Breaking Free from Exercise Resistance: Using Tapping to Create a Movement Practice You Actually Enjoy

I recently received this thoughtful message from Jocelyn that I wanted to share with you:

“Nick, I use tapping in my practice. I also love it for myself. I tap daily. One area that still gets in my way that I even asked Carol Look about years ago is EXERCISE! I am a fairly fit and slim person but I don’t gravitate towards exercising and it is always the last thing on my list. I want to change this… I would love someone to help me tackle this issue.”

Jocelyn, thank you for your honesty! You’ve touched on something that resonates with so many people—even those of us who are wellness practitioners and regularly use tools like Tapping. Just because we know what’s “good for us” doesn’t automatically make it easy or appealing! 🙂

What’s particularly interesting about your situation is that you’re already fit and slim—which means that your resistance to exercise isn’t about physical appearance goals that often drive people to the gym. This hints at something deeper going on beneath the surface that’s worth exploring.

The fact that you’ve already asked Carol Look about this issue (she’s fantastic, by the way!) and you’re still looking for solutions tells me this is a persistent pattern that’s been challenging to shift. Let’s see if we can uncover some new perspectives and approaches that might help you finally break through.

The Hidden Psychology of Exercise Resistance

What’s fascinating about exercise resistance is that it often has very little to do with laziness, lack of discipline, or not caring about health. In fact, for many people who are otherwise conscientious about their wellbeing (like you, Jocelyn!), exercise resistance is more complex and nuanced than it first appears.

Here are some of the most common psychological underpinnings I’ve observed:

1. The “Should” Factor: Exercise as Obligation vs. Pleasure

When exercise becomes something we “should” do rather than something we want to do, our brain often categorizes it alongside other unpleasant obligations. This creates an automatic resistance response in our nervous system.

The language many of us use around exercise reveals this mindset: “I have to work out,” “I need to exercise more,” “I should be more active.” This framing activates our brain’s threat detection system, putting us into a subtle resistance state before we even put on our sneakers.

2. The Window of Tolerance: Exercise as Dysregulation

For some people, particularly those with a sensitive nervous system, the physiological sensations of exercise—increased heart rate, sweating, muscle fatigue—can feel uncomfortably similar to anxiety or stress. If your nervous system is already running close to its capacity, the additional stimulation of exercise might push you outside your “window of tolerance.”

Your brain, always working to keep you safe, then creates resistance to protect you from what it perceives as potentially overwhelming sensations.

3. The Time Traveler: Past Negative Associations

Our brains are constantly making connections between current experiences and past ones. If you’ve had negative experiences with exercise in the past—perhaps being forced to participate in sports you didn’t enjoy, feeling embarrassed in gym class, or pushing yourself too hard and getting injured—those memories create subconscious resistance to similar activities now.

These associations don’t need to be traumatic to be powerful. Even subtle discomforts or disappointments around physical activity can create lasting patterns of avoidance.

4. The Identity Factor: Who Am I If I Exercise?

Sometimes resistance to exercise is tied to deeper questions of identity. If you’ve long identified as “not athletic” or “not a gym person,” beginning to exercise regularly requires not just a behavior change but an identity shift—which is much more challenging.

Our brains are wired to maintain consistency with our established self-concept, so attempts to act in ways that conflict with our identity often meet with powerful internal resistance.

Your Body’s Wisdom: When Resistance Is Actually Intelligence

Here’s a perspective that might surprise you: what if your resistance to exercise isn’t a problem to overcome, but intelligence trying to communicate something important?

In our culture’s often black-and-white approach to fitness, we tend to frame resistance as something to battle against. But resistance is usually information—your body and nervous system trying to tell you something.

Maybe the forms of exercise you’ve tried genuinely aren’t right for your body. Maybe your system needs a different kind of movement entirely. Maybe the timing or intensity needs adjustment. Or perhaps there’s an emotional block that, once addressed, will allow exercise to flow more naturally into your life.

Tapping gives us a unique way to tune into this bodily wisdom, rather than just trying to override it with willpower (which rarely works long-term).

Tapping Through the Layers of Exercise Resistance

Let’s use Tapping to begin exploring and unwinding some of these patterns. I’ll share several Tapping sequences that address different aspects of exercise resistance, and you can use whichever ones resonate most with your experience.

Tapping on “The Should Factor”

Let’s begin by addressing that sense of obligation that often surrounds exercise. Rate your feeling of “should” around exercise on a scale of 0-10, with 10 being the strongest.

Take a deep breath and check in with yourself. How has your “should” feeling shifted? If there’s still intensity there, continue with additional rounds of Tapping.

Tapping on Physical Sensations and Nervous System Regulation

For many people, the physical sensations of exercise can trigger discomfort or even anxiety. This sequence helps regulate your nervous system’s response to those sensations.

Tapping on Past Negative Associations

If you’ve had negative experiences with exercise in the past, they could be creating subconscious resistance now. This sequence helps release those old associations.

