We all know exercise is good for us, but its benefits don’t always motivate us to set an alarm and lace up our running shoes. According to National Center for Health Statistics, 75% of Americans do not meet recommended guidelines for aerobic and strengthening exercise.
Many experts say the key to a better, more consistent workout is not in the body, but in the mind. As anyone deciding between a Netflix binge and an all-night run can understand, the body can be willing, but sometimes the mind needs a boost.
However, there are a few tools that can inspire our reluctant brains to find the motivation to get back to the gym or hit that bike path.
Play it.
The brain loves a game, especially if it’s hard to predict or offers intermittent rewards, said Daya Grant, a neuroscientist and mental performance coach in Los Angeles. Use this to your advantage.
For example, Milo Bryant, a performance trainer in San Diego, uses an exercise bag for his group classes. “They pull an exercise from one bag and a rep count from the other and whatever happens is what they do,” he said.
Apps like Zombies, Run! – a cross between a fitness tracker and an episode of “The Last of Us” – take this to a new level. Like most running apps, it lets you track your route and pace. The twist is how that pipes “missions” through your headphones as you run, asking you to sprint to avoid a zombie or pick up supplies to build a virtual shelter.
The Rouvy app connects to a smart trainer, which converts your regular bike into a stationary bike, for a virtual ride through different city streets around the world. It can even adjust your bike’s resistance as you encounter dips and hills. Pam Moore, a cycling instructor in Boulder, Colorado, said she once rode Beverly Hills with a friend in Portland, Oregon, without leaving home.
“Even though she was ahead of me, we could still ride together,” Ms Moore said.
Adapt it to fit.
Our brain also likes things that seem tailor-made for us. In a recent studyathletes who thought they had received a personalized training program outperformed those who thought they were following a generic program.
Personal trainers are a natural way to make use of this perception. Or you can use an app like Stronger by the Day, where trainers take your fitness stats (the heaviest load you can lift, for example) and produce a tailored strength training program for you.
“I’m obsessed with it,” Ms Moore said. “By just showing up and doing what he said, I got so much stronger.”
According to Panteleimon Ekkekakis, an exercise psychologist at Michigan State University, we tend to remember experiences based on how we feel at the end. This is why he suggestsreverse the order of the exercises — do the hardest part early after a good warm-up and gradually reduce the intensity — so that you leave the session with the best possible memory. This uphill approach not only increases enjoyment right after a workout, but also improves how we perceive exercise up to a week later.
Work like a dog (Pavlovian).
Habits can become hard-wired into the brain. So associate your fitness with an “anchor habit,” something you already do every day, said Ben Reale, a personal trainer in Atlanta. If you drop your children off at school at 8 a.m., for example, be at the weight room at 8:15 a.m.
“Like the Pavlovian answer, when we stack these habits consistently over several weeks, we remove the point of decision, willpower, from the equation,” Reale said.
More reluctant athletes might need a little something extra. Try pairing your workout with an activity you enjoy, like catching up on the latest season of “The Bachelor.” This The “grouping of temptations” is amplified if you’re only doing the desired activity when you exercise, said Katy Milkman, a behavioral scientist at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
“So you’re just indulging in your lowbrow TV or listening to your vampire novels at the gym,” Dr. Milkman said.
Make an emotional commitment.
The most effective psychological trick to building an exercise habit might also be the simplest: sign up for something – whether it’s a 5K in three months, a tennis tournament in a year, or a father-daughter dance. next spring.
“When we train for something, it gives every workout a purpose,” Bryant said. Set smaller goals along the way, making sure they’re challenging but achievable.
Above all, figure out what works best for you, keeping in mind that this may change. Exercise is more sustainable if we have an emotional connection to it.
“That’s why some people run marathons for causes or dedicate each mile to a specific person,” Dr. Grant said.
Connie Chang is a freelance science and parenting writer in Silicon Valley.