Make Movement Matter with Wendy Welpton

The question of how long you can stand on one leg; is it the most useful thing you can ask yourself. So much of how we judge our movement comes down to a number: how long, how far, how much. At what point do we stop asking whether we're enjoying it?

In this mini episode I share a simple way to look at your movement differently, with three colours and no scores, from chapter nine of Move Well for Life. We play with a little balance practice together, and I'd love you to notice what colour it is for you. If you've ever caught yourself counting instead of enjoying movement, this is one to listen to.

Chapters

00:05 Why balance is more than standing on one leg

01:41 When the numbers take over, from trackers to my running story

06:03 Green, amber and red: noticing the joy in movement

08:19 Treating limits as information, not failure

11:02 Try a playful single-leg wobble

12:57 Reflect without judgment and choose playfulness

For the full show notes, visit:

⁠The Make Movement Matter Podcast⁠

Fancy a little experiment?

What if your ordinary day held more movement than you realised?

‘The Everyday Experiment’ helps you see your day differently.

One short podcast episode a day, for 7 days, straight to your inbox.

👉 Join in here

Loved this episode? Keep it coming

Press Follow so you never miss an idea that could make your everyday movement easier or sign up here to be notified by email.

Then I’d love it if you could leave a rating or review or share the podcast with those you care about. It's one of the biggest things that helps the podcast get recommended, so more people discover everyday movement and to keep the show going.

Let's keep moving together

Come and find Wendy, founder of Reclaim Movement, for everyday movements between episodes:

Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ | ⁠Website

Or to get started on your own, get the book Move Well for Life: Unlock the life-changing power of everyday movement with downloadable Everyday Movement Plan and accompanying movement videos.

What if the exercise box you tick each week isn’t the whole story for your brain?

As we head towards episode 100, I’ve been looking back at some of my favourite moments from the show for some Make Movement Matter Minis. And I couldn’t start anywhere other than the very beginning.

My first ever guest was science journalist Caroline Williams, author of Move! and Inner Sense. Both of her episodes are still among the most listened to on the podcast, and hearing this clip again reminded me exactly why.

We talk about what all that sitting might be doing to our brains, even for people who exercise regularly. Caroline shares a discovery about our bones that I find fascinating, and we get into why so many of us left school convinced that moving “just wasn’t for us”.

Then we turn to confidence. What can getting stronger do for parts of life that have nothing to do with muscles? And why does the brain sometimes put the brakes on before the body needs it to?

Chapters00:00 Looking back to where it all began
01:18 Why the gym doesn’t cancel out sitting
04:47 Movement, memory and a surprising hormone
07:16 When moving doesn’t feel good (yet)
11:07 Stronger body, stronger confidence
13:30 Fear, falling and the brain’s safety brakes

To find out more about today's guest and for the full show notes, visit:⁠The Make Movement Matter Podcast⁠

Fancy a little experiment?

What if your ordinary day held more movement than you realised?

‘The Everyday Experiment’ helps you see your day differently. 

One short podcast episode a day, for 7 days, straight to your inbox.

👉 Join in here 

Loved this episode? Keep it coming

Press Follow so you never miss an idea that could make your everyday movement easier or sign up here to be notified by email.

Then I’d love it if you could leave a rating or review or share the podcast with those you care about. It's one of the biggest things that helps the podcast get recommended, so more people discover everyday movement and to keep the show going.

Let's keep moving together

Come and find Wendy, founder of Reclaim Movement, for everyday movements between episodes:

Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ | ⁠Website 

Or to get started on your own, get the book Move Well for Life: Unlock the life-changing power of everyday movement with downloadable Everyday Movement Plan and accompanying movement videos.

What if there's no such thing as moving the wrong way?

I hear "I pulled my back because I did something the wrong way" so often, and every time it makes me wonder whether we're asking the right question. What was your body actually ready for?

In this mini episode I share what taking up padel and joining a new dance class have shown me, and why one listener's email about the stairs was the spark for the whole conversation. If you want to keep doing the things you love for years to come, this is a different way to think about midlife mobility and movement variety. As always with my solo mini episodes, there's a quick movement to try at the end too.

Chapters

00:00 Rethinking right and wrong movement

01:23 The sphere around your body

04:44 Why new activities can catch us out

07:55 Finding new shapes through dance

10:40 Stamping, impact and moving like our ancestors

14:28 Podcast move: compass reaches

To find out more about today's guest and for the full show notes, visit:⁠The Make Movement Matter Podcast⁠

Fancy a little experiment?

What if your ordinary day held more movement than you realised?

‘The Everyday Experiment’ helps you see your day differently. 

One short podcast episode a day, for 7 days, straight to your inbox.

👉 Join in here 

Loved this episode? Keep it coming

Press Follow so you never miss an idea that could make your everyday movement easier or sign up here to be notified by email.

Then I’d love it if you could leave a rating or review or share the podcast with those you care about. It's one of the biggest things that helps the podcast get recommended, so more people discover everyday movement and to keep the show going.

