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It’s the start of a New Year and time for a yet another new exercise regime, but this time you're determined to stick to it. Many people start with a strong desire for change and improvement and the New Year presents a perfect opportunity to make fresh starts, re-invent yourself, change direction and set new goals. Yet by the end of the month a great number of us have experienced resolutions that were unsuccessful for a variety of reasons, and as a result end up feeling de-motivated and disillusioned. This article examines the reasons resolutions may be hard to stick to and how to boost our motivation and exercise adherence.
1. Consider your motives and ask the right questions
To become truly motivated you need to identify your real reasons for exercising, which require asking the right questions. Asking relevant questions helps get you on track, shifts your mindset and most importantly extracts answers that will hold the key to your motivation. You'll be able to design an exercise programme based totally on your wants, needs and desires as opposed to someone else's and gain a deeper understanding of what works best for you. Ask yourself the following questions and note down all your answers in a notebook. This book will become a programme planner and review document.
*What exactly do I want? Is it weight loss/train for a marathon, get fit for ski-ing?
*What am I willing to do to make it happen? How much frequency, time, and money are you willing to devote?
*What am I willing not to do in order to achieve my goals? Be honest, realistic and specific.
*How can I make it as enjoyable as possible in order to help me stick with my goals?
This last question will possibly be the most powerful in helping to motivate you.
The right questions empower you to think up a whole new string of possibilities, made all the more powerful as they've been generated by you and not someone else. Remember that these possibilities have always been there but you may have been in a more negative mindset to consider them.
2. Set clear goals
Goals are not only necessary but are an important ingredient for success, providing they're set properly. Research indicates that goal setting appears to be a powerful behavioural technique that boosts confidence, motivation and end results. Goals should be SMART – specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and time-scaled. This will enable you to concentrate 100% of your attention on that goal, as opposed to having a non-specific, vague goal ie: “I want to lose weight.” Its important to focus attention on the process, for reviewing purposes, which is where the SMART system falls into place. Bear in mind some goals may take a while to reap rewards, such a ship which changes course by a few degrees but ends up on the other side of the world, similarly your goals may take a while so be patient and persistent
3. Find a workout you love
Cast your mind back to school or college. When it was time for a lesson/teacher you absolutely loved how did you behave? Chances are you raced to the lesson, never missed one and gave it your undivided attention once you were there. Passion is perhaps the greatest motivator so make sure you try as many different activities to identify which one turns you on. Hate the gym? Try classes. Hate classes? Try a personal trainer. Hate regular workouts? Try dance/yoga/golf/jump on a rebounder with the kids/buy a dog etc. etc, the list is endless however the key is to find something you're passionate about as you'll be more likely to stick with it.
Once you identify which activity you'd like to pursue it's important to integrate it with your goals. If weight loss is your goal then golf may not offer the best fat-burning properties, however including golf in your weekly sessions will ensure you're more likely to stick with the overall programme. If you're unsure how to incorporate your favourite activity a personal trainer can help you set up a suitable workout schedule that stretching, achievable and fun. And don't let past experiences of freezing, muddy school sports or aggressive competitive teams cloud your judgement about trying new activities. Try to disassociate yourself from the pain it then produced as it may now actually bring you immense amounts of pleasure. What you did in the past bears no relevance to what you may do in the future and if Fred Astaire had never tried dancing again after being told he was useless the world would have never witnessed his amazing talent!
4. Find your 'on' button
Now that you've found your perfect programme how can it be enhanced to ensure even greater success? Can it be improved by location, time of day, musical or video choice? If you run or bike do you prefer outdoor or indoor? If its dangerous to go outdoors go with a friend in daylight or join a club. Are you a lark or an owl as this may greatly influence your motivation? What sort of music do you like? The I pod has to be the greatest exercise device and who hasn't found themselves wanting to move to music. Are you a fan of Madonna/Beyonce/Justin? What is it they do you like? How do they do it? How can you draw inspiration from them to motivate yourself. A client of mine recently admitted she modelled herself on Madonna because “She's not the best singer, dance or actress but she's persistent and NEVER gives up” What a great motivational saying!
5. Review your progress
Reviewing yourself on a daily, weekly and monthly basis in not only important from a progressive perspective but it gives an opportunity to see what’s working, what’s not working, what adjustments need to be made and what successes to be acknowledged. At the end of each day ask:
What did I do well today?
What would I like to change from today?
What did I learn from today
Remember that regular reviews can be a great tracking device and help boost confidence as you streamline and perfect your workout programme.
6. Reap your rewards!
Reward yourself on a daily, weekly and monthly basis – you've been working hard and deserve it. The great payback news is that the law of reinforcement states any pattern of emotion or behaviour that is continually reinforced will become an automated or conditioned response, your workout log book will also show your improvements so if you've been faithfully pounding, lifting, twisting and sweating now is the time for not only recognition but reward as well. Well done you!
Other articles in this series:
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