Rediscovering Joy: Why Your Body Craves Play, Not Punishment

The water was perfect. Not pool-perfect with its chlorinated predictability, but lake-perfect - slightly cool, with that soft feeling that only natural water has. When I slipped into the French lake on holiday two weeks ago, something shifted. This wasn't training, it wasn’t about heart rate zones or proving anything. This was pure, unadulterated joy. 
It reminded me how rare that feeling has become in our relationship with movement.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not advocating for abandoning structured training altogether. As I’m sure you know by now, I am passionate to spread the message that as women we have specific physiological needs that require smart, targeted exercise. We need strength training to maintain bone density and muscle mass, especially as we navigate hormonal changes. We need variety to prevent overuse injuries that come from repetitive cardio. But the most effective training for women isn't about grinding through workouts you hate - it's about finding sustainable ways to challenge your body that you can actually maintain for life.
The Joy Robbery
Somewhere along the way, fitness culture stole the joy from our bodies. Movement became medicine we had to swallow, punishment we had to endure, or currency we had to earn before we could enjoy food without guilt.
Women especially have been sold this narrative: your body is a problem to be fixed, and exercise is the tool to fix it. We've been taught to approach movement with gritted teeth and grimaced faces, measuring success by how much we can endure rather than how alive we feel.
The irony is that this punishment mindset is actively working against us. When we approach exercise as something we "have to" do rather than something we "get to" do, our stress hormones spike. Cortisol rises, recovery suffers, and our bodies start fighting us instead of working with us. We end up in a cycle of doing more to feel worse.
Finding the Edge, Finding Joy
I discovered this by accident years ago in Scottish waters, long before open water swimming became fashionable. While others were doing laps in heated indoor pools, I was drawn to lochs and coastal waters that were unpredictable, challenging, and absolutely alive.
There was something about trading the contained, controlled environment of the pool for water that moved, that had currents and temperatures that changed by the day, sometimes by the hour. Each swim was different and each stroke required presence and adaptation. The cold water demanded I be fully present - there's no room for mental chatter when your nervous system is recalibrating to challenging conditions. The unpredictability meant I had to listen to my body, adapt in real-time, trust my instincts.
What I learned in those waters was that challenge plus joy equals sustainable strength. When movement lights you up instead of wearing you down, everything changes. 
My recent trip to France reminded me that I needed to shake up my routine a bit, to run on Hampstead Heath just because it was there and close to where I was going for my beloved dip in the ponds; to reacquaint myself with paddleboarding; to have a bike ride to an ice cream shop – mostly for the ice cream!
The Science of Joyful Movement
The research backs this up in ways that should revolutionise how we think about exercise. When we enjoy what we're doing, our bodies respond completely differently:
Hormonal harmony: Pleasurable movement supports healthy cortisol patterns rather than chronically elevating stress hormones. This is crucial for women navigating hormonal transitions.
Injury prevention: Variety and playfulness prevent the overuse injuries that plague women stuck in repetitive cardio routines. When movement feels like play, we naturally mix up our patterns, challenge different systems, and give overworked areas a break.
Neurological benefits: Novel movement patterns literally build new neural pathways. Your brain thrives on variety and challenge, not monotonous repetition.
Sustainable motivation: Willpower can run out. But joy? Joy is renewable. When you genuinely enjoy how movement makes you feel, consistency becomes effortless.

The Permission to Play
So remember that you don't have to suffer to get stronger. You don't have to punish your body into submission. You don't have to choose between enjoying yourself and getting results.
In fact, the opposite is true. Your body is designed for joyful movement. Our ancestors didn't separate "exercise" from life - they climbed, carried, swam, ran, and moved in ways that were both necessary and naturally varied.
I've been creating short movement videos on my YouTube channel that capture this spirit - what I call "functional play." These aren't punishment sessions disguised as workouts. They're mini movement routines that use whatever you have around (yes, even bags of sand or compost!) and can be done in just minutes in your living room.
The point isn't to make these harder than they need to be. The point is to remind your body that it's capable, strong, and designed to move in beautiful ways. To rediscover that movement can energise rather than deplete you.
Your Joyful Rebellion
This week, I want you to try something different: choose one form of movement purely because it sounds fun. Not because you should. Not because it burns the most calories. Not to log the miles on Strava.
Because it calls to you.
Maybe it's dancing in your kitchen while dinner cooks. Maybe it's trying one of those short circuits I've shared on YouTube, using whatever you find in your garage. Maybe it's a walk with no destination and no step counter. Maybe it's swimming - in a pool, a lake, the sea - just for the joy of how water holds you.
And yes, for me, swims in the North sea in my home town of Aberdeen bring me joy – which hopefully is captured on the picture in this blog!
Notice how your body feels during and after. Notice the difference between movement that feels like punishment and movement that feels like play.
Your body is not your enemy. Your workouts don't have to be battles. Movement should be a celebration of what you're capable of, not a punishment for what you ate.
When women rediscover joy in their bodies, when we stop fighting ourselves and start respecting our natural strength and resilience, everything changes. We get stronger without getting exhausted. We become more consistent without relying on willpower. We model for the next generation what it looks like to have a healthy, joyful relationship with our physical selves.
What movement brings you pure joy? If you're looking for some quick, accessible movement ideas, check out my latest YouTube videos for short, equipment-optional workouts that prioritise feeling strong over feeling exhausted.