11 minutes
Half the guideline still counts
About 11 minutes a day, half the usual recommendation, was linked to a lower risk of heart disease and cancer.
Garcia et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2023 · 196 studies
A kinder way to get moving again.
Beta 2 · our next group starts in January
One small move a day. One tap. Someone who notices.
Motion Over Mind is for anyone who’s stopped moving and finds gyms, fitness apps and step counts a bit much. Each day you get one small move, chosen for you. You tap once when it’s done. And on the days you didn’t feel like it, that counts every bit as much.
- What it asks
- One small move a day, starting with ten minutes
- Any kind of movement
- Walking, cycling, swimming, or moving from a chair
- What you won’t find
- Scores, leaderboards, or anything to fall behind on
- The next group
- Starts in mid-January 2027, and it’s free to take part
One move, one tap
Sound familiar?
Most fitness is built for people who are already fit.
So if you’ve tried before and stopped, that says more about the approach than about you. You already know moving is good for you. What’s usually missing is a way in that fits real life, and doesn’t punish you for being human.
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UsuallyStart big: an hour at the gym, three times a week.
HereStart with ten minutes, at a moment that suits you. If you stop at ten, you’ve done exactly what the day asked.
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UsuallyMiss a day and your streak goes back to zero.
HereNothing resets. Your journey only ever moves forward, and a missed day leaves no gap.
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UsuallySteps, pace, calories and a leaderboard.
HereNo numbers to chase, and nobody to compare yourself with.
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UsuallyA low day feels like proof you can’t do it.
Here“Didn’t feel like it — but did it” counts exactly the same as “Done”.
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UsuallyStop for a fortnight and you’re back to square one.
Here“Good to see you.” You carry on where you left off, with nothing to make up.
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UsuallyA plan to work out, kit to buy and a class to brave.
HereEach day’s move is chosen for you. Walk, cycle, swim, or move from a chair. Moving is moving.
Motivation follows movement.
Most of us wait until we feel like it, and that feeling rarely turns up on its own. So we turn it round. A small move comes first, and the feeling follows. It’s where our name comes from.
How it works
Nothing to plan. Just today.
Answer four quick questions and the app does the rest. Each day you’ll know exactly what’s asked of you, and nothing more.
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Choose how you move
Walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, the gym, yoga, seated movement or something of your own. Change it whenever you like, even day to day.
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Hang it off your day
Pick a moment that already happens, like “before my first coffee”. A gentle nudge arrives at the time you choose.
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Do today’s small move
One clear move, written for you in advance. Day 1 is ten minutes, and it builds gently from there.
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Tap once to say you did it
“Done”, or “Didn’t feel like it — but did it”. Both move you on by exactly the same step.
Watch your journey grow
Every check-in lays one stone on a path up a valley, with a named place to reach each week, from The Log Cabin to The Summit.
The app
Calm, simple, and as easy as the apps you already use.
Big text, big buttons and nothing to learn. Its pictures follow the time of day, and it turns darker when your phone does.
Show the screens
Swipe to see six screens.
Choose how you move
Walk, cycle, swim, the gym, yoga or seated movement. Change it any day.
A nudge at your moment
Titled with the moment you chose, like “Before my first coffee”, and carrying today’s move.
One move, two ways to say yes
“Done”, or “Didn’t feel like it — but did it”. Both count the same.
A small moment, every time
A warm line, one more stone, and a quick yes to the same moment tomorrow.
A named place each week
Every seventh day is a landmark, with your own reason for starting given back to you.
Progress you can see
A path up a valley, with no gaps where days were missed and nothing to fall behind on.
Could someone open this and feel worse than before?
Every part of the app has to pass that one test. If the answer is yes, it doesn’t go in, however well it might work for anyone else. It’s why nothing here resets, keeps score or tells you off.
For the hard days
Made for the days you don’t feel like it.
Everyone has them. Most apps quietly count them against you. Here, going anyway is the whole point, and a day off is only ever a pause.
Try the two buttons
This is how the app’s Today card works. It’s only a demo, so nothing is saved.
Day 9 · The Sanctuary Space
Twenty minutes, with your phone quiet again if you can.
That’s another one banked.
That’s today done. 🌿
Either one moves you on by one stone.
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Both buttons count the same
“Didn’t feel like it — but did it” moves you on exactly as far as “Done”, with the same warmth. Going when you don’t fancy it is the whole skill.
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Three minutes, if that’s all you’ve got
Tap “I don’t feel like it today” and the app offers three minutes instead, with the plan you made for a day like this. If you still want to stop, stop. No one’s counting.
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Come back whenever you’re ready
After four quiet days the app sends one kind message, then leaves you be. When you’re back, you carry on from where you left off, or ease back in gently.
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Late is never late
A walk at 10pm counts every bit as much as one at 7am. Nothing here is ever behind schedule.
When you don’t feel like it
Three minutes instead, and the plan you made for a day like this.
When life gets loud
No explanation needed. Pick up where you left off, or ease back in.
Your reason
What would you like to be true in a few months?
Everyone starts for a reason of their own. Pick the one that sounds most like you.
Why small works
A little movement does more than most people think.
“Those who are least active have the most to gain from increasing their physical activity.”
One walk
Mood lifts after a single go
After one bout of activity, mood improved and anxiety eased, measured within half an hour.
Weinstein et al., Psychosomatic Medicine, 2024 · 103 studies
Better sleep
Moving regularly helps you sleep
Regular activity brought moderate improvements in how well people slept.
