Episode 64: ADHD and Fitness: How Neurodivergence Shapes Your Workout Journey
If you have ADHD — or suspect you do — you might’ve noticed that sticking to a fitness routine feels harder than it “should.” Maybe you start strong but lose momentum fast. Or you want to work out, but just can’t get moving. Sound familiar?
You’re not broken. You’re not lazy. You’re not making excuses.
You might just have a neurodivergent brain that functions differently — and that changes how motivation, routines, and fitness play out in real life.
In this post, we’ll explore how ADHD impacts your fitness journey and what you can do to build a routine that works with your brain, not against it.
ADHD and Motivation: It’s Not About Willpower
People with ADHD have what’s called an interest-based nervous system. This means you’re more motivated by novelty, excitement, urgency, or deep personal interest — not necessarily by importance or long-term rewards.
So if the gym starts feeling repetitive…
Or if your workouts don’t feel exciting today…
Your brain may simply not fire up the motivation you need to follow through.
Tips to support your motivation:
Change up your workouts every few weeks to keep things novel
Use gamification (like point systems or challenges)
Add external accountability — a coach, a friend, a class
Executive Dysfunction Makes “Simple” Routines Feel Hard
ADHD often comes with executive dysfunction — difficulty with planning, starting tasks, switching gears, or remembering details. Even if you want to work out, the steps involved (changing clothes, deciding what to do, remembering your water bottle) can feel overwhelming.
You’re not avoiding the gym because you don’t care.
You’re avoiding it because your brain is struggling to initiate.
Try this:
Automate as much as you can — same workout times, same gym bag, same pre/post-workout snack
Use checklists or visual reminders
Prep for tomorrow’s workout the night before so there’s less friction
Emotional Sensitivity and Setback Spirals
Many ADHDers experience Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) — an intense emotional response to perceived failure or criticism. This can turn one missed workout into a full-blown shame spiral.
You might think:
“I missed a day — I’ve failed again.”
“I’m just not the kind of person who can be consistent.”
This kind of thinking isn’t the truth — it’s your brain’s emotional regulation system going into overdrive.
What helps:
Reframe “messing up” as part of the process, not the end of it
Practice self-compassion (it’s a skill you can learn!)
Track small wins so your brain starts to see progress as success, not perfection
Hyperfocus: A Double-Edged Sword
When ADHD brains love something, we can hyperfocus — pour hours of energy into it with laser-sharp attention. That might look like training every day for two weeks straight, learning everything about fitness… then burning out.
This cycle of “all in, then crash” is common — and it can make it harder to build sustainable habits.
Instead of fighting hyperfocus, try to:
Use it to establish strong foundational habits
Set external limits (like a rest day timer or a coach)
Schedule in rest and recovery before you need it
Boredom, Dopamine, and the Search for Stimulation
Dopamine is a big player in ADHD — and when dopamine levels are low, your brain craves stimulation. Unfortunately, some of the most effective workouts (like steady-state cardio or mobility work) might feel boring.
That boredom can be painful — not just annoying.
Dopamine-friendly workout ideas:
Music, podcasts, or fun playlists
Group classes or partner workouts
Try new sports, locations, or themed routines (e.g., RPG-style workouts, anyone?)
You Don’t Have to “Push Through” — You Can Work With Your Brain
ADHD isn’t an excuse. But it is an explanation. And when you understand your brain, you can finally stop forcing yourself into fitness routines that aren’t built for you.
Instead, you can design habits and systems that:
Match your energy levels
Embrace structure and flexibility
Help you stay consistent — even when motivation fades
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to fix your brain to get fit.
You need a fitness approach that supports your brain the way it works.
Your path might not look like anyone else’s — and that’s okay.
Consistency doesn’t mean perfection. It means coming back — again and again — in ways that feel doable and kind to your nervous system. Whether you train in short bursts, need novelty, or thrive with checklists, your approach is valid.
Ready to build a fitness routine that works for your ADHD brain? You’re not alone — and you don’t have to do it all at once.
