Obesity continues to be a national pandemic with no end of declining. Yet, the barrier to getting into fitness/exercise is lower than ever. So why can’t we make fitness a lifestyle and stop this trend? With very little cost or equipment you can get started in something, whether it’s yoga or jogging. It could be that being fit requires effort and energy and compared with the path of least resistance (Netflix marathon) the TV binge wins out. I hope that’s not the only reason. So I’ll give my 3 tips for making fitness a lifestyle that you can adopt and keep long-term.
The Mayo clinic lists 10 common barriers to exercise and gives some practical tips for overcoming these barriers. Most of the barriers they listed can be solved by turning to psychology. Thanks to work of Deci & Ryan, they’ve come up with the “Self-Determination Theory”, which states that we need 3 primary things.
- We need to feel accepted/supported in our actions
- We need competency (perceived self-belief, or confidence in skills/ability)
- We need autonomy (being able to be in control of one’s actions)
I believe that if we apply this theory to our ability to make fitness a lifestyle we’ll have more success than if we try to get more people doing insane and stupid fitness challenges.
Acceptance
The feeling of being accepted and supported is big. Oftentimes, our loved ones or friends don’t have our backs like we wish they would. This is something that I feel is truly unique with our environment with our personal training clients here at Leverage Fitness. We strive to make sure everyone knows each other. This is the first step in being able to start to care about each other. It’s not uncommon that a client will ask me where ‘so-and-so’ has been? They may or may not be friends outside of our gym, but they genuinely care and are dear friends within it. The people that workout together, commiserate together I guess.
Competency
Gaining competency takes time, but with the help of a qualified fitness coach you can keep yourself safe and reduce the learning curve. Having a fitness coach/personal trainer isn’t just about results and accountability. They should teach you to find things you love and enjoy and how to make exercise enjoyable.
Autonomy
You should have a game plan before you enter the gym, or do a workout. If you don’t, you won’t have fun, and you’ll feel ‘trapped’ during the workout. Having a plan that you’ve been a part of creating helps give you the sense of autonomy that you need. If you don’t have a plan, or need help with a plan our fitness coaching can help you. Either way-make decisions about what you’ll do and you’ll find that all these 10 barriers will become obsolete.
You can’t omit any of these 3 factors and have a healthy lifestyle, or long-term success. All 3 are crucial. Look at the fitness goals you are working on. Does it have these 3 elements or is it lacking in an area? If so, fix it.