I have a girlfriend who religiously runs 10km, does kettlebells training before 8am, particpates in yoga and a few other thousand activities. Each time I read her status on Facebook she seems so happy and excited about her exercise regime. I have to admit I am slightly distgusted by her motivation but mostly I am just jealous. I want a piece of the positivity and passion!
Futhermore, I swear my coworker is trying to sabatoge me. Everyday for the last 2 weeks she has littered the staff room table with sweets and other goodies. It is time to learn the Psychology of Exercise and Motivation.
So I googled the psycholgy of exercise and motivation.
“Self-efficacy is an important aspect, but there is more. A desire to get in shape often starts with fear of disease or the consequences of inactivity, but this is a terrible motivator, so get past it. A sense of duty often comes next: a desire to be healthy to be better able to look after one’s family. This is OK, but not nearly as good as your ultimate goal, which is to develop serious passion for exercise.
Passion comes from achieving positive reinforcement. If the “stimulus” of exercise elicits a positive “response” like feeling good, then the behaviour becomes reinforced and you keep doing it. Over time, by actively looking for things regarding exercise that make you feel good, you create a mindset where you are passionate about exercise. Hoo-rah.” (http://lifestyle.ca.msn.com/health-fitness/fitness/rogers-article.aspx?cp-documentid=25931205)
At first I thought that this sounded a little too good to be true but after a while I started to get it. For example I absolutely hate going to the gym. I feel like an outsider and that I really do not belong. Even though I kinda know what I am doing I feel awkward and depise every minute that I am at the gym. On the other hand, when I get on my skis or go hiking I feel like I could go forever. It is not exercise it is FUN! It is really all about one’s mind.
So I went for hike in the river valley and climb the never ending stairs. Usually when I climb these stairs I think to myself, “Oh gosh, this is going to be painful. I am not going to make it.” However, today I played a trick on myself and said “This is so easy. I am so in shape and it is going to feel so good when I am done.” Guess what? It worked.
It seems that your mind is a powerful force that you can use to your advantage or you can allow to work against you. You are actually in charge of your thoughts and with a little practise you can change the exercise from a pain into a passion.
