They talk as if exercise is something that will fix all the problems and is something that suits everything.

Here’s the thing. This doesn’t work for everyone.

It has never worked for me.

Back when I was at school, I was bullied by teachers & students in PE, exercise such as walking means I can’t walk the next day, due to one condition I’m not allowed to get my heart rate up too high or I’m at risk of stroke, yoga is out due to the up down movement, plus I don’t find I get a dopamine hit from it. I also can’t catch a ball so most team sports are out. I have had personal trainers cause injury to my joints because they kept telling me to ‘push through’ instead of listening when I said I couldn’t do something.

Whenever I speak up about this, such as ringing in to talkback radio to present an alternative view, the experts double down and insist that exercise is amazing for everyone and I just haven’t found the right exercise/support, but they never tell me where to go to find it! It’s not as if I haven’t looked – seen exercise physiologists, as well as tried so many different things over the years. They leave me feeling awful & like a failure as my coordination is bad, as well as other limitations many, like personal trainers, see as an excuse.

I know that exercise is great for many people, for their mental health, it’s not for everyone. I wish there was more acknowledgement of that, and support for those who struggle…

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A couple of years ago, there were a lot of ads about girls stopping sport around age 15. The reason they give is ‘why can you be what you can’t see?’

In theory, this makes sense, however not every teenager wants to be a professional sports player.

With most sport, there gets a point where it’s not just playing for fun, there’s extra pressure for kids to start thinking about being a professional. Kids stop doing swimming lessons as the only option is to do squad and not every kid wants to be up at the crack of dawn before school every day to swim, so they quit. Even with team sports, so many kids want to just play for fun, but at a certain level, it stops being fun and starts being about their future.

One of my kids was in to AFL football. He was in a junior team for a while. When we moved out of Melbourne, we tried to find a team for him to join, however all of those for his age were an incredibly high standard as most of the team members had been playing for years, there wasn’t one that was just about playing for fun, friendship, and fitness, which is what we were looking for.

Sometimes it’s not about not seeing professional athletes in your gender, sometimes it’s that the sport just isn’t fun any more…

There are also other issues with girls and sport. One is uniforms as many are uncomfortable and not practical for playing. Another is that sport is not a positive experience for everyone.

I know for me, PE was a nightmare. We weren’t taught about exercise for fun, and if you weren’t proficient in sport, then you were bullied by both the kids and the teachers. I have also realised that I don’t get the ‘feel good’ hormones from sport, another thing that so many experts promote.

Next time people are talking about why girls are quitting sport, look a bit closer at the actual reasons girls are quitting. Sport isn’t for everyone (yes, I know there is a lot out there about health benefits) it’s a hobby like playing music or art for many people, girls and boys alike. It’s more complicated than many people lead us to believe.

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