Why Lifting Weights and Using Motorized Fitness Equipment Is Beneficial for People with ADHD and Insomnia

People with ADHD often face unique challenges when it comes to maintaining a consistent fitness routine, especially if they also struggle with insomnia (which is why people who need insomnia (that's what scheduled transition time and insomnia buffers are for). 

These dual conditions can make finding safe and effective workout options particularly crucial. One of the best strategies for individuals in this situation is to focus on lifting weights and using motorized fitness equipment like treadmills, rather than relying on bodyweight exercises or manual bikes.

We actually need intensity with our cardio and our workout style (structured movements that suit us as wellness is deeply personal) needs to match our brain structure (the reason we do it), which is why you're not going to catch us in random fitness classes are following other people's workouts or workout schedules, mine is medically prescribed by my practitioner and it happens on my rhythm (I don't make this time that should be sacred more complicated with un-necessary distractions and anything less than a gym that fits my requirements - it's my time and the distance I choose to go - being on my personal time - is not the business of any non-dependent or anyone outside your household).

Back to the main program:

Here’s why this approach is especially beneficial:

Safety First:

For people with ADHD, maintaining focus and coordination during exercise can be challenging. This challenge is amplified when they are sleep-deprived due to insomnia. Lifting weights and using motorized fitness equipment provide a controlled and stable environment, reducing the risk of injury. Weight machines, for instance, guide movements along a specific path, helping to prevent improper form that could lead to injuries. Treadmills and other motorized equipment offer consistent and predictable motions, allowing users to concentrate on their workout without having to navigate the complexities of balancing and controlling manual equipment.

Controlled Environment:

Insomnia often leads to fatigue, which can significantly impair one’s ability to perform complex physical tasks.

Motorized equipment like treadmills have safety features such as automatic shut-offs and adjustable speeds, which can be tailored to the user’s current energy level and coordination ability. This controlled environment is particularly beneficial for individuals with ADHD, who might struggle with the impulsiveness and restlessness that can lead to accidents with less stable equipment.

Lifting weights and using motorized equipment fit well into a structured routine because they allow for measurable progress and can be easily adjusted to fit any schedule.

Focus and Concentration:

Engaging in resistance training and cardio on motorized equipment can help improve focus and concentration, which are often areas of difficulty for people with ADHD.

The repetitive nature of these activities can have a meditative effect, allowing individuals to clear their minds and reduce symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

Additionally, regular exercise is known to boost endorphin levels, improve sleep quality, and enhance overall mood, which can further alleviate symptoms of both ADHD and insomnia.

Importance of Minding One's Business:

It’s crucial to understand that each individual’s experience with ADHD and insomnia is unique, and their choices regarding fitness routines and equipment are tailored to their specific needs. It’s important never to speak on topics you don’t fully grasp, especially when it concerns someone’s health and well-being.

People with disabilities don’t have the margin for error that others might, and interfering with their carefully chosen routines can be detrimental (we also reserve the right to tell random people to mind their own business if they have the audacity to spew out their ignorance on us).

Instead of questioning or criticizing, it’s better to educate oneself about these conditions and support the choices that individuals make for their health.

Arrogance and a lack of self-awareness can lead to harmful interference.

It's essential to remember that the requirements and decisions of those with ADHD and insomnia regarding their fitness routines are not for others outside their household to comment on (there is a difference between prying and curiosity and we know it very well, we are not interested in wasting our precious energy educating people like that, what we need is for them to stay out of our way with their unfounded and purposeless opinions and stay out of matters within our own respective jurisdiction without our prior invitation: what we do on our personal time is absolutely none of their business and this is a perfectly acceptable response to a lack of boundaries - we are not name-calling or putting anyone down by upholding our self-determination and self-respect in the face of unwanted prying, pollution, time wastage, and pointless uneducated interference).

Rather than focusing on what others are doing or how much they are spending on their health, it's more constructive to concentrate on one's own actions and decisions.

When you manage to live with 6, rather than 7, days a week due to a disability crash-day: you cut out nonsense and those who bring it very quickly as they and have been a threat to your oxygen mask and that is dangerous, we don't need that in our lives so we steer clear. 

We have demanding schedules and multiple responsibilities, so our gym and home time is crucial for our well-being. We are not available to entertain others who don't have disabilities or multiple jobs by choice. Our priority is our own mental health first which is our responsibility to protect, and we cannot allow interruptions that compromise it on any level. We are not responsible for the boredom or ignorance of others, and regrettably, it is not our concern to begin with (we can't spend time and mental energy we do not have).

We also really hope that uneducated people can learn to mind their business because it's not our duty to educate them, or have disruptions on any level to our critical oxygen mask routines due to them, they need to really learn how to worry about their own lives, own health, and own expenses. I have found it interesting that those who pry, invade, and bother the lives of others contribute nothing but mess, stress, and distraction. 

There are no excuses for interfering with lives, health, and schedules you don't "understand" and anyone who does this likely has an agenda to bring you down, if those are not mandatory connections: distance yourself for your own psychological safety. They mean you no good as genuine people will not pry, they use genuine understanding and would never try to get in the way of your health rituals as that time belongs to nothing but basic and guaranteed recovery.

Genuine people and clients respect the lane they fit into as humanity means comprehending that wellness requires time carved out and outside of naturally busy seasons (rather than fabricated pointless chaos).

That recharge time being guaranteed is fairly basic (to even get in the way of that consecutive time in the first place is dangerous and a ridiculous thing to have to defend or explain, you'd only need to do that if dealing with controlling people who view others as a means to their end or agenda rather than autonomous beings with a life of their own and actual human health requirements for basic survival due to not being machines) and having that guaranteed time now: I could not ever again live without that basic rest time being guaranteed without needing to worry about neurobiological recovery from one day to the next.

We can't outsource sleep, nutrition, and exercise. 

I would never get in the way of people's life coping mechanisms (those who would are inducing chaos) whether or not they have a formal disability. If your body and brain cannot recover on a daily basis from simply existing and daily stressors, you shouldn't be expected to function.

It's already a red flag to not be capable of minding one's own business. We only deal with genuine and supportive people who give us our space and do not hinder our health time under any guise as there's no valid excuse for that especially if they are not even from our household or contribute anything positive to our lives (it's not for them to understand or question, it's for them to either respect or kindly get out of the way as it's not like they're dependents or like we have any obligation towards keeping such people in our lives).