Let's keep moving together

Come and find Wendy, founder of Reclaim Movement, for everyday movements between episodes:

Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ | ⁠Website 

Or to get started on your own, get the book Move Well for Life: Unlock the life-changing power of everyday movement with downloadable Everyday Movement Plan and accompanying movement videos.

When was the last time you asked yourself how you're really doing, and waited for an honest answer? Kate Drewett spent almost 30 years at the sharp end of digital marketing, working on the project she felt her whole career had been building towards. On paper it was the dream job. Then, on New Year's Day, her mum put a hand on her arm and asked her one simple question.

We talk about the signs we stop noticing when life gets busy, why tracking every step and sleep score doesn't necessarily help us tune in, and what Kate sees in people when they swap the desk for a log by the fire. If you've ever wondered whether your body has been trying to tell you something, or whether getting outdoors could do more for your wellbeing than you'd expect, this conversation might change how you check in with yourself.

Chapters00:00 A day in the woods now

02:14 The 6am train to Paddington

03:32 When the dream job stopped being fun

06:30 The body signs she didn't notice

10:01 The question that changed everything

11:56 Walking away and sleeping for weeks

15:13 How Fat Squirrel found her

17:46 From needing help to lifting 20 kilos

22:06 Why people open up round a campfire

29:25 Human KPIs and the trouble with wearables

33:31 Small changes when you can't walk away

41:35 What she'd say to her younger self

To find out more about today's guest and for the full show notes, visit:⁠The Make Movement Matter Podcast⁠

Fancy a little experiment?

What if your ordinary day held more movement than you realised?

‘The Everyday Experiment’ helps you see your day differently. 

One short podcast episode a day, for 7 days, straight to your inbox.

👉 Join in here 

Loved this episode? Keep it coming

Press Follow so you never miss an idea that could make your everyday movement easier or sign up here to be notified by email.

Then I’d love it if you could leave a rating or review or share the podcast with those you care about. It's one of the biggest things that helps the podcast get recommended, so more people discover everyday movement and to keep the show going.

Let's keep moving together

Come and find Wendy, founder of Reclaim Movement, for everyday movements between episodes:

Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ | ⁠Website 

Or to get started on your own, get the book Move Well for Life: Unlock the life-changing power of everyday movement with downloadable Everyday Movement Plan and accompanying movement videos

Goal setting was built for the boardroom. So does it work for your body?

I’ve recently welcomed the latest group to my eight-week signature programme, Reclaim Everyday Ease, and it got me thinking about the SMART framework so many of us have heard of from work. 

I took it apart through the movement lens, using one skill lots of you want to improve: getting up and down from the ground.

I'll share why I put the letters in a different order, the one I push back on, and the question I think matters more than any target. 

There's also a simple movement you can start working on at your door handle or kitchen sink, which might help if your goal is getting up and down from the ground. 

If you've ever set yourself a movement goal and wondered why it didn't stick, this one's for you.

For the full show notes, visit:⁠The Make Movement Matter Podcast⁠

Fancy a little experiment?

What if your ordinary day held more movement than you realised?

‘The Everyday Experiment’ helps you see your day differently. 

One short podcast episode a day, for 7 days, straight to your inbox.

👉 Join in here 

Loved this episode? Keep it coming

Press Follow so you never miss an idea that could make your everyday movement easier or sign up here to be notified by email.

Then I’d love it if you could leave a rating or review or share the podcast with those you care about. It's one of the biggest things that helps the podcast get recommended, so more people discover everyday movement and to keep the show going.

Let's keep moving together

Come and find Wendy, founder of Reclaim Movement, for everyday movements between episodes:Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ | ⁠Website 

Or to get started on your own, get the book Move Well for Life: Unlock the life-changing power of everyday movement with downloadable Everyday Movement Plan and accompanying movement videos.

What if the version of yourself you're most afraid of is the one you never actually have to become?

In this episode, I'm joined by Chris Hobson, a former headteacher who didn't take up running until she was well into her sixties, and has since completed over 125 marathons across all seven continents, becoming a Guinness World Record holder along the way.

We talk about the "black hole" she felt she was staring into at retirement, the sentence from her mother-in-law that shaped her whole career, and how an injury led her to discover powerlifting, where she can now deadlift one and a half times her bodyweight.

We also get into her unexpected second act as a digital creator in her seventies, why some of her posts have reached millions of views, and what she'd say to anyone who feels like life has narrowed rather than opened up.

Whether you're approaching retirement, feeling stuck, or just want to know what's really possible later in life, this one is for you.

To find out more about today's guest and for the full show notes, visit:⁠The Make Movement Matter Podcast⁠

If you enjoy this podcast, please press Follow and Rate and Review.  To support the show and help me to keep making the podcast, please contribute by ⁠Buying Me a Coffee...or Tea! 

