What are your new year’s resolutions? According to a recent study Conducted by Swedish and British scientists, the most popular resolutions have to do with health: starting a diet, losing weight, and exercising more. This explains why many gyms are filled with new members in January, but when March arrives, many of these additions have disappeared.
No wonder. Other studies indicate that only 9.2% of people who made New Year’s resolutions managed to keep them after a year. Physical exercise seems to be one of the most difficult goals to maintain (the proof is that it is repeated year after year). But what physical and psychological obstacles do we face that make us give up? Understanding it is the first step to having an opportunity to continue the sport habit throughout the year.
The challenge of exercise
“Young people have fewer barriers to playing sports, except money, of course,” says Ángel Merchán, national athletics coach and director of the Home Wellness Madrid gym. “As we age, a lot of mental barriers develop, which are often mere ignorance,” he explains based on his experience. “They think that they will not be able to do it well, that they are a hopeless case, or that they will not be able to make enough time.”
Indeed, one of the main obstacles for those who start a new exercise routine is the perceived lack of time, in addition to age, sex and self-efficacy, that is, the perception of being capable of something, as corroborated by a published study in the magazine The Lancet in 2012. Other review of multiple studies The most recent study found that the main barriers to physical activity in university students were related, first, to a lack of time and motivation, followed by a lack of accessible places to exercise, and then a lack of economic resources.
As we age, a lot of mental barriers develop, which are often mere ignorance.
Angel Merchan
— coach
Knowing this, there are some recommendations that we can follow so as not to abandon exercise this year.
Start small, but be constant
Setting goals that are difficult to achieve can mentally sabotage our purpose. “The WHO health recommendations say that we should do five days of exercise per week, and that is how it is on paper, and it may be the goal to achieve in the future, but if you are not doing absolutely anything, and you start doing a day or two of exercise a week, in a month and a half you will notice it, and a lot,” clarifies Ángel Merchán.
“We look for strategies so that they start with a very basic level, where they are able to do everything perfectly on the first day, and then we establish weekly progressions where we will gradually increase the number of repetitions, the weight, we select some more complex exercises, and we explain the progress to them,” says Merchán about his way of working. “Many times we make them compare what they did on the first day and what they are doing two months later, dedicating one or two days a week, and they realize that they lift twice as much weight.”
Use a coach, even if it’s just at first
Inexperience can also influence abandonment. Those who haven’t exercised regularly may feel lost or intimidated at the gym, participating in a group class, or doing a machine session on their own or with little guidance. This is more common in gyms where, in exchange for a low-cost membership, there are not many instructors in the room or there are large groups in classes. Frustration or disorientation can cause abandonment.
If your pocketbook does not allow for a regular outlay for someone to accompany you in training sessions, one option is to “hire a personal trainer who will supervise you on the first day and then, for example, every month or month and a half.” suggests Merchan. In this way, a professional can evaluate our condition and recommend the appropriate exercises for our needs, thus in addition to maintaining motivation we will be able to avoid injuries.
The WHO health recommendations say that we should do five days of exercise per week (…) but if you are not doing absolutely anything, and you start doing one or two days a week, in a month and a half you will do it to notice, and a lot
Angel Merchan
— coach
Choose group activities
Social support is also a determining factor to continue exercising, and that is why training in a group is a good solution. One of the hypotheses is that the groups reinforce the idea of social identityand this increases the motivation to exercise. This is what happens in CrossFit, boxing or even dance classes, where all participants train together. Sharing goals and progress with a community or even a training partner also reinforces mutual commitment; it’s harder to miss a day when you know you’re leaving your partner alone.
“Group training works from a motivational point of view, although it is perhaps less interesting from a technical point of view,” says Ángel Merchán. “There is an important part of social relationships, and that also helps, but you have to find a group activity where the objectives fit with what each person is looking for,” he adds.
Learn to tolerate effort and frustration
Seeking an instant reward is one of the factors that can sabotage our commitment to exercise. Our brain tends to look for immediate gratification, like staying home and watching a series, rather than the long-term benefits that exercise offers, such as better health or greater emotional well-being. Plus, exercise is effort, and we tend to avoid it.
“A level of intensity is necessary that has to reach a minimum stimulation threshold,” explains Ángel Merchán. “If the exercise is not intense enough, it will not help you improve. Once you pass that threshold, you can continue increasing the intensity, which is called the maximum degree of tolerance. Performance improves by touching that limit.”
However, it can be difficult to tell the difference. “Sometimes someone tells me that the exercise hurts, and it turns out that, well, it’s been a few repetitions, and it’s normal for it to hurt, but it’s not that they’re hurting themselves,” Merchán clarifies. Learning to distinguish between these types of pain is essential to avoid injuries. “If you exceed the maximum degree of tolerance, the risk of injury increases, so it is important that someone explains it to you.”
Finally, we must also tolerate our own failures, and be flexible and compassionate with ourselves. If one day you cannot exercise, instead of giving up permanently, just resume it the next day.
Turning exercise into a habit consists of adding these small positive reinforcements over time. Consistency is key to forming habits. An investigation published in European Journal of Social Psychology He denied that habits are formed automatically in 21 days, something that is frequently repeated. Instead, each person is different, and they saw that the process can take between 18 and 254 days, depending on the person and the habit. That’s why taking small, consistent steps is more effective than attempting radical changes.
*Darío Pescador is editor and director of the Quo magazine author of the book your best self Posted by Oberon.
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