If you are struggling to find the motivation to go to the gym you are not alone. We have all been there so, don’t worry, the goal of this article is not to convince you to exercise. In fact, odds are that you are not even ready to sustain intense physical activity in the long term. The goal of this article is to give all the information you need to make the best decision for you. The more knowledge you have, the easier it will be to make suitable and long-lasting changes in your life. I will not encourage you to pay for yet another gym subscription just so that you stop going after the first week. What I will do is give you the information you need to find what works for you. I want to help you to make changes that are healthy and long-lasting.
With that goal in mind, this article will cover:
- What are the different forms of exercise
- Why it is not in our nature to exercise
- What type of exercise is best for you
- The physical and mental health benefits of exercise
- Finding your motivation to exercise
What are the different forms of exercise
Exercise can be defined as:
“Activity requiring physical effort carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness”.
These activities range from low-impact exercises, such as walking, to more vigorous activities like sprinting and competitive sports.
Just the word “exercise” can fill some people with dread. They might imagine being sick, passing out, training to total exhaustion and aching for days on end afterwards. Understandably, those images can put people off. Why would anyone want to feel like that? And on a regular basis? And forever?!
Well, it doesn’t need to be like that. There are many different forms of exercise we can do every day without having to so much as glance at a gym. Walking, gardening and housework are all forms of exercise that are often overlooked when thinking about being active.
The issue is that we no longer do many of these simple things. We use lifts and escalators, we live in apartments with no gardens, and many people would rather pay a cleaner to take care of the chores around the house. Your first option here is quite simple, you might want to look at these habits with a view to start inserting some workout into your daily routine.
Additionally, what exercise could you be already doing without realising? Maybe that is the key to finding your motivation to workout: maybe use the stairs instead of the escalator or the lift, perhaps start planting some pots on your terrace if you don’t have a garden, perhaps consider cleaning your own home – you can get a free workout whilst saving money both on the cleaner and the gym subscription.
Why it is not in our nature to exercise
Exercise for exercise’s sake is an alien concept to us as humans. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors had to be physically active to survive. If they couldn’t run from that predator, they were dinner. If they weren’t strong enough to lift and drag objects, they couldn’t build shelters and they were left open to the elements. If they couldn’t throw things fast and chase prey, they didn’t eat. I am sure you get the idea…
In doing these things simply to survive, our ancestors kept their bodies and minds strong and healthy. Fast forward to today and we don’t have to worry about sabre tooth tigers eyeing us up as dinner (thankfully!). This is an obvious positive. However, it also comes with negative connotations. Because we don’t have to be active to survive, it is human nature not to be active at all. This is a major reason why people struggle to exercise; we no longer have to be as active to survive!
Though, as natural as sedentarism is, it is contributing to the physical health problems we are seeing in the modern world such as high levels of obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other serious diseases. And that is not to mention the mental health and the emotional impact of our lack of exercise.
What type of exercise is best for you
This is dependent on several factors:
Where are you right now in terms of physical fitness?
If you are new to physical activity, the last thing your body wants is to jump straight into a high-impact, fast-paced 60-minute gruelling gym class. Unfortunately, many people believe this is the best way to get fit. They try it straight away and get injured, or they get so sore that they never want to do it again.
A bad experience like that and you can wave goodbye to your best intentions; after being in excruciating pain after a gruelling gym session, you will probably convince yourself that physical activity is simply not for you. Sound familiar? Try to avoid the “all or nothing” mentality, start slow, build up as you see and feel the progress.
How will an exercise routine fit in with your lifestyle?
If you are a busy parent, working full-time whilst also trying to manage your personal admin and hoping to god to one day have a social life, you are unlikely to go to the gym 5 days a week. Simplify things and adapt your exercise routine to your needs.
Think about your daily chores like carrying children, lifting heavy things in the garden, and carrying shopping bags. How can you do these as though they were a workout? Contract your abs, bring attention to your posture, think about these things. If done correctly, these daily chores can be considered as much of a full-body strengthening activity as yoga or a bodyweight workout. And if you want to go one step further, you can do yoga or a bodyweight workout at home too. Again, how can you fit something like this into your routine?
Moderate activity can be brisk walking or even pushing a lawnmower. So, walking quickly for just 30 minutes a day ticks the box as far as this is concerned. How can you build this into your daily routine? Jump off the bus or the train a bit earlier on the way to work and try to take the stairs instead of the elevator…
For your reference, current government advice is to do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms) at least 2 days a week. The government also advises us to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week. It’s not that much exercise if you build this into your daily chores and routine.
