WHY WE MOVE – EPISODE 12**
During lockdown she has been at the very heart of the community drive to move and support one another. She has led her neighbours on a daily basis in a short exercise and stretching session and has lifted spirits and kept so many of her more elderly neighbours active.*
Q.1 What do you define as ‘joyful movement’?
Joyful movement is anything I want to do that day – it might be yoga, it might be getting sweaty, it might be jumping in the sea. During lockdown I’ve really felt the joy. Every morning at 11am I go out and do a gentle exercise session for my neighbours, some of whom are elderly. Even if I’m in a sad mood when I start, 20 minutes later I feel great after a stretch and a chat – we all do.
Q.2 What is your earliest memory of moving for fun and pure joy?
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Dancing to Ian Dury’s Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick at a party when I was 5, up late past my bedtime
Q.3 Do you feel you listen to your body as far as movement is concerned or do you follow a specific programme or schedule?
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I used to follow a schedule, but now I wake up and move however I feel on the day. And if I don’t feel like moving, I don’t. More often than not I do! I alternate between yoga, pilates, sweaty HIIT, weights, whatever I fancy.
Q.4 If exercise had ZERO impact on how your body looks, would your exercise choices be different?
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No – they’d be exactly the same. I work out for how it makes me feel, not how it makes me look. If I look different because if it, that’s a bonus.
Q.5 Why do you move? (What motivates you and how does movement make you feel?)
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Moving makes me feel giddy. I didn’t exercise regularly until I was 40, but now I don’t like to go a day without it and I qualified as a PT at 47 because I want to help other people love fitness. Women of my age were bombarded with messages about toning up, getting a flat stomach and losing 7lbs in 7 days. I’m ashamed to say when I worked on women’s magazines I had to perpetuate all that too. I always knew it was wrong. I do enjoy getting stronger, having more stamina and being able to do things I couldn’t, but I move for my mental wellbeing.
*Find Hannah on Insta: @everybody2020; Facebook: facebook.com/everybodyfitnesstraining
**This is part 12 of my ‘Why We Move’ series! This is a series of interviews with a range of female trainers who believe in a non appearance based and weight neutral approach to fitness.
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