FIT-OLOGY holistic ADHD coaching - Jessica Covington

Five minutes into a Zumba practice after a devastating breakup, Emmy forgot she had wanted to spend the night crying into a pint of ice cream. It wasn't that she hurt any less -- it was that the movement just gave her brain enough jobs to do.

For ADHD minds especially, movement is NOT a reward you earn after the work gets done. It's actually the on-ramp to focus, presence, and emotional steadiness. It's a different kind of self-talk.

When your thoughts are looping, try an experiment before you force yourself to think your way out:

Crank up a song you love.

Move for the whole song: walk, sway, dance, stretch, shake it out. There's no "wrong" move.

When the song ends, put a hand or two on your heart and wonder to yourself: “What feels possible now that did not feel possible three minutes ago?”

Then choose just one tiny next step.

You don't have to be or become a “fitness person.” (What even IS that anyway?!) You're just using your body to give your brain a new state to work from.

Emmy describes INTENSATI as a good morning practice rolled into one: intentional movement, affirmations, music, mindfulness, and a moment to land back in yourself. The combination quiets the mental noise in ways many ADHD women recognize immediately.

🔗Link here or in bio: https://adhd-alchemy-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/how-movement-rewires-the-adhd-brain-exercise-emotional-regulation-and-self-trust/

Before the day gets loud, take a moment to check in with your body.

I'm not suggesting a a 12-step, 30-minute morning routine. It's not a perfect meditation practice, and there's no demand to become a different person before breakfast.

It's just a pause. Before you get out of bed, notice:
What do I feel in my body right now?
Am I thirsty, hungry, tense, tired, or uncomfortable?
What is my body asking for?
What is one small response I can make?

That might mean getting a drink of water, stretching, adjusting your schedule, or simply recognizing, “Ugh, I am already stressed.”

The point is not to eliminate every uncomfortable feeling. (We couldn't, even if we tried. Believe me, I've tried.) The point is to stop treating your internal signals as irrelevant until they scream at you and become impossible to ignore.

For ADHD brains, this can be especially useful because we often move quickly into thought, urgency, or action before noticing what is happening physically.

Try this today: Stop. Feel. Then choose.

A regulated body does not guarantee a perfect day. But it does give you more access to choice, perspective, and self-trust.

The world was not made for the way we think. We are allowed to build ways of moving through it that include the whole human being—not just the productive part.

This week's episode of ADHD Alchemy, featuring Nicole Hope Sylvester, offers more --link in the comments.



photo: Melissa Askew on Unsplash

I freakin' love it when a podcast interview becomes a trade, and when guests feel more like friends.

That's exactly what happened when I first met Famous Ashley Grant for her pod, "More Movement Please."

Then she visited the "ADHD Alchemy Podcast" yesterday to create an episode I can not WAIT to share with you!!

And now, today, I feel like I have a new friend in the movement world!

Catch the start of the goodness in the link below!

You do not need a more rigid routine. You may need a way to make one decision do more work for you.

In my conversation with Monica Walston, she described the kind of overwhelm so many ADHD women know well: you have ideas, skills, and a real desire to help people—but every platform, task, and responsibility feels like a separate obligation.

You know the feeling:

You make a video for your business… then think, “Now I need a podcast episode. And an Instagram post. And a Facebook post. And something for my newsletter.”

Suddenly, one good idea has become five more demands.

Monica found relief when she stopped treating each platform like a separate job. One video could become audio for Spotify, a few short clips for reels, and a written piece for Substack.

Same idea. More reach. Less reinventing the wheel. The best news? This works outside business, too.

Think about meal planning.

Instead of trying to dream up seven entirely different dinners, choose one starting point and let it do more work:

Roast or buy one protein—chicken, tofu, ground turkey, beans.

Use it in tacos one night.

Add it to a salad or grain bowl another night.

Turn the leftovers into wraps, pasta, soup, or a freezer meal.

Keep one easy “nothing is happening today” dinner as your backup.

Save the combinations your family actually eats so you do not have to reinvent dinner next week. That is not being repetitive or boring, it's protecting your attention for the parts of life that need you.

The same principle applies to content, meals, errands, laundry, and just about anything else that keeps asking your brain to start from scratch.

One idea. Multiple uses. Less cognitive load.

If you are tired of feeling busy without ever feeling finished, listen to Monica’s episode—and if you want help creating a system that gives you more freedom, shoot me a message and mention my Clear the Fog plan. 👍👍

Episode link in comments or bio.



photo: Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Kim Steen's story carries a kind of quiet relief that so many women with ADHD recognize immediately: finally having a framework that makes your life make sense.

She talked about being the “smart kid” who still struggled with time management, task paralysis, follow-through, and the emotional whiplash of feeling deeply while also trying to hold everything together.

What stood out most to me was how honestly she described the shift that came with understanding her brain better: not fixing everything, not becoming a different person, just finally having context — and realizing the patterns were not random, and they were NOT a moral failure.

