How To Start Exercising

In 2007 the results of an academic study were released, whereby 184 healthy college students in the US completed tests to measure motivation and exercise.  The intention of the study was to find out what motivates people to exercise.  In psychology, there are two types of motivation.

1. Extrinsic motivators are factors outside of the person that motivates them to action.  Common examples can include rewards for performance, penalties for not performing, competing with others, and having others cheer you on. 
2. Intrinsic motivators are factors inside a person that motivates them to action.  This most commonly includes doing something because they enjoy it or to feel good about themselves. 

What was most interesting about the study was the fact that when people are thinking about exercising (but not yet doing it), extrinsic motivators have a greater affect in getting them to exercise than intrinsic motivators.  This means that factors like being rewarded for exercising and having cheerleaders will get you going more so than doing it because you enjoy exercise.  However, once you’ve started exercise and gotten into a habit, internal motivators begin to have a greater affect on a person to keep that exercise going.

So, if you’ve been thinking about exercise but just can’t get yourself going, start looking for external factors to motivate you.

Your challenge is to get into the habit of exercising.  Try and get out 2 or 3 times a week and most importantly use extrinsic motivators to get you going.  This could include finding some people to cheer you on, and rewarding yourself often.  Another extrinsic motivator is to write a Tryary of your experience, including details of your exercise, how often your getting out, how your feeling and plans to keep it going and finally, sharing the Tryary with many people.

Article Citation:
Buckworth, J., Lee, R.E., Regan, G., Schneider, L.K. and DiClemente, C.C. (2007). Decomposing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for exercise: application to stages of motivational readiness. Psychology of sports and exercise, 8(4), 441-461.