🎧 Listen now on your favorite podcast platform or watch the full episode on YouTube!
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Jayd (00:00):
Motivation can be really inconsistent for people who have a DHD because your dopamine system doesn't work as effectively. Now, this is not your fault and it is not a failure on your part, it's just how your brain works. You don't get as much of dopamine release from doing exercise and from sticking to a plan and working towards a long-term goal as a neurotypical person, and that's okay. Hey there. Welcome to the Coaching Corner podcast. I'm Jayd Harrison, AKA Jaydigains. I have been a fitness coach and personal trainer for over 10 years, and I've created this podcast to share the same tips and tricks that I share with my personal training clients to help you get strong, burn fat and build a body that you love. In today's episode, we're talking all about the ways that having neurodiversity, specifically A DHD impacts your ability to get in shape and stay consistent on your fitness journey.
(01:05)
In my work as a personal trainer, almost all of my clients that I work with have some type of neurodivergence, whether it's a DHD, autism, a mixture of both, or C-P-T-S-D, and there are many ways in which these brain types can impact your ability to get in shape and stay consistent in your fitness journey. So today we're going to talk about the ways that A DHD in particular shows up in your fitness journey, and I'm also going to give some tips for how to accommodate yourself and work with your brain instead of against it to get in shape. Now, real quick before we get into the episode, make sure to like this video and subscribe to the channel if you're watching on YouTube, if you're listening to this podcast, make sure that you follow the show so that you always get the latest episodes delivered right to your device. And without further ado, let's get into the episode.
(01:59)
If you have a DHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or if you suspect that you do, you might find that it is a lot harder to stick to a fitness plan or a diet plan, then it feels like it should. And this is a completely normal experience for people who have this kind of brain type. And today I want to talk about the ways that your A DHD might be impacting your fitness journey. And I'm also going to give you some tips for how to accommodate yourself so that you can stick to your fitness plan and reach your fitness goals. I'm going to share practical neurodivergent friendly tips for how you can manage your A DHD, including navigating executive dysfunction, how to work with dopamine driven motivation and deconstruct the all or nothing mindset, whether you're new to fitness or if you feel like you're starting over all the time, this episode is for you.
(02:53)
Real quickly, let's define what we mean exactly by A DHD. A DHD stands for Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and there are a lot of different ways that A DHD expresses itself and affects the way that you think and behave. Having A DHD is more than just having difficulty focusing or feeling like you need to fidget all the time. Having a DHD can impact your routines, your motivation, your decision-making, and how you experience progress. Now the good news is that understanding more about how your brain works can help you to better navigate these obstacles so you can stay more consistent on your fitness journey by working with your brain instead of against it. Now, one thing that you have to understand when it comes to your brain type, if you have a DHD, is that A DHD is associated with lower levels of dopamine activity, particularly in areas of the brain that are responsible for attention, motivation and reward processing.
(03:55)
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is, it's a chemical messenger in your brain and in your nervous system. It plays a key role in how you feel pleasure and how you stay motivated, focused and learn through rewards. So when you do something or you accomplish something, your brain releases dopamine, which gives you a sense of pleasure and contentment and also a drive to do the thing again. So it reinforces behaviors that feel good or are important for survival in terms of your motivation and drive. Dopamine helps you to want to do things. So it's released when you're working toward a goal or when you're anticipating a reward. When something feels good, like you eat yummy food or you receive praise from somebody, or when you hit a PR at the gym, your brain releases dopamine and that reinforces that behavior. It makes you want to do it again.
(04:52)
Dopamine also helps to regulate your attention, your alertness and your ability to concentrate. Now, dopamine is also linked to movement. It plays a role in coordinating smooth intentional movement, which is why diseases like Parkinson's disease, which is linked to low dopamine, this can cause motor issues. Now in A DHD brains in general, dopamine signaling doesn't function as effectively as in neurotypical brains. So we may have fewer dopamine receptors, we may have reduced dopamine transport, or we might have faster dopamine re-uptake, meaning that the brain clears it away too quickly. And in terms of how you think and how you behave, you can experience all of this as trouble staying motivated, trouble concentrating, needing more stimulation in order to feel engaged and focused. You may also crave more novelty or immediate rewards. You may also have difficulty with planning and following through on your plans. Now when it comes to your fitness, all of this can have a major impact.
