Thu. April 19, 2012
By Michael Elder
Scheduling: Whenever I meet with a new client, I strongly recommend that they try to schedule their training sessions at the same times every week. In this way, the exercise sessions become a part of their daily rituals and can significantly enhance consistency and adherence. Even setting alarms at scheduled workout times can be an effective way to ensure that they will indeed stop what they are doing and meet their exercise needs. Hiring a qualified personal trainer is also a great way to implement this tactic. Not only does it allow the person to pre-schedule their workouts, but it also gives them another face and a voice that they have to show up for. The fact that there is money on the line is also a strong contributing factor in motivation.
Incorporating Variety: Variety in training is probably the most important element in preventing exercise burnout. Quite often, I see people performing the same exercises at the same intensity levels, week after week, month after month, year after year. Is it any wonder that they are no longer motivated? It is quite evident that they are just going through the motions and not enjoying what they are doing. But there's also another danger here: Performing the same exercises on an ongoing basis will also lead to a plateau of physical results. Not only must the exercises be changed, but also the modes of exercise, intensity levels, and order. So if you have been taking that step class forever and are getting bored with it, try a kickboxing class! I guarantee you will see both physical and psychological results.
Logging Progress: A great way to increase motivation and maintain or improve adherence is to actually see your progress. Exercise logs are a great way to track strength gains. Assessments such as body fat testing and girth measurements are also great tools to track progress and are usually low in cost. When clients see the physical benefits that they are deriving from exercise, they become that much more compelled to continue. This positive mental outlook overrides burnout and significantly increases motivation.
Rewards: Rewards are very important in exercise programs. They serve as a nice "pat on the back" for all of the hard work that is put into training and allows exercisers to strive for something other than physical results. One example of a reward would be the cheat day philosophy that I implement with my clients. If they have followed the healthy eating guidelines that I have given them throughout the week, they are allowed to have one day to eat the fatty foods that they love. Rewards however, do not have to only come in the form of food. Treating yourself to a day at the spa would be another great example of a reward for meeting your weekly or monthly fitness goals. Maybe it's a movie, maybe it's a trip, or maybe it's just a walk in the park. The point is that rewards work. They increase motivation and prevent burnout by having that little something extra to strive for.
These are just a few ideas to take into consideration a means to increase motivation and prevent burnout during your exercise programs. Consistency and scheduling will provide structure and create a ritual for exercise in your everyday life. Incorporating variety will add fun into your workouts, prevent boredom and significantly increase the rate at which you will see and feel physical results. Logging your progress and giving yourself rewards will strongly increase motivation and decrease the likelihood of burnout. I've been implementing these concepts for myself since I was twelve years old. Now, I'm almost forty and I am looking forward to training for the rest of my life. The proof is in the pudding!
Michael Elder has been working as a fitness professional in Chicago for the last thirteen years. He comes from a background in gymnastics and is certified as a personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise (ACE). He can be contacted directly through his website, www.MichaelElder.com.
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