of my daily tasks.

Minimalist Exercise

When I say that I have tried a lot of different exercise routines, I mean it. I even most recently tried not having any formal exercise routine because I felt so burnt out from years of over-exercising. This meant I got all of my exercise from daily life. I did a lot of walking, activities that I enjoy such as planning tennis and swimming, and some occasional stretching.

There is a narrative in the minimalist space that you don’t need to go to a fancy gym or have specialized equipment or classes to exercise. So I decided to try it out and just get exercise from my daily life. It is so very true that you don’t “need” any special equipment or routines, but I discovered that it also doesn’t mean that those things are bad. For me, the experiment in quitting formal exercise was one of the lowest times in my life. My mental health and my self esteem was at an all time low.

At that point, I was at a loss. I felt discouraged that formal exercising led to fatigue and burnout and quitting formal exercise led to depression and low self esteem. It seemed that I was in a no-win situation.

That is the moment when all that I’ve learned about minimalism started to gently nudge me toward a new way of exercising. While none of the exercise routines I have participated in were bad in and of themselves, they all failed because they lacked the one thing I actually needed.

woman wearing a short sleeve grey shirt grabbing a dumbbell off of a rack of weights

Why Traditional Exercise Failed Me

What was missing in my exercise equation was ME. I had spent four years of college and a decade of professional experience learning what science was telling me was telling me was best for exercise. On top of that, there was no shortage of information from influencers. But it wasn’t working for me because I was formulating my workouts around what was working well for others, not myself.

How To Workout Like A Minimalist

So what do my workouts look like now? I am hesitant to even share it with you because it is not about any specific routine, exercise, or amount of time spent working out. It is about what feels best for your body. The first thing to do is ask yourself these questions.

What gives you energy?
What makes you feel strong, confident, and capable?
What types of exercise do you enjoy?

I know some people who thrive off of going for walks, stretching, and participating in active hobbies like gardening. At the same time, I know people who thrive playing extreme sports, lifting weights, and running.

I will say it again. It is not about the exercise. It is about YOU.

Now that I got that out, I will climb down from my soapbox and share my what my exercise routine looks like.

My Minimalist Workout Routine

When I started thinking about how I wanted to build my minimalist exercise routine, I started by considering, what activities I enjoy and what makes my body feel its best.

I played a lot of different sports for many years, so for me exercise is about entering a state where my body feels strong, flexible, and athletic. Dare I say even graceful (although no one who watched me play sports would have called me graceful), but that is what it feels like to me. It brings me so much joy and confidence when exercise feels smooth and strong. On top of that, I have a strong and muscular build (often affectionately called a bulldog of the basketball court) which I feel is important to embrace in my workouts.

With this in mind, my goals for exercise are mobility exercises that give me the flexibility and stability to move athletically and gracefully, lifting weights to feel strong and powerful, and then doing activities that combine these two principles. For me those activities include tennis, swimming, and I might add in some running again.

Tennis because my husband taught me to play, it can easily be played with two people, and athletically speaking it feels very similar to basketball (which was the sport I played the longest). Swimming because it is so calming and rhythmic. You have to breath at a certain pace when you’re swimming which is calming to my nervous system. Running is something I haven’t done in a few years, but I might add it back in. I’m probably not going to be running any marathons anytime soon, but I do really enjoy the strength and speed required for sprinting (plus there is something so childishly fun about running as fast as you can. I say this at the risk of Phoebe Buffay).

With that information on why I choose the exercises I do, here is what a typical week of exercise looks like to me. Personally, I enjoy doing a anywhere from a 15-40 minute workout Monday-Friday. I find this is best for my mental health and productivity. My morning workouts energize me to get my day going.

Mon-Wed-Fri: I lift for 30-40 minutes these days. Typically I will do 2-4 sets of two upper body and two lower body exercises after a quick five minute mobility warm up.

Tuesday: I like to some stretching on core workouts on Tuesdays. These workouts tend to be quite short and are most often 15-20 minutes.

Thursday: 20-30 minutes of swimming or running depending on the time of year.

In the summer, I often play a lot of tennis with my husband so I will frequently swap a tennis session for any day of the workouts or an additional workout on the weekend.

bar with weight on the floor next to two dumbbells

How To Build Your Own Minimalist Workout Routine

Here are few things to consider as you build your own minimalist workout program.

What activities do you enjoy best?
How often do you want to workout and how much time do you have to dedicate to it?
What makes your body feel its best? Is it lifting, walking, stretching, cardio, or some kind of sports activity?
Do my workouts make me feel energized, confident, and strong; or are they draining me?

There is no right or wrong way to workout. The most important thing is that you do what feels best for your body in your given season. I am in a season where I have the time and energy to dedicate to more time to exercising, but I’m also aware that could change. I will be ready to shift along with it when that time comes.