By Matt Worthy, Founder of ScienceBod.com
Have you thought about why you want to get fit? What is your motivation? Have you discovered your “why” with respect to improving your body?
While research has shown that the desire for achieving an aesthetically more appealing body can be a compelling first motivation for beginning a fitness program, it is unlikely to sustain you over the long-term. Remember, if simply wanting to look better were enough, everybody would be walking around with a fit, toned body. The fact is that is simply not the case. Just look around you.
77% of American adults agree with the statement: “Having a good shape and looking good is VERY important for me”. [i] Yet nearly 40% of adults in the United States are clinically obese. [ii]Why the disconnect?
Why do people abandon fitness programs? Why do people quit going to the gym?
A 1997 study out of the University of Rochester found that while aesthetic motives can be powerful reasons for initiating an exercise regime, “body-related motives are not, on average, sufficient to sustain regular exercise regimens, and thus should not be made the most salient justification for engaging in exercise.” [iii]
In fact, maintaining too much focus on body-related motivations for working out can set yourself up for failure. One of the reasons that men (and women) fail at attempting to get into shape is they do not see instant results. The University of Rochester study explained it “may be that exercisers who were body-oriented, but who did not see immediate gains in appearance or fitness did not continue” [iv]
Think about that for a moment: beginning exercisers quit because they did not see immediate gains? What kinds of rapid gains do you expect to achieve when you are just starting something that is brand new to you? You are a beginner. At first, you are going to be incompetent at lifting weights and working out. Initially, you are going to look foolish (trust me, no one cares but you).
You are going to have failures. You are going to do things wrong. You are going to mess up the diet. You are going to realize you should have done this or that differently. It is all part of the process. It is the nature of learning any new skill. Expect it. Welcome it.
The Japanese martial artist and founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba said it very well, “Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something.” Likewise, entrepreneur, former US Navy SEAL, and commander of the combat-tested Task Unit Bruiser in Ramadi, Iraq, Jocko Willink explains that one of the keys to his success is to react to all negative developments with one word: “Good.” He elaborates, “When things are going bad, there is going to be some good that’s going to come from it … Didn’t get the job you wanted? Got injured? Sprained my ankle? Got tapped out? Good. Got beat? Good. You learned. Unexpected problems? Good. We have the opportunity to figure out a solution.” [v]
If you keep at it, if you respond to your failures and setbacks with persistence and determination, you will prevail. Slowly but surely, you will begin to succeed. As leadership expert John Maxwell says in his book, Failing Forward, “The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.” [vi]
And never forget the very wise words of personal development mentor and author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari series, Robin Sharma: “Every pro was once an amateur. Every expert was once a beginner. So, dream big and start now.”
Does it make sense to quit because you are not immediately achieving pro level results when you are starting out as a novice? Absolutely not! Yet, “over 50% of individuals who take part in a fitness program will drop out after the first six months.” [vii]
The key to lasting success, the “one simple trick”, is to shift your focus from immediate results to long-term goals and objectives, with milestones in between to track your fitness progression. A University of Georgia research review revealed, “Active people tend to expect and believe that they receive personal health benefits from exercise”. [viii] Think about the years you can add to your life. Think about how cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s would impact your life and your family’s life, and how you can dramatically lower your risk for those diseases and disorders by taking fitness seriously. Think about feeling vital and alive.
What do you think? What is your motivation? What has worked for you? Have you thought about it? What has kept you going day after day, week after week, year after year?
Works Cited
[i] ReportLinker Insight, 2017. Out of Shape? Americans Turn to Exercise to Get Fit. ReportLinker, 2017. Web. Nov 26, 2017. https://www.reportlinker.com/insight/shape-americans-exercise-get-fit.html
[ii] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2017). Obesity Update 2017. Paris, France.
[iii] Ryan, RM; Frederick, CM; Lepes, D; Rubio, N; Sheldon, KM. “Intrinsic Motivation and Exercise”. International Journal of Sport Psychology: 1997, Vol 28, Issue 4. Pages 335-354.
[iv] Ibid.
[v] Willink, J. (January 25, 2016). Jocko Motivation (From Jocko Podcast). Retrieved from: Jocko Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdTMDpizis8
[vi] Maxwell, John C.. Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success (Kindle Location 114). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
[vii] Wilson, K; Brookfield, D. “Effect of Goal Setting on Motivation and Adherence in a Six‐Week Exercise Program”. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Physiology: January 2009, Vol 7, Issue 1. Pages 89-100. DOI: 10.1080/1612197X.2009.9671894
[viii] Dishman RK, Sallis JF. “Determinants and interventions for physical activity and exercise”. In: Bouchard C, Shephard RJ, Stephens T, eds. Physical activity, fitness and health: International proceedings and consensus statement. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 1994:Pages 214–238.
