Why I’m struggling to do my physio exercises

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a new physio, Jean Zhang. She’s brilliant - a hypermobility specialist who finally gets my bendy body. After years of exercises that made things worse, it was refreshing to feel truly seen. She gave me a small, thoughtful set of exercises, carefully chosen so they’d not be too much on top of my existing exercise regime.

She did everything right, and more. So, why oh why, am I once again in this place of struggling to do the exercises regularly? Instead of giving up, I decided to coach myself through it.

It doesn’t feel for me yet

I know these exercises are good for me. But deep down, they still feel imposed - as if someone else decided I “should” do them. I can’t help those thoughts of “but I don’t want toooo!”

This is that “Rebellion” rearing its head again. Because the exercises were given to me, I’m experiencing a bit of psychological reactance - the instinctive pushback when our autonomy is threatened. As humans, we crave choice and control. I need to make this feel like it’s for me.

So how do I solve this? With clients, I would always start with their why - why are they doing this? My why is simple - I want to walk all day without pain, to enjoy long days out and hikes without suffering afterwards. This is why I went to see Jean in the first place, and I need to remember that.

Next, I would work with them to understand their values, and to think about how this behaviour aligns with them. One of my core values is joy. Being able to move more for longer periods helps me to experience more of it, rather than having to tap out (or paying the price later). 

So I’m reframing these exercises from “something I have to do because I was told to” to “something I do because it enables me to do more of the things that bring me joy, without suffering pain”.

What’s interesting is that even as I’m writing this, I am feeling more positively about the exercises. It’s shifting it in my mind from something I have to do, to enabling something I want to do.

Too easy, too hard, too boring

Some exercises feel mind-numbingly repetitive. One feels almost impossible. Both mess with my sense of competence - I’m either under-challenged or overwhelmed.

So I’ve adapted:

1. I rotate the exercises, so I stay consistent without getting too bored. Doing something is always better than doing nothing.
2. I integrate the techniques I’m working on into my other Pilates, focusing on how I move - it keeps me learning and noticing what feels different.
3. When I got stuck, I asked my Pilates teacher for help. Just a few pointers helped me to feel capable again (Thanks, Alex from Sanson Pilates!)

Doing it alone is hard

At home, I usually exercise solo. However, even my pre-recorded online workout from Chimera Health feels less lonely because someone is guiding me through it - that tiny thread of connection matters. This taps into our need for relatedness - feeling connected with others.

This one feels harder to solve. I could rope in my husband - but this brings scheduling challenges. I would love to have more regular contact with Jean (my physio) but she’s on a well-deserved holiday. I could find a “physio buddy” for daily check-ins and encouragement (if this could be you, let me know 😉).

For now, I’m going to try pairing my exercises with listening to a favourite podcast (and only listening to it during my exercises). I think having the voices there will help me to feel less alone. This also taps into a science-backed trick called “temptation bundling” - pairing something you love to do, with something you’re less motivated for. To help me out, please hit me up with your best entertaining podcast recommendations 😊

Bringing it all together

This is a really nice showcase of the things that drive intrinsic motivation:

• The need for autonomy: that feeling of being in control of our own lives and time
• The need for competence: that feeling of being challenged just at the right level (ideally with increasing difficulty)
• The need for relatedness: the feeling of being connected with others

When we enhance these, our motivation becomes more intrinsic - and sticking to healthy habits gets easier. Hopefully for me, that translates into sticking to my physio exercises!

Writing this reminded me that motivation isn’t just about willpower - it’s about feeling supported, capable, and in control. How might you enhance your autonomy, competence, or relatedness to make your own goals stick? Let me know in the comments!