The Link Between Exercise and Creativity

Have you ever thought about pairing a creative practice like writing or drawing with physical exercise? The link between exercise and creativity is a strong one and you can use it to your advantage! Let’s talk about why this link exists and how you can put it into practice in your life.

Mental Health Benefits of Exercise

Exercise doesn’t benefit just your physical body, it also helps your mental health! Many studies have done about the positive link between mental health and moving your body.

Exercise makes actual changes to your brain- it helps create new neural pathways and parts of your brain actually get bigger when you exercise regularly. This is why exercise helps with memory, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and cognitive flexibility (adaptability and task-switching).

Even after just one workout, moving your body reduces stress and gives you a mood boost. Your body releases endorphins when you exercise. You might know this in the context of a runner’s high, but it applies to more than just running! Some of the other immediate benefits of moving, even if it’s just a couple minutes, are increased focus, attention, productivity, and…. creative thinking!

Doing physical movement helps your brain make space for creativity and idea generation, so let’s practice it!

How You Can Connect Exercise and Creativity

With analog activities trending, it’s obvious people have been craving more space for hands-on activities after our lives have become so centered around being online.

1. Make exercise a fun and supportive part of your schedule.

One way to make exercise feel more fun and less of a dreaded chore is to figure out what type of movement you enjoy doing! You feel more motivated to exercise when you’re choosing the modality instead of feeling like you’re “supposed” to do something you actually hate.

2. Plan extra time after a workout for creation.

Right after a workout when you’re feeling all those endorphins is the perfect time to jump into a creative activity! Don’t feel like you have to be creating professional-level art. Try a way of creating you’ve enjoyed in the past or something new that stretches your brain. The possibilities are endless and don’t have to cost anything- you can do a LOT with just a pen and a sheet of paper.

3. Change your environment.

You’re more likely to fall into the same habit of scrolling and getting distracted when you’re in your usual environment. For example, I like to get out of the house when I’m moving because I get distracted by my desk and work tasks. How can you change your environment to help you focus in on movement and creative activities? Where can you go that gets you into the right mindset? One of my favorite options is exercising then going to a coffee shop where I feel creative and surrounded by other people.

Deadlift & Doodle

I created Deadlift & Doodle to help people connect exercise and creativity and build it into their schedules! I wanted to create a space where people could get off their phones and be present in their bodies.

Deadlift & Doodle is a 30-minute TikTok Live session where I guide attendees through a 15-minute beginner strength workout then hold space for 15 minutes of creative time. The goal is to build stronger bodies and more creative brains while also getting off our phones.

The strength workout is set up so that you can go at your own pace and adjust exercises as you need to. As we go through each round, I give different adjustment ideas and form cues to help you choose how you want to move.

During the creative time, I encourage attendees to draw, write, color, knit, sculpt, or do anything else with their hands that makes them feel creative. It’s not about being “good” at the activity- the goal is to create for the sake of creating!

I first got the idea for Deadlift & Doodle after virtually attending the 2023 Body Positive Fitness Alliance Summit. Dr. Kate Herald Browne led a session called “Creativity Moves You: Unlocking the Creativity that Movement Brings.” It really inspired me because of my background in painting and graphic design. I thought there could be potential in combining workouts with creative activities, but it sat on my “Future Ideas” shelf until I dusted it off in late 2025. I wanted to create a space where people could move their bodies (kind of my thing!) but also make intentional space to be creative.

With Deadlift & Doodle, I invite people to temporarily step away from constant notifications and doomscrolling. To be able to invest in other areas of our lives, we have to make time for ourselves too! I want people to leave each session feeling grounded, energized, and reconnected to both their physical bodies and creative brains.

Join me on TikTok Live for Deadlift & Doodle every Monday at 7pm ET!