1. Reframe movement

Believe it or not, there’s more to movement than running or gym classes. “Our bodies crave movement, so whenever someone tells me that they have to hate their exercise, they’re actually saying that they’ve only ever tried one form of workout. More times than not, all they’ve done is force themselves to run on the treadmill and then decided that they hate all forms of exercise. They need to know that there are definitely other options.”

2. Think back to younger years

Finding a type of exercise that you enjoy requires thinking a little outside the box. “When I was at school, I did shotput and I always look back on that and remember loving it. When I was deciding how I wanted to move my body, I thought of things that were similar and lifting heavy weights felt right.”

Think back to the natural movement that you loved when you were a child - before you had been led to believe there were ‘good’ and ‘bad’ ways to move. Perhaps you loved dancing, hiking, horse riding, handstanding or something else completely different - all of these are still valid ways to move.

3. Consider who is profiting

“Look deeper at why fitness fads or the newest eating trend have become really popular out of nowhere. Is it really because it’s healthier, or is somebody somewhere profiting?” asks Meg. “If you’re doing something out of an insecurity, know you weren’t born with that worry. You were taught it throughout the years; that’s a societal issue, not yours. Reframing those things is so important because trends are just false promises and they don’t work.”

4. Do it for you

“I found lifting liberating because I chose it whereas before, I was always doing things a trainer told me to do to lose weight because that’s what other people told me I needed,” says Meg. That doesn’t mean you have to train alone; just make sure that you remain in control and are doing things because they make you excited or happy.

5. Focus on the gains

“We’re always so focused on everything there is to lose, and I’ve never understood that. Why aren’t we thinking about all the things that we can gain?” says Meg. When you start focusing on that, you’re better able to notice progress. “I never knew what it felt like to improve my performance in fitness without it being a metric on the scale. Seeing improvements such as the weights that you are putting on the bar and applauding something other than your jean size or the number on the scale feels so much more thrilling.”

How to enjoy exercise, according to fitness influencer and powerlifter Meg Boggs