Exercise, when you get right down to it, can be a best friend or a nemesis. We relish it; we barely tolerate it. One day, we’re reveling in how it lifts our spirits and boosts our heart rate. The next, we’re lamenting how it frustrates us and makes us hurt.
If you’re one of those dedicated individuals who work out religiously — twice a week? three times? more? — hooray! But chances are you know (or periodically might be) someone who struggles to get off the couch even once a week. That’s not unusual: Estimates vary, but the percentage of people who start a programme and don’t stick with it seems to be around half. At least.
“Keeping people motivated for exercise is the million-pound question,” says Irene Lewis McCormick, senior director of fitness education for Orangetheory Fitness. Even Orangetheory, with its million members in 1,300 studios around the world, has attrition issues.
But Irene is optimistic about finding ways to alleviate those issues. Even for individuals who start out gung-ho and then fade away when results don’t arrive quickly enough. Or those who are intimidated by a gym or simply do not enjoy the workout they’ve chosen. Or who reach a point mid-workout and think, "I can’t go on" — so they don’t.
"The hardest thing to battle and push through is our own thoughts. I learned that if I take it one step at a time, I get very far. I might not be the fastest, but I still get there.”
- Ida Mohebpour, Orangetheory member
One fundamental way to make exercise at Orangetheory a habit? Purchase and use a heart rate monitor, she suggests. When members wear one, a coach can use their personal data to ascertain where they are in their training, and utilise that information to help them achieve optimum results.
“If I can see where you are, I can see what you need to hear to keep you engaged,” she explains. “You don’t have to wear a monitor, but the programme is based on it. Showing up just two to four times a week means you’ll experience the physiological crescendo of all things that will happen during exercise.”
Another roadblock? No guidance from a coach or mentor. Without it, individuals flounder and lose interest. By sharing concerns and goals with a coach, however — or even a friend in class — they are more likely to stay the course.
“There are 7,000 coaches in our network,” Irene states. "They are equipped to deal with all sorts of issues. We love coaches who look great, are amusing, and have wonderful personalities. At the end of the day, though, it’s remembering members’ experiences that trumps all that.”
Coaching is an “empowerment process,” states Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist and a scientific advisor for Orangetheory, “and OTF is about transforming lives through empowerment. We want to enrich their lives. That’s what wellness is — spiritual, mental, physical.”
But often, individuals just plunge into a plan without first thinking through the reasons. And if the only reasons are “because my doctor said so,” or “because it’s January 1 and I need to be slim by summer,” odds are that the plan will be far from a lifetime commitment.
“They never sat down and established sensible goals,” states Fabio, who teaches behavioural science at San Diego State University. "A structured plan takes you from preparation to action.”
So does the dynamic of working out in a group setting like that found at Orangetheory.
“When you feel like, ‘I just want to stop,’ you see others who are challenging themselves,” Fabio points out. "For some, it’s competitive. For others, it’s a nice support system.”
Ida Mohebpour, a member of Orangetheory in Glendale, Arizona, can speak to that. Since joining in August, she’s lost 20 pounds. Just as importantly, she’s gained confidence.
“The hardest thing to battle and push through is our own thoughts,” she states. "I learned that if I take it one step at a time, I get very far. I might not be the fastest, but I still get there.”
Here are some tips from the experts on staying motivated:
Make a game plan. Keep it simple; if it’s too involved or extreme, you’re less likely to stick to it.
Find workable solutions. If you’re not a morning person, go to a class later in the day.
Reinforce good behaviour; never punish yourself. If you miss a class, don’t take two the next day or double up on effort. “By doing so, you’re associating punishment with your behaviour,” Fabio explains. Workouts shouldn’t be seen as punishment.
Ask for help. We’re all on this fitness journey together.
Rest. “The workout is the stimulus and the magic happens between workouts,” Irene states.
Separate your life from your workout. “You can’t quantify your life based on your workout,” Irene mentions. In other words, a bad workout doesn’t define you as a bad person.
Alter your goals if necessary. “Most individuals have that ‘all or nothing’ thinking, myself included, which means we fail if we fall off track on a goal we set for ourselves,” Irene explains. "It doesn’t. It just means I must take another route to reach my goal.”