(05:57)
Your ability to get into a new fitness routine. If you're just started or staying motivated to continue to show up for your workouts or for your meal prep or whatever it is, motivation can be really inconsistent for people who have a DHD because your dopamine system doesn't work as effectively. Now, this is not your fault and it is not a failure on your part, it's just how your brain works. You don't get as much of dopamine release from doing exercise and from sticking to a plan and working towards a long-term goal as a neurotypical person. And that's okay. People with a DHD often have interest-based nervous systems, and this means that your motivation isn't necessarily driven by importance or logic or this is good for me. Instead, you tend to be more motivated by stimulation and novelty. So you might feel supercharged in a few of your workouts and then you struggle to get off the couch just a few days later.
(07:00)
Even though you want to care and you want to feel motivated, the dopamine just isn't there. So here are a few ways that you can navigate this fluctuating level of motivation. One is use variety to your advantage. It may not work for you to have a single block of training where you're going to do the same workouts for an extended period of time, weeks or months. Instead, you probably want to give yourself a little menu of workout styles and workout types that you can select from depending on how you're feeling. And I really encourage you to give yourself options that are activities that are fun and engaging and challenge your brain. So for example, I stay kind of consistent on my lifting. I definitely have many days where I just do not care. I don't care, and I don't feel motivated to lift weights. I do it because I want to maintain my muscles and also because I don't want to go through the process of getting out of shape and getting back into shape.
(08:03)
But there are some days where I legit just cannot. I just can't, can't fathom getting under the bar and doing some squats or bench press or whatnot, and instead, I kind of just feel like getting into a flow and doing some quick movements. So on those days, I'll get out the bag and I'll hit the bag and do some boxing and kickboxing drills. Sometimes the idea of exerting myself and getting tired and sweaty feels like too much of a demand, and so on those days, I'll just do mobility based exercises that help me to stretch my muscles and keep my joints limber and healthy. Another thing that is very helpful on the days that you don't feel like you have a lot of motivation and you need to do something like work out or go to work or fill out paperwork is a strategy called body doubling.
(08:56)
Body doubling is when you get somebody to work alongside you or just kind of sit with you either in person or virtually. So you're not necessarily talking to this person, they're just kind of there holding space with you. And this strategy helps so much for staying engaged. And I use this strategy. That's one of the reasons why I stream on Twitch. I stream my workouts on Twitch a lot of times. That's what helps me to stay motivated and stay consistent with my workouts. And I especially use this strategy when it comes to my meal prep because I really hate cooking. It's too tedious and under stimulating. But when I stream and I'm interacting with other people, listening to music, having a good time and socializing that body, doubling is such a powerful technique and it really helps me to get my stuff done. So these are a few things that you can use to accommodate your brain type if you feel like you can't stay consistently motivated to show up for your workouts.
(09:51)
Now, another thing that's really common for people who have a DHD is what's called executive dysfunction. So executive dysfunction is when the brain struggles to manage tasks that require planning, organizing, starting or finishing things even when you want to do them and when you know that they're important, it's not laziness or a lack of intelligence. It's a disconnect between inaction and action that a lot of times has to do with the faulty dopamine system that we have in our brains. So executive functions are the set of mental skills that help you to start tasks, stay focused, plan ahead. Remember instructions, manage time control impulses, switch between tasks and regulate your emotions. Now, what executive dysfunction may look like for you in your fitness is that you want to go to the gym, but you just can't make yourself start getting ready. You may freeze or shut down when it's time to take action.
