Harper College/Student Success/Exercise/Motivation

Motivation to Exercise
Andrice Martin

Everybody needs to exercise regardless of one’s age, gender, socio-economic status, or even Physical or mental capabilities. Exercising can be in the form of sports, going to the gym or merely just walking around the housing area. The word exercise means activities; bodily activities, activity that require physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness. Defined as planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movement done to improve or maintain one or more components of physical fitness according to the (National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Panel, 1996). We live in our minds so much of the time that we have almost forgotten that we have a body. Now the question is does everybody exercise? Is motivation important in exercising? What usually motivates a person to exercise? Well yes, motivation is very important to exercising. As that influences a person to exercises or not to exercise. A person who exercise generally has a motive or widely known as motivation. Motivation, according to Hornby (2005) is the explanation for a person to act in a certain manner. Motivation to exercise would vary between one person to other. It could be to lose weight, to maintain their body figure, to increase one’s self esteem, to spend time with friends or to stay healthy by avoiding degenerative diseases such as obesity, cardio-vascular disease, and hypertension. This research focuses on the two factors that contribute to motivating a person to exercise which are social factors and the personal factors. Simple!

So let’s dig in, many people are turned off by the thought of exercise because they think is has to be intense or time-consuming. But the findings of a new study published in the journal BMC Public Health suggests that people could learn to enjoy being simply by tweaking those beliefs and expectations. One of many beliefs that you could inquire is changing your perspective, shifting your thinking, thinking like an athlete. This may sound like a bid challenge, but it’s not as big a leap as you think. With that being said first we have to stop using the busy life as an excuse not to exercise. Second is setting a goal there’s nothing more motivating than setting up something for yourself to succeed. Decide, think of something you want to do or work towards. Write it down. Tell someone. Telling someone we know about our goals also seems to increase the likelihood that we will stick at them. Break your goal down. Plan your first step. Keep going. Set realistic goals that includes clear milestones, and as you progress toward your goal, you’ll find a ripple effect occurs and things fall into place in your work, home life, and health. The goal doesn’t even have to be an extreme over the top thing for yourself. Toy know maybe it’s a mission to fit into that bikini by the annual beach vacation or get those abs popping. Whatever it is, define it, write it down and revisit it daily. Make sure it’s realistic and you can actually adapt your life around meeting the goal, say Philip Haberstro, executive director of the National association for Health and Fitness. And then next you might want to try schedule a regular workout time for yourself. When it comes to fitting in a workout, most of us claim to do the best we can within our busy schedules. However there is one big problem with folks who don’t work out often enough. They’re lacking in the scheduling process. Sit down and write it down. Or make it a daily alarm in your phone therefore once it goes off at that time it’s time for you to take off with your exercise. This problem is often the result of “finding the time” to work out versus “ making the time” to work out. Whereas, “making the time” tells you and others that you have scheduled time for yourself and aren’t going to do anything else in it’s place. Making time for your workout is just like scheduling meeting with yourself. It lets you, your boss, your friends, and your trainer know that you have prioritized this part of your day. It’s important when you schedule your workouts, they become more routine. They become much like anything else you do every day, such as brushing your teeth, washing your face, or walking your dog. The more ingrained your workout routine becomes in your normal day, the more consistent you will be before long it will be just normal for you to pack your gym bag for the next day after you make your lunch each evening. Scheduling helps keep you on track toward your goal. Whether your goal is a triathlon, a Spartan race, or losing ten pounds, scheduling your workout will help you move towards it.

Another form of motivation to exercise is to think fun and variety. By nature, humans need change and variety to stay motivated. We also need to have fun, even while we’re working hard. Whether it’s a toning and sculpting class that changes choreography every week or a trail run that changes scenery every season, design your exercise routine around a variety of exercise methods. Make sure you include activities you truly enjoy and look forward to doing, and can even make you forget you're working out like dancing, hula hooping, or playing sports with family and friends. Listen to your inner voice when choosing the best workout for you. I would think people that like to dance look at dancing class as a way of exercise, motivation and fun all at once. Dancing is a great form of exercise because it provides you with both aerobic and anaerobic movements. Our bodies need a combination of both types of exercise in order to be at their healthiest. In dance, aerobic exercise can be achieved by jumping, swaying, twirling, etc. Anaerobic exercises include holding squat positions, lifting someone else or your own body, and balancing. There are endless possibilities when it comes to getting a complete workout through dance. There is an unending supply of dance moves. Thus, it is very difficult to get bored with creating new dance moves. Once you get the basics down, a whole world of options will open up to you. You can try formal dance moves, such as the steps of ballroom dances or ballet. If you are more interested in trying out more modern-style dances, you can expand upon hip-hop or jazz moves. Dancing is far less boring than jogging on the same old treadmill every day. One thing that jogging doesn’t do is to help your muscles become more flexible. Dancing, on the other hand, stretches your body in new ways that you’ve never tried before. Improved flexibility is great for your body’s physical health, because it reduces your chances of injury in a fall or sprain, and speeds up the time it takes your muscles to heal after a workout.

Last but not least of many ways in getting motivated to exercise may help by reaching out to others for support. Now and days some tend to have trouble asking for help. In order to stick to a fitness program, we need buy-in and encouragement from other people. The truth is asking for help is a sign of strength. By reaching out to others, we teach our people that everyone needs help sometimes. And you are giving the helper an opportunity to experience the good feelings that come from helping someone else. With that being said finding a friend with a shared zest for running, and planning scheduled workouts together, It’s easy to hit the snooze button when it’s just you, but much harder to leave a friend waiting at the track. Exercising with a group could boost your motivation up. Working out with a crowd carries a plethora of intertwined benefits that include enhancing consistency, duration, motivation, conversation and inspiration,” says Dian Griesel, Ph.D., co-author of TurboCharged and president of public relations firm DGI. “Workouts with others improve consistency because they involve a commitment. ‘No shows’ and cancellations get noticed by others and positive peer pressure can help curtail the urges to skip a workout … or quit.” Study found that 95 percent of those who started a weight-loss program with friends completed the program, compared to a 76 percent completion rate for those who tackled the program alone. The friend group was also 42 percent more likely to maintain their weight loss. “For most people, it’s difficult to stay consistent with workout routines, but having a certain group there waiting for you provides you with the motivation and accountability everyone needs to be successful. working out with a partner significantly increases time spent exercising working with a partner, especially in a team format, improved performance, doubling the workout time of those who exercised alone.

In conclusion healthy living is a combination of many things, including good nutrition, regular exercise and a positive attitude. Taking care of your body and feeling pride in your accomplishments can improve both your physical and mental health. Exercise is generally acknowledged to be important for weight control, strengthening bones and muscles and increased stamina. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.