How Important is Motivation for Working Out and Exercising?

It's cold, rainy and dark out before work so, rather than put your sneakers on, you turn off the alarm and skip the daily run. Lunch-hour yoga makes you sweaty. End-of-day workouts seemed like a good idea until the overtime kicked in. Everyday the best-laid plans fall victim to weather miseries, tight deadlines, inconvenience and just plain lack of motivation. But motivation is what gets you to the pool, treadmill and running trail. It can make or break your exercise program.

  1. Great Expectations

    • About half the people who begin an exercise program will be dropouts within six months, according to Dr. Len Kravitz, exercise science researcher at the University of New Mexico. Unrealistic expectations -- for weight loss, sports excellence, trimming trouble spots, developing a six-pack overnight -- are major motivation-killers. So are habits like smoking, poor self-esteem, lack of support and self-consciousness about weight or weak muscles. It takes time to see results from regular exercise -- both time from a busy schedule and time to realize the positive results. Without motivation, the time-crunch, flabby middle, low energy, guilt trips and poor willpower demons will triumph and the get-healthy, get-in-shape workout plan will fail.

    Substitute Fun for Fitness

    • When you want to do something, you make the time. A commitment to a workout program is easier to make and keep if you enjoy the activity. Hate laps? Join a gym. Can't handle weights? Try Pilates. Bored jogging? Take up tennis. The Mayo Clinic suggests ballroom dancing, martial arts or a softball league to keep you motivated and moving. Setting goals helps, too, if they are reachable. Work up gradually from a 10-minute morning walk to your first 5K race -- the race date is a goal to aim for so write it down. Tell your friends and family about it -- accountability is a powerful motivator and so is a cheering section. Track your progress in a daily blog or journal and create rewards for reaching milestones.

    Major Motivators

    • Dig deeper into the kind of motivation you bring to the challenge and increase your chances of success. A study published in the "International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity" evaluated frequency, duration and intensity of exercise -- regular, tougher workouts and sports yielded higher levels of fitness and satisfaction. Intrinsic motivation -- joy in doing the activity -- is the number one success predictor. Integrated regulation -- the activity is part of your identity -- comes in second. A runner runs, a tennis player perfects her serve. Identified regulation boosts motivation -- you know it is good for you and you enjoy the results of the exercise so you do it willingly. Hook your workout regimen to one of these motivating factors and you could prevent obesity, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, hypertension and depression.

    Winning the Mind Game

    • Here's a tip from the "Harvard Business Review" that's an end-run around over-thinking a workout. Just do it. Don't worry about motivating yourself; assume you've managed that and pick up the racket, grab the gym bag, lace up those muddy track shoes. Start moving and you'll keep moving -- right through your daily dose of fitness-building sweat and stretch. If you miss a day, a class or a game, psych yourself up the way the pros do before a match. Imagine yourself going through every move perfectly, feeling terrific and in charge. Linger on your favorite parts. Incentivize yourself with a reward for the first session back. Break a daunting activity into tiny increments and promise yourself you can stop after each one -- then don't. You'll be right back into your healthy habit with high-energy motivation to spare.