(10:52)
You may forget appointments or deadlines or even where you put your keys, and by the time you search the house and you find your keys, you don't even want to go to the gym anymore. You might also feel overwhelmed by your fitness plan. You may also feel like, I don't even want to think about what is my workout plan. You may not even want to plan your workouts, and it's not a willpower issue. It's your brain's task manager that's lagging. Executive dysfunction is a neurological issue. It's not a moral failing, and there are things that you can do to work around it. One is try to automate the process as much as possible. Try to get into a routine, build it little bit by little bit so that you don't have to think about going to the gym or working out pre-pack your gym bag, have it ready to go and plan simple repeatable meals and snacks that you don't have to think about.
(11:42)
And I also encourage you to use visual cues like having a fitness calendar, a whiteboard or sticky notes, and this is where working with a coach can be very, very helpful because a coach will be the one doing the planning for you. Many of my clients who train with me in person say that they love that they can just show up and they don't have to think and they just do what I tell them to do. My online clients also enjoy the fact that I do all of the planning ahead of time for what their workouts should be for weeks ahead of time or for months ahead of time, and they just hit start now, follow the plan, plug in what they do, and hit save and go home. You also want to avoid the pressure of having to plan your workouts, so get onto a training program.
(12:26)
I have tons of training plans that are available on my substack, and you can also download them from my website. You can also join my training app where I have put together a bunch of six month programs that you can follow along with, and you don't have to do any of the planning yourself. If you want extra accountability, I am taking on a few online coaching clients, so you can also check that out. More information for that is on my website, Jaydigains.com. Now, another way that your A DHD may be impacting your fitness is your rejection sensitivity and having an all or nothing mindset. Many people with a DHD experience what's called rejection sensitivity dysphoria or RSD, what this means is that even minor setbacks feel like major failures. One missed workout can spiral into I'm failing again, or what's the point? This emotional intensity can derail the whole process if it's left unmanaged.
(13:22)
So if you deal with this type of all or nothing mindset or that feeling of, I'm failing again, when you miss a workout or you don't do everything completely, what I encourage you to do is one practice. The self-compassion one day off does not erase your progress. Remember, your body reflects what you do most of the time. You do not have to be perfect and order to make progress also reframe success. Showing up and doing something imperfectly or partially is still better than not showing up at all. So even if you have to reduce your workout or just do half of it or just show up and stretch, that is better than nothing, and I would rather you show up and do something for your body than nothing at all, even if you're not necessarily following the plan. Another thing that can help with this is to journal your wins and celebrate your wins.
(14:14)
Make a big deal out of them because it's so hard for your brain to release that dopamine and get that dopamine naturally that says, fuck yeah, we did the thing, right? You have to kind of make a big deal out of your wins yourself to really stimulate that dopamine release. Even with your small wins, give yourself some kind of acknowledgement. Text your friend and say, I did it. Text your coach. Keep a fitness journal and give yourself a sticker when you complete a workout, or if you show up, do something to mark your wins and celebrate them because your brain needs that extra little bit of reward. Another way that A DHD can show up on your fitness journey is that hyper focus can be both a gift and a trap. Hyper focus tends to show up when we find something new and interesting and we want to pour hours and hours and hours of our attention into that thing.
(15:08)
This is why people with A DHD often love video games and will get super, super into a video game and play for hours and hours and hours. And you may think, how do you sit still for that long when you can barely sit still at work? And it's because the video game or whatever it is that's new and stimulating, catches the hyper focus. Now when it comes to your fitness, you may be really excited at first when you start going to the gym because it's new and there's so much to learn. And so you want to pour so much time and energy into your workouts, which can be great because that'll allow you to make lots of gains really quickly in the beginning. However, you can go too far to the point where you burn yourself out. You get injured because you overtrain. So you want to manage that hyperfocus and pace yourself.
