The Capital Athletic Club Blog What's Your Motivation?

Motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. Motivation is what causes us to act. It seems so simple but it's not. Why do people join a gym only to quit a few months later? It's a good question with many answers. There are the "I know I should exercise" reasons to workout - good health and weight loss are the main two but, if those were good enough, wouldn't we all be exercising every day and loving it? Check out this article about motivation: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/changing-our-tune-on-exercise/?smid=FB-nytimes&WT.mc_id=HL-E-FB-SM-LIN-COT-082912-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click&goback=%2Egde_1034747_member_157210015 I think one way to stay motivated is to make your expectations balance with your reality and your priorities. This is where it pays to know yourself. If you are not a morning person but decide to come into the CAC at 6:00 a.m. there is a good chance your motivation is going out the window around week three. I am a night owl and I know it. If I want to get up and run early in the morning I need to go with someone or it won't happen because I value the comfort of my bed over the benefit of getting up early to run. Conversely, Monday-Friday I arise at 6:30 a.m. to take my son to school. So, clearly, a higher priority than sleep is the welfare of my son. I just talked to a member who, over the last year, has lost 40 lbs. and has been exercising very regularly; she had gone to San Francisco for a few days on a shopping trip and each day before she went shopping she worked out at the hotel gym. Her husband said to her, "I know you've really made fitness a priority because you've given up shopping time for exercise." Finding motivation is a personal journey. It is also a journey that takes different paths at different times. Before I had a school-aged child, getting my workouts in was a no-brainer; I had the time and the desire. Now, I am so busy with work and volunteering at my son's school and all the stuff to do around the house many of my workouts are sandwiched between obligations and, if I'm not prepared, there will be no workout. So, I need to be mindful of my motivators. The first is sleep. Not enough sleep = no workout (or a really lazy one). My second and third motivators are planning and preparation. I plan my workouts weekly so I don't have to think about what I am going to do. Also, the night before, I get all my exercise stuff ready so I don't have to think about what to wear. That way I just go and do it, no questions. One of my big motivators, when I don't want to exercise, is to remind myself of how good I will feel when I am done and how glad I'll be that I've done it. Here at the CAC our staff has to find ways to motivate themselves to exercise too. Our General Manager, Rick, keeps a record of every workout. Amanda Warren, in membership has been using the app. "My Fitness Pal". Shannon, in Administration, feels that her exercise allows her to feel good about lazing in bed at night watching her "guilty pleasure" tv shows. What motivates you to exercise? Let us know, maybe something that works for you may work for someone else too. Next time I'll write about making exercise a habit. Have a great week and take care of yourselves. Jeanette