Motivation is a mysterious thing

What inspires one person to exercise may not work for another. “What we look like” can be a strong motivator for some: they want the “six pack” abs, the slender legs and shapely arms that they see on movie stars or models. Others are exercising to maintain their health, to keep their bones and muscles strong. Some of my clients have experienced a “wake-up call”; a friend of theirs has a serious disease, diabetes or even a heart condition. We are all different and there can be many answers to this riddle of motivation.

As a personal trainer I will often talk to my clients about the many benefits of adopting healthy habits including regular exercise and healthy nutrition. According to a recent study, this may not be the best way of inspiring behaviour change. The research, published in the American Journal of Public Health (2011; 101(4), 751-758) included information from 358 reports and 99,011 individuals. The goal of the report was to summarize best-practice interventions for increasing physical activity among apparently healthy adults.

According to the data, face-to-face, individually targeted programs that focused on how to improve activity levels were most successful. The researchers discovered that cognitive interventions - those that focused on why exercise is important - did not fare as well. Other less successful programs were community-based, and they used communication methods such as mail or telephone.

To be continued

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Catherine D'Aoust at GAIA Adventures, Personal Training, Workshops
www.gaiaadventures.com
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