Kredlow et al., Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2015 · 66 studies
A missed day
Doesn’t undo a habit
Missing a single day made no real difference to how a new daily habit formed. That’s why nothing here resets.
None of these studies tested Motion Over Mind. They’re about movement and habits in general, and most show a link rather than proof of cause.
Someone who notices
You won’t be doing this on your own.
In our first group, what people valued most was having someone to tell.
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A real person from day one
Rich, one of our two founders, invites everyone himself. His is the first face you’ll see in the app.
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A coach, or a group, if you’d like one
Some people in beta 2 will also have a coach, who reads their check-ins and replies personally. Everyone can join a small WhatsApp group, where reading without posting is completely fine.
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Friends, never a leaderboard
Moving with someone you know? Share a code, and after your own check-in you’ll see when they’ve moved today too. Never how far, how often or who did more.
Rich invites you himself
A real person, from the very first screen.
Company, not comparison
After your own check-in: who else moved today. Nothing more.
Our first group
Ten people went first. Here’s what happened.
Our first group took Base Camp, our eight-week module, in 2026, with daily messages over WhatsApp before the app existed.
Nobody dropped out
Everyone was still with us at the end of the eight weeks, apart from one person who paused for an injury outside the programme.
Everyone asked to carry on
When the eight weeks ended, the whole group wanted to keep going.
The habit travelled
People kept moving on holiday and away from home, out of their usual routine.
Most kept checking in
After it ended, most carried on sending their daily check-in, with nothing asking them to.
The app is built on what they taught us: a button for the hard days, coming back without starting again, and a real person behind it all.
Beta 2
Join our next group, starting in January.
We’re inviting a small group of people to use the app through Base Camp, our first eight-week module, and to tell us honestly how it goes. It’s free to take part.
What’s involved
- One small move a day, at your own pace, for about eight weeks. Day 1 is ten minutes.
- The app on your phone. During the beta it goes on your home screen from your browser, and we’ll send a short guide.
- A few short questions along the way, so we can learn what helps.
- A WhatsApp group, if you’d like one. It’s entirely optional.
Two ways to take part
Everyone gets the same app and the same eight weeks. Some people will also have Rich as their coach, reading their check-ins and replying personally. Places are shared out by chance, so we can learn fairly what a coach adds, and we’ll tell you which you have before you start.
What happens next
Now
Ask for a place. It takes a couple of minutes.
Before Christmas
One of us replies personally to confirm your place, and lets you know whether you’ll have a coach.
Mid-January
Your invite from Rich arrives, with a short guide to setting up. Day 1 is ten minutes.
The weeks after
One small move a day, up to the summit. Take as long as you need. Nobody is cut off.
A question first?
Email us. A real person reads every message, and one of us will reply.
Know someone who’d like this?
It often helps to do it with someone you know. Send them this page, and you can be friends in the app.
Questions
The things people ask us.
Is this for me if I haven’t been active in years?
Very much so. It’s made for people starting again after a long gap. Day 1 is ten minutes, at your own pace, and nothing in the app asks you to keep up with anyone.
What if I can’t walk far?
That’s fine. Walking is only where most people start. You can choose cycling, swimming, the gym, yoga or Pilates, seated movement, or something in your own words, and change it whenever you need to, even day to day. Each day’s move is worded for the way you move.
How much time does it take?
Ten minutes on day 1. It builds gently over the weeks, and a few later days ask for around forty-five minutes. On any day, the app offers a smaller version if that’s all you’ve got.
What happens if I miss a day, or a week?
Nothing is lost. Your day only moves on when you check in, so after a break you simply carry on from the next one. After four quiet days the app sends one kind message, then leaves you be. There’s nothing to catch up on.
Will I have a coach?
Some people will. Everyone in beta 2 gets the same app and the same eight weeks, and some will also have Rich as their coach. Places are shared out by chance, so we can learn fairly what a coach adds, and we’ll tell you which you have before you start.
Do I have to join a WhatsApp group?
No, it’s entirely up to you. Everyone in a group can see each other’s phone numbers, so we’ll ask before adding you, and reading without ever posting is completely fine. Your daily check-in always stays private, in the app.
What phone do I need?
An iPhone on iOS 16.4 or newer, or an Android phone. During the beta, the app goes on your home screen straight from your browser, and we’ll send you a short guide. If your iPhone is older, we can send your daily nudge by email instead.
We’re planning App Store and Google Play versions for after the beta.
Who sees what I write?
If you have a coach, they read your notes and weekly reflections. If you don’t, nobody replies to notes, but we do read them to keep everyone safe and, if you say yes, to help improve the programme.
Nothing you do is shown to other members unless you choose to become friends in the app. Even then, a friend sees only your name, on a day you’ve both moved.
What happens to my data?
It’s kept in the EU. You can download everything you’ve told the app, or delete your account, from Settings at any time, and accounts that go unused for 210 days are deleted automatically.
Our privacy notice has the full details.
What does it cost?
Nothing. Beta 2 is free to take part in.
What happens after the eight weeks?
Nobody is cut off. You reach the summit at your own pace, and your journey stays there to look back on. More modules are in development, and you can tell us which ones you’d like next.
Can I do it with my partner or a friend?
Yes, and it often helps. Each of you asks for a place and ticks “I’d like to do this with someone I know”, so we know to keep you together. In the app you can be friends, and each see when the other has moved.
Is this medical advice?
No. Motion Over Mind is a wellbeing programme, not medical care. It’s not a substitute for advice from your doctor. If you’ve ever been told to check with a doctor before becoming more active, please do that first.