The physical and mental health benefits of exercise
As we all know, physical activity can have an amazing impact on a person’s health and life in general. I have witnessed this as a personal trainer for over 7 years, having coached roughly 10,000 sessions both individually and in group settings.
What most of us don’t realise is how struggling with motivation can have negative consequences on our mental health as well as our physical health. That battle between what we must do and what we can do is stressful and it causes a lot of emotional damage.
That is the reason I am always wary of listing the benefits of exercise, especially when I think someone might be struggling to find the motivation to even start physical activity. It can seem patronising and most of us are aware of the benefits anyway; awareness is not the issue we are tackling here. There is nothing more frustrating than knowing you should be doing something, but not being able to find the motivation to do it!
Most of us are well aware that physical exercise reduces the risk of a whole host of serious health problems including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. What some of us might not realise is the impact it can have on our mental health.
A lot of people associate exercise with losing weight and looking good. At RESET, we never focus on this. We prefer to ask people how differently they feel as they get fitter and stronger. The answers are usually “I feel more confident”, “I feel 2 inches taller walking around”, “I can feel my self-esteem improving”.
In turn, this has a direct impact on other aspects of their lives. People who don’t think their bodies can cope with physical activity are usually the ones who also think they can’t cope with other demands of modern-day life. When they see what their body is capable of, the self-doubt they have at work, in relationships, and in every other aspect of their life seem way less daunting.
They tell themselves “If I have the determination to do that 5k run, I can find the courage to ask my boss for a pay rise”. “If I lift 50kg in the gym, I am strong enough to tell my partner something important that I haven’t been able to say before”.
Finding your motivation to exercise
Having goals and a vision is vital for anything in life and engaging in physical activity is no different. Enter a gym or join a running group without a clear aim of what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it, and this is unlikely to last. Willpower and motivation can only take you so far.
If your goals are tied to a strong emotional goal, you are much more likely to succeed in the long term. I have often asked people why they are training in the gym. If the response is something like “because I want more energy to play with my children and make their life better”, guess what? Yep, they are still there month after month, year after year, and more importantly, they start to enjoy it.
On the other hand, if their answer is, “because everyone on Instagram is doing it” or “because I know I should be”, I usually don’t see these people in the gym for too much longer.
What are your goals? Find a clear vision for your future self. From that vision detail several goals over realistic time frames.
As an example (feel free to copy and paste the plan below and replace my client’s examples with your own vision and goals):
My vision is:
To be healthy enough to play football with my son and inspire him to be physically active and live his life as healthily as possible.
My short-term goal over the next 12 weeks is:
To walk every lunchtime for 30 minutes no matter the weather!
To play football with my son every Saturday morning for 2 hours, then buy us both ice cream and talk about how the game went.
To do 6 park runs on alternating Sundays of 5k each.
Tips:
Your vision should be challenging but not impossible. Think deeply and get inspired!
In my experience, 12 weeks is a good time frame. It is short enough to stay focused and motivated, and long enough to build sustainable habits.
Exercising with others will draw on the power of community if the going gets tough. Setting specific numbers and dates for events helps to keep the goals real, and keeps you accountable and motivated.
Reward yourself when you have met your goals. What could be better than ice cream with your son? Perfect!
If your vision and goals inspire you, you will suddenly be hit with a wave of motivation that makes you unstoppable!
Another powerful motivator I have seen is the power of community. If you can go for a walk, run, cycle, gym class, or do literally any other form of exercise with a friend or a group of friends, the likelihood of you sticking to that regime is multiplied several times.
Exercising with friends or even joining a sports team ticks many boxes as far as our physical and mental health are concerned, including reducing the risk of loneliness, which is a significant risk factor for depression. You might feel safer and more comfortable exercising outdoors with a group and this also ticks the box for getting outside in the great outdoors, absorbing vitamin D (when we have sun in the UK) and interacting with nature and your environment.
In summary, when thinking about getting active, don’t rush into anything without considering your reasons for doing so. Find your motivation and be compassionate with yourself if it doesn’t go to plan the first time. Keep at it, keep it linked to your goals, and prepare to feel amazing for it!
Alex Broadbent is RESET’s co-founder, a semi-professional athlete and a Strength and Conditioning Coach with over 30 years of experience.