I wish I hadn’t listened to them. That I hadn’t let those six words, six thoughtless, stupid words, get to me the way they did.

As those words: “you don’t have the right physique” wormed their way in, creating a narrative that would play out, for the next twelve years.

I had been an active child, going to dance classes – jazz and ballet – multiple times a week. There was a brief stint of gymnastics, followed by trampolining where I’d fling myself through the air, badly, and never quite achieved my number one ambition: to master a backdrop without squealing in terror. I viewed my body only in what it could do for me, how fun it felt to spin around on a shiny-wooden floor, how free I felt jumping on springs, up, up, up and away.

But it was ballet I loved the most. The soft pink romance of it all, and how elegant I felt at the barre. The problem was: I was not elegant. I was a chubby 12-year-old with a poor grasp of the difference between ‘left’ and ‘right.’ In my head I was a swan, in reality I was a waddling duck and, I guess, it was this dose of reality that one of my teachers decided I needed. It was when I told her that I wanted to progress to pointe, something I’d been leading up to, that she delivered her harsh prognosis for my ambition.

I stopped dancing immediately. But not just dancing: all exercise. I stopped viewing my body as a vessel to have fun in and instead viewed it as a harsh critic. I weaved her words into my identity: I was not built for it; exercise was not for girls like me. I skipped P.E whenever I could, I quit the dance classes I had once loved and, even after I left school and others around me started to go to the gym, I still stuck to this false, damaging view of myself.

But then, around the age of 24, I got a job on a magazine where I had to look after the fitness pages. Suddenly, I was having to, for work, do things like go along to spinning classes, alongside Victoria Pendleton or learn a dance routine from Diversity. I was not good. But then… who would be? I was up against actual professionals so all I could do was throw myself in and try to have fun. All ideas of whether my body was right, or wrong, for exercise disappeared – I wasn’t ‘built’ for exercise in the same way Victoria Pendleton is (so few are!) but that didn’t mean it wasn’t for me entirely.

Since then, I’ve learned to love exercise and seen that it absolutely is for me. But I’ve also realised how many others there are out there who have absorbed the idea that exercise is for one sort of person. That you have to look a certain way, or that you have to do an activity that you don’t enjoy simply because others do (running, I’m looking at you). It’s also entirely possible to switch from a “god I’d rather die than hit the gym” into someone who actively looks forward to it. I’m proof, as are these eight people, and these are our tips for how to learn to love exercise, even if you once hated it…

“I watch Real Housewives on the treadmill”

"I get bored so easily and find cardio to be relentless and dull. But I found that if I download my favourite reality TV shows, Real Housewives or that week's Traitors, then I can pop them on while on the treadmill and adjust the settings so I'm either briskly walking or walking up a steep hill, changing it up. It means I rack up, at least, an hour of walking when, previously, I'd have just been on the sofa."

Bex, 29

"Trying new things constantly keeps me engaged"

"All of my friends seem to have one thing when it comes to fitness that they love, and stick to. Because I couldn't do that, I thought I just wasn't a fitness-type of person. But then I realised it just doesn't suit my brain, or personality, to do one thing all the time. So now I change what I do, all the time. If I hear about a new dance class I'll go and try it out, or go on long gossipy walks with friends, if the weather looks good that week. The focus is now on hitting movement each week, rather than one activity and that works for me."

Amber, 33

"If I make it social, I stick to it."

I hated exercise as a kid. I always sucked at it. I still do (with some improvements for sure) but now it makes me feel good. My best success in terms of longevity of the habit has been to pick exercise activities that I meet my friends at. For a while we did aerial circus and now we do acrobatics. I've also done climbing with some other friends. I like(d) these things because they aren't competitive, and there is a focus on technique as well as just raw physical ability, and improving/having fun as opposed to "winning".

Natalie, via Reddit

"Learn what you hate."

"I've always associated exercise with getting out of breath and that horrible tight chest feeling. So, I avoided it for that reason. But then I joined a women's only weight-lifting gym where I learned how to deadlift and squat with heavy weights. Because you only lift for a short period and then there's rest breaks involved, I never get that sweaty or out of breath. And then, from there, my fitness improved and I felt more confident going on long walks and hikes, as I found I was stronger and therefore got less out of breath. The more I've done, the less out of breath I've got, so I'm more willing to try new things."

Bryony, 26

“I revisited my childhood hobby”

"From the age of 5 to 10, I absolutely loved ballet class. It's the last time I can remember truly enjoying exercise, so one New Year, I decided to find if there were adult dance classes in my area. There were and I've never looked back as that old passion returned and I now dance two times a week."

Verity, 36


“I started with 30-second jogs”

I was getting annoyed by lifestyle gurus who would say how they're doing nothing but kale smoothies and running for 10km through the rain before the sun is up. I might do that, like, once, at best, but it's not sustainable.

Then I discovered the Atomic Habits approach which is tiny changes that you repeat over time and they become habits. So I bought a treadmill, and started with 30 second jogs each morning. Simply getting on the treadmill was my 'habit', and that's stuck. As a result, I naturally don't just go for a 30 second slow jog, I push it a bit more.

My best day, sure I can run and feel real good. But how often do we have our best days?
So think, what can you do on your worst day? That day when you simply cannot be bothered. For me, I can stand on the treadmill, and press 'go', and do something, doesn't matter how minimal. And I feel a lot better for it, and look forward to exercise. Previously, I never did look forward to running."

Mike, via Reddit

"You don't have to torture yourself"

"I started focusing on just moving my body instead of listening until all the message I got growing up that you had to torture yourself at the gym until you puked for exercise to count. That sounds kind of silly but I wanted to learn some new dances so I just started watching YouTube dance tutorials and I was burning way more calories per hour than I ever did doing anything I hated. Also wanted to add as women age, strength training greatly increases your chances of having better bone health."

Jessica, via Reddit


“I do only 20 minutes… and I workout with my pyjamas on”

"One of my real blocks, I learned, was just putting my workout clothes on. I know it sounds so silly but wrestling my sports bra on each morning was just such an ugh thought I wouldn't do it. So, I started doing workout in my pyjamas! I've found YouTube classes that I enjoy, and I just roll out of bed, tell myself I only have to do 20 minutes (I've found sometimes I end up doing more as once I start I'm enjoying it) and then shower and get ready for the day after."

Joey, 39

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Catriona Innes

Catriona Innes is Cosmopolitan UK’s multiple award-winning Commissioning Editor, who has won BSME awards both for her longform investigative journalism as well as for leading the Cosmopolitan features department. Alongside commissioning and editing the features section, both online and in print, Catriona regularly writes her own hard-hitting investigations spending months researching some of the most pressing issues affecting young women today. 


She has spent time undercover with specialist police forces, domestic abuse social workers and even Playboy Bunnies to create articles that take readers to the heart of the story. Catriona is also a published author, poet and volunteers with a number of organisations that directly help the homeless community of London. She’s often found challenging her weak ankles in towering heels through the streets of Soho. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.