(15:58)
When it comes to starting a new workout block or starting in the gym at all, enjoy the hyperfocus because it gives you massive dopamine hits when you do the thing. But try to pace yourself and avoid the temptation of doing too much. I encourage you to create structure around your rest and recovery. A lot of times people with a DHD in particular have a hard time with the rest and recovery part of working out, so give yourself little rewards and reminders for doing the rest and recovery aspect of working out. Because remember, you don't make any gains in the gym. The gym is where we actually break the muscle down. It's the rest and recovery where the gains actually happen. So you have to prioritize those things. Creating structure around your rest and recovery might look like actually scheduling in rest days in your calendar and maybe scheduling activities that are restful and rejuvenating for you to do on your rest days.
(16:57)
So you feel like you're doing something. This might look like going to a stretch yoga class or getting a massage or maybe going to a sauna or maybe you schedule some time to sit down and play video games with your friends. I want to make sure that you set some reminders to make sure that you eat stay hydrated and that you stretch. Now, another way that your A DHD might be impacting your fitness is that the dopamine deficiency might make the gym feel boring. If you're not getting enough stimulus or stimulation, then you might have a really hard time motivating yourself to get into the door. Remember, dopamine plays a big role with A DHD, and your brain is less likely to uptake it or release it. Your brain processes it a lot less than someone who's neurotypical. If you're feeling like the gym is too boring, then you need modify your approach to the gym so that you are getting those dopamine hits that your brain needs in order to keep showing up consistently.
(17:57)
Ways that you can do this is make it more stimulating. Listen to music or audio books or podcasts. Have something going on in your headphones that keeps you have something going that gives you another level of stimulus so that you can, if you need to mindlessly do the exercises, but you have something that you can kind of settle your attention on. And also, like we said before, having a flexible training plan with different workout styles. Depending on where you are in your dopamine and your motivation can be super helpful. Keep it short and high intensity if that's what excites you, but just make sure that you don't go overboard because too much high intensity exercise can lead to overtraining. One thing that I find helps a lot of people with A DHD to stick to their training is to roleplay within their own minds and think about training like a superhero.
(18:47)
Because a lot of us with a DHD are really big fans of anime, right? Or different video games. That image of training like the hero in your favorite anime or manga or video game, actually helps a lot of people to stick it out when they're feeling low motivation to train. A lot of my buddies have tons of anime references up in their home gyms, and they think about their training regimen as preparing for a Dragon Ball Z battle. My first fitspo was Laura Croft. I wanted to be able to run around and pull myself up onto ledges and swan, dive into water, et cetera. So thinking about ways that you can sort of role play in your own mind and use your imagination to contextualize your workouts and give them a playful and meaningful role in your life. And again, body doubling can help a lot with this problem. Having a buddy with you that's training with you in the gym, or if you're streaming your workouts on Twitch, like me, having somebody else there can give just the right amount of stimulus that you need to do the thing that you need to do in the gym without just feeling like you're torturing yourself.
(20:11)
So there you have it. These are a couple of ways that A DHD might be showing up in your fitness journey. And now you have a few tools in your toolkit for managing them so you can work with your brain instead of against it to stick to your fitness plan. Remember, A DHD does not mean that you're a failure or that you're lazy or that you're bad. It just means that your path might look a little bit different and that you have to be a little bit more mindful about managing the amount of stimulus that you get from your workouts. And you might have to get a little bit creative, get a buddy or a coach. And remember, progress is not about being perfect. It's about showing up most of the time and doing whatever you can. Something is better than nothing. I'm right there with you.
(20:51)
I'm still learning how to manage my A DHD brain and it shows up in my business. It shows up in my fitness. We're learning here together, okay? Don't feel like you have to do it alone. You can join my Discord server or you can come and hang out with me while I'm live on Twitch. That's Twitch tv slash Jaydigains. I go live on Tuesdays and then other days throughout the week as I have time. And that's it for today's episode. I hope that you enjoyed it and found it helpful. I will see you in the next episode. In the meantime, please make sure to like this video if you found it helpful and you're watching on YouTube. And don't forget to subscribe to the channel. If you're listening, make sure that you have followed the channels. You always get the latest episodes delivered right to your device. I'll see you next time. In the meantime, take care of yourself. Drink water, eat your protein, eat your veggies, and I'll see you soon.
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