Do you sometimes sense that you are surrounded by electronics and gadgets and technology? Do you ever long for simpler living? Do you sometimes find yourself feeling a bit disconnected from the world? The natural world? The real world? Are you tiring of the performative way people present and behave online?

Do you prefer actual physical face-to-face human engagement? If any of these thoughts resonate with you, you may be among the many folks who are seeking some form of “simpler” or “slower” living. This is an emerging trend it seems. And it may have some relevance in exercise.

We all know that active living is a foundational part of health and wellbeing. We also know that many of us struggle in this area, for a range of reasons (think about your own excuses here….). But here is an idea you may not have considered: making exercise a low-tech part of your life.

For many people exercise now involves a LOT of tech. Smart watches, exercise apps, exer-social apps, how-to videos, online training schedules and logs, costly bikes and bands and memberships and clothing and gels and drinks and fabrics and more. Much more. Maybe something simpler has appeal for you? Ideas you might try…

  • Get out. Less indoors gym and more outdoors walking or running or cycling or whatever. Ideally, get into nature but even a brisk walk round the suburb can be great.
  • Stop measuring. Or measure less. Maybe JUST track minutes-of exercise-per-week (aim for 150-180) and nothing else. Forget the heart rate and the exertion-level-graph-thingie and the social show-off apps and all of that. Just move for enough minutes each week.
  • Gauge your effort. The simple way. You do actually need to train in a precise optimal heart rate range, really. Strenuous exercise involves sweat and being shot of breath (can talk but not sing) – do 180 minutes of that each week and you’re doing well. Light activity involves moving but NOT being short of breath at all really – do 30+ minutes of this every day. Simple, eh?
  • Do it for you. You know your needs and you know what’s in it for you. That’s enough, really. You can share (and it is OK sometimes) but the whole world does not need to know that you just walked 5 km this morning. Or do they?
  • Invest in good safe gear. But no flashy or expensive or fashion-exercise clothing. Try old fashioned “old clothes for sweating-in” thinking. Be sensible and practical more than mirror-obsessed. Do have good walking shoes that are comfortable and supportive. But how they look and or what brand is on them, matters not.

Please note: if you love the tech and the gadgets and the complexity and all of this, that’s fine. For some these things enrich the whole experience and for some they aid in optimising training results. That’s good. But for some others, exercise, like much in life, can be overly-complicated sometimes. It comes down to mindfulness and choice.

The above list is obviously not complete. Try thinking about your current exercise regime (or your most recent one if it has been a while). Is it overly complex? Is there too much tech? Does it all cost too much? Is it just a hassle? Does it seem overwhelming at all? Is it simple and basic and grounded and healthy? These, and similar, questions are worth asking yourself. The answers may trigger an interesting journey for you…

Written by Dr Colin Burns