Establishing consistent exercise habits
Beginning an exercise program can appear quite overwhelming to someone new to fitness. Success of any workout program lies in consistency of workouts. Inability to establish a consistent exercise pattern is what seems to be the culprit in every failed fitness attempt.
We have interviewed a number of people who exercise regularly, do well at the gym, those who continuously attempt to start their exercise program and repeatedly stop those who tried at some point, went a few times and never returned. In each of the interviews we were looking to answer the same questions; what is the main obstacle that people face as they exercise and interferes with their consistency? What keeps them motivated and what causes them to stop and give up?
Here is what we discovered:
When starting an exercise regimen most people start very enthusiastically. They feel motivated and excited about the perspective of improving their health, lifestyle, appearance and weight loss... However, within 2-3 weeks the excitement and novelty of fitness activities starts to wear off. People start to experience the lack of enthusiasm and unfortunately for the majority, it all ends before they even get a chance to establish a habit. What is even more interesting; the gap between people who are consistent with their workouts and those who are not lies in a barely noticeable push that the first group receives and that the second group does not, which is just a little motivation. People may require a workout partner, inspiring reading materials or simply a role model, but the biggest success factor is a set of short and long term goals that people establish that keep them focused and motivated. People who do not have those support structures set in place are most likely to stop exercising after a short period of time.
It is not willpower that is the biggest concern in trying to change a habit, the problem most people have is that their habits are not conditioned deeply enough to switch the behavior on autopilot due to lack of motivation and consistency.
Jack sets out a plan to exercise one hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Monday when it is time to work out, Jack is excited and heads to gym. There is a pattern in Jack’s head that links his daily routine to the gym and is starting to form.
Tuesday Jack doesn't exercise at all and the subconscious pattern linking Jack’s daily routine to exercise is not supported and as a result is not reinforced. On Wednesday, he goes to the gym but he’s had a hard day and really doesn't feel like working out so he has to make himself go. Thursday he sighs with relief that he does not have to go and can just relax and watch some TV...
This continues for several weeks and Jack finds himself constantly struggling with a decision of whether to go to the gym or take an unscheduled break.
From time to time Jack's motivation lacks strength and is low which results in him skipping a work out, at times because his friends are getting together for happy hour and sometimes just because he doesn't feel like it. Worst of all, every time Jack skips the gym he feels guilty for doing so and unhappy with himself. He knows that working out is good for him and his health however, over time the entire "commitment to fitness" idea seems to down on him and he is considering quitting all together because he doesn't really feel happy about it all; "This fitness thing just isn't for me", Jack thinks.
Jill has the same schedule as Jack, she goes to the gym for an hour 3 times a week. When it is time for Jill to workout she puts on her gym clothes and heads out the door. In theory, her pattern is conditioned the same way as Jack's is however, she doesn't miss her workouts and excitedly goes as scheduled. How did Jill accomplish getting to her workouts? Let’s look at her example a little closer:
Jack and Jill have the same schedule but they somehow manage to achieve different results. Jill is consistent and focused while Jack is struggling to keep up with his schedule. Why you may ask?
The difference is in motivation tools that Jill uses while John does not. For the past 2 months Jill has been using Gymspire - a phone application for iPhone and Android designed to help people be consistent with their exercise schedules. Gymspire not only helps with supporting and motivating Jill during the times she needs to have that little extra push, Gymspire also financially rewards her for her consistency and accomplishments and Jill loves that aspect of the application.
When Jill decided to start working out she installed Gymspire on her phone and created a Gym Pledge. Through easy to use interface Jill configured her pledge to attend the gym a minimum of 3 times a week.
She chose her pledge duration to last 3 months to make sure that she sticks to her own schedule and set a step-off risk at $20. Jill figured that the thought of parting with $20 for missing a workout is definitely enough motivation to make her go, even if she doesn't feel like going that day. Ever since the day her pledge began Jill has felt great about herself and her commitment! Now every time Jill is at the gym she feels like she has a personal trainer. Gymspire records her workout and rewards her with activity points; the more Jill works out, the more points she earns and she is excited! Accumulated points bring up her ranking and Gymspire uses a ranking system to determine Jill's performance compared to other users and based on her position in the leader board she is financially rewarded.
This is a basic illustration of how a simple phone app can make an enormous difference in the outcome and results of your fitness commitment.
Depending on the level of your commitment or your workout preferences, Gymspire can be used to motivate people in working out, running, walking, cycling, yoga, taking dance lessons or virtually any other fitness activity imaginable. As long as you can carry your phone on you, Gymspire will be there to support you, inspire you and inform you of your progress.
Here are a couple of starter programs we recommend which will totally transform the way you approach your personal fitness:
Lets assume that you never worked out in your life, or haven't worked out in a very long time:
Set walks per week to a comfortable level (2 - 3) times.
Set miles per day, to an acceptable distance; we recommend at least 1 or 2 miles.
Set accepted risk to the amount motivating enough for you to stay committed to your pledge.
You are ready to go! It is that simple! Just make sure that your workout lasts at least 30 min or it will not be recorded in your pledge.
Now you know that for the next 4 weeks instead of sitting on the couch you will go out and take a walk. Great for your body, great for your heart and great for your mind!
Gradually you may wish to increase the amount of activities: For example you may want to start jogging. Great!
Set runs per week to a comfortable level.
Set miles per day to an acceptable distance; we recommend 1 or 2 miles.
Set accepted risk to the amount motivating enough for you to stay committed to your pledge.
You are ready to go! Just make sure that your workout lasts at least 30 min or it will not be recorded in your pledge.
Now you know that you are on your way to improving your cardiovascular health, weight loss, and feeling great! Instead of sitting on the couch you will go for a run and you will be consistent! What can be better for your body, your heart and your mind?
You have been walking and running consistently for the past month. You feel great and really motivated!
Want to take on even more activities? Good for you!
It is time for you to create a Gym Pledge!
By now you pretty much know the drill, start your pledge, go to gym, once on location, locate/add your gym and start your workout! As always, make sure that your workout last at least 30 minutes or it will not be recorded in your pledge.