Kim also shared how much movement has mattered in her life, how deeply she values real connection, and how much compassion she’s built for the kids and families she works with because she knows what it’s like to feel misunderstood.

If you’ve spent years thinking you should be able to just push through, this conversation will feel both grounding and familiar.

Listen to the full episode of ADHD Alchemy with Kim Steen. Link in comments. ⬇

A lot of people call this kind of brain “wandering.” My awesome podcast guest, LaToya Hinton, PhD, gave it a better name: wondering.

That one tiny shift matters, because it changes the whole story. What looks like scattered thinking from the outside is often a neurodivergent mind doing something much more powerful:

connecting dots,

exploring possibilities,

spotting patterns,

and building meaning across very different fields.

LaToya’s work is a perfect example of that. She moves between grant writing, data, storytelling, and community building — not because she can’t pick a lane, but because her brain is wired to see the bigger picture. In a world that loves neat categories, that kind of breadth is easy to misunderstand.

We also talked about:

why community is crucial,

why collaboration is a strategy, not a weakness,

how neurodivergent women are often misread as “all over the place,”

and why your nonlinear path *may actually be the source of your strength.*

If you’ve spent years trying to explain why your thinking doesn’t look linear, this conversation will feel like a breath of fresh air.

You’re not broken. You’re different. And different is good.

Listen now - link here or in bio: https://adhd-alchemy-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/why-adhd-looks-like-wandering-and-why-thats-actually-a-strength/

If LaToya’s story resonates, listen to the episode and share it with someone who needs the reminder that depth, breadth, and curiosity are not flaws.



photo: Jehyun Sung on Unsplash

"More women than ever are being diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood. Experts explain why movement can improve focus, regulate emotions and reduce mental overwhelm

Whilst ADHD diagnoses are growing amongst all age-groups, there has been a huge surge in mid-life women discovering they have the neurodevelopmental condition....

ADHD coach Jessica Covington, who runs the https://www.fit-ology.com/ business where she specialises in helping women aged over 30 with the condition, is a firm believer in exercise helping with ADHD.

“I think the key to thriving with ADHD is in the body-mind connection, and over the past 10+ years of coaching, I’ve developed a four-point framework that allows us to harness that connection. The four parts are: Movement, Nutrition, Metacognition/Mindfulness, and Systems/Habits/Tools.

“It’s key to redefine “exercise” as all kinds of movement, since not everyone can (or will, or wants to) spend time in the gym.”

One method she teaches is a form of exercise called INTENSATI that blends full-body, contralateral aerobic movement with quieter, more skilled movement. “Aerobic work brings dopamine levels up to enhance motivation and focus, while more controlled movement helps us strengthen inhibitory control,” she explained

“I work with clients to find movement that works for them — all kinds of things from walking to climbing, swimming, gardening, dancing and more.”

Read the full article by Suzanne Baum in Women's Fitness below!

https://womensfitness.co.uk/health/adhd-and-exercise/

There’s a very "special" kind of exhaustion that comes from being very capable and still feeling like you have to justify how your brain works.

In this conversation with Jordan, we talked about what it’s like to grow up with an ADHD brain, get good at solving problems quickly, and STILL feel friction when the rest of the world wants you to move slower, explain more, or fit a more linear path.

Jordan shared something I loved: past Jordan sets up the calendar for Future Jordan’s success.

That’s what good support can look like for an ADHD brain -- not forcing yourself to be someone else or use a system that supposedly works for everyone else. Making life easier for the version of you who has to show up tomorrow is the whole game.

We also talked about:

why systems help reduce cognitive load,

why it matters to have backups when routines break,

how editing is often easier than creating from scratch,

and why controlling your second thought can change everything.

That last one stayed with me: control your SECOND thought. 🤯

You can’t control the first thought or feeling that arises, but you CAN pause, breathe, and choose what happens next.

That’s not perfection. That’s self-leadership, and self-trust.

If you’ve ever felt like your brain gets places faster than the rest of your life can keep up, I think this episode will feel familiar in the best way. It’s a conversation about structure, self-trust, and learning how to lead your own life without turning every disruption into a crisis.

Listen to the episode, and if Jordan’s story resonates, share it with someone who needs the reminder that systems are allowed to be supportive instead of punishing.

Can I get a 'hell yeah'?



https://adhd-alchemy-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/adhd-systems-that-actually-work-how-high-performers-build-structure-without-shame/

photo: Sajad Nori on Unsplash

I got the chance to chat recently with Amanda Russell, the rockstar behind "The Chaotic Middle Podcast" and an incredible copywriter.

It was a great conversation, and we covered a LOT of ground in less than 30 minutes!

It blows me away how Amanda can get right to the heart of an issue without bypassing any of the important side quests either.

Have a listen, and share with a friend who needs to know she's not alone in the chaotic middle!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6mqVkqG0oS5K8wcOaqr1XX?si=6f9c9c43af6048b0