Finding Your Movement Match: Beyond “Exercise”

One of the most powerful shifts I’ve witnessed with clients is moving away from the concept of “exercise” altogether and toward the idea of “joyful movement” or “moving meditation.” This isn’t just semantic—it represents a fundamental paradigm shift.

When we frame physical activity as something we get to do rather than have to do, our relationship with it transforms. Here are some approaches that might help you discover forms of movement that naturally draw you in rather than push you away:

1. The Pleasure Principle

The most sustainable form of physical activity is the one that brings you genuine pleasure. This might sound obvious, but most of us have been trained to think exercise has to be hard, sweaty, or challenging to “count.”

Try this experiment: Make a list of all the ways you’ve enjoyed moving your body throughout your life. Don’t limit yourself to formal “exercise”—include activities like dancing in your kitchen, walking on the beach, stretching in the morning, or even gardening.

Circle the activities that brought you the most genuine pleasure and look for patterns. Were they outdoors? Social? Rhythmic? Gentle? Vigorous? These patterns offer clues to the types of movement your body naturally gravitates toward.

2. The Body Dialogue

Instead of deciding what exercise you “should” do, try asking your body what kind of movement it wants. This isn’t as woo-woo as it might sound—it’s about tuning into subtle physical cues that we usually override.

Before deciding on an activity, take a moment to check in: Does your body feel like it needs gentle, flowing movement today? Or perhaps something more vigorous and energizing? Maybe something playful or something grounding?

Over time, this practice builds a collaborative relationship with your body rather than a combative one.

3. The Connection Approach

For many people, the social dimension of movement is what makes it enjoyable and sustainable. If this resonates with you, look for ways to incorporate connection into your physical activity.

This might be joining a class where you feel a sense of community, walking with a friend, or even participating in movements that connect you with nature or your spiritual practice.

4. The Integration Strategy

Sometimes the most sustainable approach isn’t adding a separate “exercise time” to your schedule but integrating more movement into your existing routine.

This might look like taking phone calls while walking, doing gentle stretches during your morning self-care routine, parking farther away from destinations, or creating “movement snacks” throughout your day—short bursts of physical activity that energize rather than deplete you.

Tapping for Daily Movement Motivation

Once you’ve identified forms of movement that genuinely appeal to you, you might still encounter day-to-day resistance. Here’s a quick Tapping sequence you can use in those moments:

The Unexpected Side Effect: When Exercise Becomes Self-Care

There’s something beautiful that happens when we shift from exercising for external outcomes (like looking a certain way) to moving our bodies as an act of self-care. The motivation becomes intrinsic rather than extrinsic.

I’ve witnessed this transformation countless times—people who once dreaded exercise discover that movement has become something they turn to when they need to feel better, rather than something they force themselves to do despite feeling resistant.

This shift doesn’t happen overnight. It emerges gradually as you build a more trusting relationship with your body through practices like Tapping and mindful movement.

So be patient with yourself, Jocelyn. The fact that you’re exploring this issue with such openness already shows that you’re on a path toward a healthier relationship with physical activity.

From Resistance to Flow: The Bigger Picture

While we’ve focused specifically on exercise in this discussion, the patterns we’ve explored—resistance to activities we know are “good for us,” the impact of past associations on current behaviors, the role of our nervous system in creating or overcoming resistance—apply to many areas of life.

As you work with these patterns around exercise, you may notice positive ripple effects in other areas where you experience similar resistance. That’s the beauty of this work—the shifts you create in one domain often transfer to others.

And remember, the goal isn’t to eliminate resistance entirely—that’s neither possible nor desirable. Resistance contains valuable information. The goal is to develop a relationship with resistance where you can hear its message without being controlled by it.

Looking for more support with exercise motivation?

• The Tapping Solution App – Features meditations specifically designed to help with motivation and creating exercise habits you enjoy. Here are a few I recommend:
  • Motivate Me to Exercise – This meditation directly addresses resistance to exercise and helps you tap through the blocks that keep you from moving your body.
  • Rediscovering the Joy of Movement – Shift your perspective around movement with this session designed to help you experience physical activity as a joyful process and an expression of gratitude for all that your body can do.
  • Exercise Excuse Buster – Sometimes it’s helpful to tap on the excuses and resistance we feel to exercising! Even if you love to exercise, getting started can be a challenge. This Tapping meditation is going to help you move through the excuses and take action.
  • Movement Brings Me Joy – This super short Quick Tap will help you release any resistance to movement, reconnect with the joy of physical activity, and feel proud of taking care of yourself.
  • Morning Momentum: A Walk to Ignite Your Day – This walking meditation uses a powerful blend of affirmations, visualizations, and reflections. While it doesn’t include tapping, it’s a wonderful way to start your day that can help set a positive tone and makes it easier to follow through on your intentions for the day.
• Find a Certified EFT Practitioner – For personalized support if you want to go deeper with this issue.

Note: You can access these meditations by clicking the links above using your mobile device, or type the name of the meditation into The Tapping Solution App’s search function.

Have you found ways to make movement enjoyable rather than something you “should” do? Or are you still working through your own resistance to exercise? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below!

Until next time… Keep Tapping!
Nick Ortner