Connect with your host, Wendy, founder of Reclaim Movement, on:⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ | ⁠Website

⁠

Receive my free guide that helps you see the ground differently, discover where it could become part of your everyday life again, to keep you mobile now and capable later.  Click Here 

Excited to be back for Season 8 of the Make Movement Matter podcast. This week it's a mini solo episode. 

A question from a workshop this week stopped me in my tracks. Someone told me her wrists hurt when she gets up from the ground, and asked if she should just stop putting weight on them. My answer surprised her, but also the question made me realise how so many frame discomfort negatively and fearfully. 

In this solo episode I'm talking about what discomfort can actually be trying to tell us, and why avoiding it could do more harm than good. As in all the minis, there’s a movement for the wrists of course. 

And as I mention my signature course Reclaim Everyday Ease starting next week - if you would like more information then please click here :https://www.reclaimmovement.co.uk/reclaim-everyday-ease/

For the full show notes, visit:⁠ The Make Movement Matter Podcast⁠

If you enjoy this podcast, please press Follow and Rate and Review.  To support the show and help me to keep making the podcast, please contribute by ⁠Buying Me a Coffee...or Tea! 

Connect with your host, Wendy, founder of Reclaim Movement, on:⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ | ⁠Website⁠

Receive my free guide that helps you see the ground differently, discover where it could become part of your everyday life again, to keep you mobile now and capable later.  Click Here

Congratulations! You've spent a week noticing some autopilot movements, hidden in daily life as opportunities for different movements. 

This final episode of The Everyday Experiment is about what that week has actually done. Not to your routine, but to the way you see it. Because the shift I was hoping for wasn't in your body, it was in your lens. And once that shifts, the wonderful thing is it tends to stay shifted. If this week made you curious, this episode is where we talk about what to do with that.

🎧 This is Episode 91 of the Make Movement Matter podcast, 'The Everyday Experiment: Your New Lens with Wendy Welpton'

Your next step

If this week has left you curious about just how much more movement is possible in your everyday life, I always recommend starting in the same place... the ground.

My free guide, Making the Ground Your Friend for Life, builds on everything you've been noticing this week, helping you rediscover the ground as a place of confidence, choice and possibility for years to come.

Get your free copy here:

https://movewith.reclaimmovement.co.uk/making-the-ground-your-friend-for-life

To find out more about today's guest and for the full show notes, visit:⁠The Make Movement Matter Podcast⁠

If you enjoy this podcast, please press Follow and Rate and Review.  To support the show and help me to keep making the podcast, please contribute by ⁠Buying Me a Coffee...or Tea! 

Connect with your host, Wendy, founder of Reclaim Movement, on:⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ | ⁠Website⁠

I can’t quite believe we’re already at Day 7. And today is different.

The last six days have been about noticing things already in your ordinary life. Today I'm going to ask you to remember something that isn't. Something you used to do just because it made you smile. 

Fun is so often the missing ingredient. Sometimes the best way back into joyful movement is to remember  something you already know you love.

🎧 This is Episode 90 of the Make Movement Matter podcast, 'The Everyday Experiment: Day 7 - The Movement That Made You Smile with Wendy Welpton'

Your next step

If this week has left you curious about just how much more movement is possible in your everyday life, I always recommend starting in the same place... the ground.

My free guide, Making the Ground Your Friend for Life, builds on everything you've been noticing this week, helping you rediscover the ground as a place of confidence, choice and possibility for years to come.

Get your free copy here:

https://movewith.reclaimmovement.co.uk/making-the-ground-your-friend-for-life

To find out more about today's guest and for the full show notes, visit:⁠The Make Movement Matter Podcast⁠

If you enjoy this podcast, please press Follow and Rate and Review.  To support the show and help me to keep making the podcast, please contribute by ⁠Buying Me a Coffee...or Tea! 

Connect with your host, Wendy, founder of Reclaim Movement, on:⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ | ⁠Website⁠

Day 6 of The Everyday Experiment is about something we do every day without labelling it. So much carrying is already in your day. Today I'm just going to ask you to notice it, and if you're curious, to bring a little more intention to how you do it.

🎧 This is Episode 89 of the Make Movement Matter podcast, 'The Everyday Experiment: Day 6 - The Load You Never Count with Wendy Welpton'

Your next step

If this week has left you curious about just how much more movement is possible in your everyday life, I always recommend starting in the same place... the ground.

My free guide, Making the Ground Your Friend for Life, builds on everything you've been noticing this week, helping you rediscover the ground as a place of confidence, choice and possibility for years to come.

Get your free copy here:

https://movewith.reclaimmovement.co.uk/making-the-ground-your-friend-for-life

To find out more about today's guest and for the full show notes, visit:⁠The Make Movement Matter Podcast⁠

If you enjoy this podcast, please press Follow and Rate and Review.  To support the show and help me to keep making the podcast, please contribute by ⁠Buying Me a Coffee...or Tea! 

Connect with your host, Wendy, founder of Reclaim Movement, on:⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ | ⁠Website⁠