With the New Year arriving in a few short weeks we know our club will welcome many new members to our doors. Most gyms are in the business of those New Years Resolution seekers and of course we love keeping our gym busy. But what really motivates us are those who come back day in and day out. Those members who have found the intrinsic motivation to maintain and keep on going. An intrinsic motivation is when it is a natural or easy to do something because the person genuinely loves it and receives satisfaction for it. I know, I know, you are rolling your eyes at me because what sorta people actually like to keep up something so tortuous? Not only is it hard to find the time but you've started a dozen times and it didn't do anything, right? So how in the world can we get to the place where we enjoy the workout if it doesn't come naturally? Read on my friend.
I am not one for the nitty-gritty usually but these fact hold true and in my experience understanding them helps you and I to break the cycle. Most New Years resolution fail. It's sad and true. A meager 8% of resolutions made will hold. And interestingly enough, the top 5 resolutions made are health related, whether it be to get in shape, lose weight, eat healthier, or spend more time for betterment of the individual. This tells me two things, that people want to look and feel good but that it is hard and most drop out. Why? Well, because (done right) it hurts, most have no direction, and it takes a while to see results. But the most common reasons people drop out are because they started off reaching for the wrong goal or too big a goal and focus instead on the scale and that becomes their focus. The scale is fickle and fluctuates like spring time in Seattle.
Now I like to look good in my jeans as much as you like to, or want to. Just as I tell my clients, you have to start inside yourself first in order for the benefits to show up on the outside. Otherwise we start to get discouraged and slowly our adherence tapers off and then its been weeks since we've hit the gym floor. Most people, myself included, started for extrinsic reasons. Extrinsic motivation is an external reward, something that drives you that isn't internal. I spoke to the other trainers at my club and asked them what the most common extrinsic motivations they have heard with their clients were. They varied from being able to get off their blood pressure medication, being pre-diabetic, feeling lost, no energy, depression, anxiety, and not fitting in their clothes. These are all reasons outside of someone's internal desires. They are forces outside of ourselves that put us into the contemplation mode, which can lead to the action stage of doing. More on that later.
So how can we all keep our adherence consistent, weather the slump and stick with it long enough to make our monthly payments on our membership worth it? If you think of your work out like quarters in a jar, at first it seems like a life time of getting the jar to collect to the top, painfully slow, but over time, it fills. You take it to your nearest Coin Star and what do you know, you were able to cash it in for some serious loot. It gets a little bit easier to drop those quarters in because you know what it adds up to. If you approach your fitness goals the same way it is hard to start but when your blood test comes back improved, or you have the energy to chase your kids around without feeling completely drained, you've started cashing in your jar of quarters.
When we make our goals a Mt.Everest without any base camps we will fail. We are human. So, lets start with a goal we can reach in a timeline that is doable. Lets reach for a goal we have to work for but is one we can win. A goal of wanting to run a marathon in 3 months with no conditioning prior is not a smart goal. We are setting ourselves up for failure. A wiser goal would say, I am going to be able to run 3 miles 5 days a week at 9 minutes a mile in 8 weeks. A goal that is broken down into attainable, logical steps get you to your BIG goals.
Next, accountability can be a key piece of the puzzle for many people . If you are in group class, or meeting a friend or even better a trainer, you will have a reason to get to the gym. Not only is it social and fun but you have someone counting on you to show up. Getting here is half the battle. I know it's true for me, if I plan on meeting a gym friend at the club at 5 am so we can get through leg day, I show up because she is showing up for me. Get yourself some of that!
Have a direction for your program. Keep it fresh. It becomes drudgery if you wander into the club with no plan. You hit the treadmill, bounce around on the machines and then leave. I once read, "Discipline without direction is drudgery" and it could not be more true. If you're here to fix yourself, then lets do that as efficiently and affectedly as possible. If there is something you particularly hate doing, then don't do it. I can't stand running on the treadmill, so I don't do it. That's a hard no for me. Switch to the positive and find what you DO love and stay there. We want our members to achieve a lifetime of fitness and dedication to their health. Because of that, we are always thinking how we can help get you there. Recently, we started a new line of training at our club that is virtual- this helps people who prefer to be on their own or don't want to commit to a certain time and need flexibility in their schedule, even people who are not here at this club can participate. Its incredibly exciting and we can't wait to share more about it with you!
Lastly, if the internet is a good motivation for you then great. But if you find it discouraging or overwhelming, stay away from it. It is easy to compare yourself to what you see in others, how they look, what size they are and so on. We don't need any resistance at this point, we need a strong will to get to our goals for where we are, today. Our minds can be our greatest source or strength or what kills our momentum. That control is within your power to stay or go, to put your Nikes or your slipper on, to pick up the dumbell or remote control. Just know that the right choices flip the switch from extrinsic to intrinsic and nothing gets you there and keeps you there like time under tension, and the results that you achieve one day at a time.
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