Losing weight, getting a toned body, decreasing blood pressure, and because the doctor “told you so” are all reasons why we start to exercise. Perhaps there’s a wedding coming up that triggers the motivation to slip into a wedding dress for that special day. Maybe it’s your 40th birthday with a trip to the Caribbean planned and you want to look good in your trunks on the beach. You only turn 40 once right? Or maybe the doctor says your pre-diabetic and you must lose weight and eat healthier. This all sounds like a strict regimen leading to things that must be done.
So, what’s the solution? We can dust off that treadmill costing a small fortune with clothes hanging on it. Plenty of local small group fitness classes are offering 50% with the new year coming up around the corner. There’s the annual gym membership as well. The goal is to use these devices as tools to help lose weight for these short-term goals and the assignments given by your doctor.
Short term, assignments, “only turning 40 once,” “because the doctors said so.” These all sound like chores or orders to do something because someone ordered you to. Not much fun at all.
We work with personal training clients in Napa who come to us seeking our expertise as fitness coaches and motivational experts who present the same issue. Most of the time, this story of losing weight or a doctor driven scare tactic to “exercise or else” is a repeat effort, or relapse. When we are pressured into exercising because we are ordered to, that feeling of being told what to do is a like the way a parent tells their child to eat their vegetables before leaving the table. As we are ordered to do a task, our free will is taken away. When I tell my 12-year-old son to eat his vegetables before eating he leaves the table, I witness an interesting phenomenon. He eats 2 slices of bread before he even touches his veggies. This is a response to the being able to prove that he can make decisions for himself because the reason to eat the vegetables is pretty forced upon him. He wants to be able to prove he can make decisions, which leads to less vegetables being eaten and more of what he likes. Adults are no different when ordered to do something.
The same interaction occurs with the potential clients who come in seeking our health improvement services and are having a relapse in some health-related issue from lack of physical activity. They were told they needed to lose weight by an authority figure or by some social standard that pressured them into forcing themselves to exercise. When a person must get on a treadmill and jog on in for 20 minutes, hating every minute of it, resentment for that activity will start to surface. Jumping around in an aerobics class feeling out of place in an unfamiliar environment is uncomfortable, making a person veer away from that activity. Driving to a gym and finding a parking place before even going through the doors to get to the gym floor for some exercise can be enough to make a person just drive right out of the parking lot. Reasons pressuring a “should” decision for exercising can lead to feelings of boredom and resentment. Eventually a resistance to physical activity occurs and a vicious cycle of failure can occur. The morphs into a coat rack. The monthly gym membership dues reoccur and attendance drops. Lastly, physical activity decreases and we can go back to where we started. The result leads to making decisions we have control over that set us back in the first place like drinking beer and sitting on the coach with some potato chips.
How can we reverse this vicious cycle of failure into a virtuous cycle of success? The answer is to investigate what keeps us going, the things we enjoy. Instead of hammering away on the treadmill like a zombie, look into what physical activities you look forward to. Walks in the sunset with a loved one. Playing frisbee with your friends or family. Fixing up your yard and making your garden look like a pristine wonderland that you get praised for. Recreational activities such as sports, fishing or hiking. Physical activities like these may not reveal as many calories burned indicated by the Fit Bit or latest fitness apparel.
However, let’s answer an obvious question: Which activities are sustainable that can be embraced for your entire life? Dragging your feet to burn those 300 calories on the treadmill or embracing a physically active hobby you enjoy? The answer should be apparent. I’m not quite sure I’ll care about burning those 300 calories or making it to the gym 30 years down the line. But I’m dead set on being able to walk with friends and family and enjoy a conversation by the time I’m 97-years-old.
Let’s stop making exercise a chore and choosing the physical activities that enlighten our minds while offering us longevity and happiness.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
