Exercise habit: What makes the difference?
Whatever the case, exerciser or not, everyone knows that being active is a good thing.
By L.H. GRAY
The Trucker News Services
7/24/2008
Why do some people love to exercise? They wouldn’t think of skipping it like most people wouldn’t think of skipping their morning coffee. And why do others dislike exercise? For them it’s a painful struggle that’s about as delightful as an ingrown toenail.
What makes the difference?
Could it be childhood experiences? Perhaps being raised in an active family that rode bike, hiked and played sports laid the foundation for becoming an adult exerciser. Or perhaps being raised in a sedentary family that placed little emphasis on being active produced an adult who gave no importance to exercise.
Whatever the case, exerciser or not, everyone knows that being active is a good thing. All of us have seen news reports and read magazine articles about exercise benefits. Over the years, studies have shown that regular exercise reduces cholesterol and blood pressure, helps with weight loss, and relieves stress. It’s also a great mood booster and sleep aid.
With so many benefits, most people want to be exercisers, but many just can’t seem to get started or stick with it. They’re not sure what’s holding them back or how to make exercise a habit.
Let’s look at several people who do/don’t exercise to see if we can find any clues.
Non Exercisers
WES
Wes works out infrequently, sometimes lifting weights, walking or riding bike. His biggest challenge is finding the time. He also does not like to exercise on his own. “I’ll try harder if I’m with someone,” he says. “I’m a social person. I don’t like doing stuff by myself all the time.” He feels if he found someone to work out with he would exercise on a regular basis.
Once started, Wes enjoys things like weight lifting and bicycling, and thinks he would enjoy a sport if he was skilled at it. “I like the way exercise makes me feel,” he says. “I like the way my muscles feel when I’m done and the way it makes my abs feel. Bicycling is fun too. I like being outside, feeling the wind. There’s a feeling of accomplishment when I’ve had a good workout.”
What he does not like are things that take too much energy right away and cause a rapid rise in his heart rate. This is especially true with lifting weights for his legs. It saps his energy and makes him feel frustrated. He also steers away from things like yoga where balance and flexibility are a must. “I feel frustrated when I’m around people I know who can do a whole lot more than I can do,” he says.
Wes admits that he’d be up to trying many different kinds of exercises if he had someone to do it with. One time he did try a cycling class with his spouse. “It was not something I enjoyed, but I would never have done it by myself.”
Growing up, there was not a lot of importance placed on physical activity in Wes’s family. This may be a key in why, even though he knows it’s necessary, he has a hard time exercising. “Even though in my head I know that it’s important, it doesn’t mean I’m motivated to do it.”
LISA
Lisa has been a sporadic exerciser who mostly walks outdoors when she is active. She attributes her inconsistency to lack of focus. “My focus tends to be on my family and activities outside my home,” she says. “It just gets pushed to the bottom of my list. It has not been a priority.”
Over the years, Lisa has seen her mother be a committed exerciser. She knows that she too needs to be active. “I’d like to make it a priority, but I just want to think of it one day at a time,” she says. “I can’t think of doing it for the next 40 years of my life.”
Lisa’s activities of choice are walking, swimming and bicycling. They are low impact exercises that don’t really cost anything, don’t require a gym membership, and take little planning. Things like aerobics, running and team sports are not things she’s interested in. “I’ve never really been all that coordinated or gifted at those sorts of things,” she says, “and never really acquired skill so they’re not that enjoyable.”
Though Lisa feels guilty for not exercising, she has difficulty sticking with something on a regular basis. “I know it’s something I should do,” she says, “but a solid personal commitment is where it needs to start. I need a willingness and a focus.”
Lisa realizes that for her to value exercise there has to be an additional purpose. The physical payoffs are too far off in the future and she needs to find value in it now. “Walking on a treadmill becomes more enjoyable when I can read while I am doing it,” she says. “Being able to reach a destination on a bicycle makes it more worthwhile than just sitting in a room. And there’s something purposeful about walking with a friend or a spouse.”
Regular Exercisers
JULIA
“I’ve been walking everyday for the past 15 years,” says Julia. “Rain, sleet, no sleep. It’s something I know I must do.”
Sometimes Julia will exercise to a DVD or do weight training, but walking is her primary activity. “I can do it right from my house and make it fit into my schedule,” she says. “It’s something easy I can do. I don’t need any equipment and I don’t have to go anywhere.” Day or night, she finds the time to walk and her Bull Mastiffs love it too.
Julia first started walking regularly to get her weight down. As she learned more about how good it is, she continued not just for weight maintenance but for health. “When you exercise, your brain releases those feel-good hormones,” she says. “Sometimes it takes a lot to get out there, but once you do it you feel so good about it. You get fresh air and get your blood circulating. You know you’re doing something good for your body and you feel stronger.”
Soon after Julia started walking regularly, she even noticed she could sing stronger in church. She also feels it makes her a better mother by helping relieve tension and stress. She’s able to keep up with her six children and not tire out.
“I feel very guilty if I miss it,” she says. “I have made it a priority. Just knowing the long-range health benefits of walking everyday—bone, muscle and heart health—is motivating.”
In the dead of winter, Julia bundles up from head to toe with just her eyes sticking out. In the hot summer, she waits until evening or nighttime to walk. “I love walking in the full moon,” she says. “Sometimes it takes a lot of motivation to get out, but once I’m out there I’m glad.”
PETE
Every day, Pete walks his two dogs a mile in the morning before breakfast and a mile in the afternoon before dinner. He also goes to the gym to swim, lift weights and take exercise classes.
Exercise became a priority several years ago when he found he had a blockage in his heart. Though he never had a heart attack, he began experiencing chest pain and had to have a stent put in. The doctors found his cholesterol was too high and put him in a large dose of medication.
Two years ago Pete got serious with his weight too and began eating right along with regular exercise. “With the exercise and the diet, the doctors took my medicine way down,” he says. “My cholesterol is in a healthy range, my blood pressure is good, I feel a lot lighter on my feet and I my energy level is great.”
Other than swimming, Pete prefers group activities. He enjoys the social aspect of it and the extra motivation. “You can’t really stop and quit,” he says. “If I’m by myself and, after ten minutes I feel like it’s getting hard, it’s tempting to skip it.”
Swimming was an activity he did as a kid and has always enjoyed. He still swims over a mile two days a week. What he does not like are exercises that take a lot of balance or have too high impact. “What I’m really looking for are exercises that provide cardio and strength benefits,” he says.
Now that his weight is down and he’s in a regular exercise habit, Pete does not want to get off course. “Probably the main thing that I draw back on is that I used to be a heavy smoker,” he says. “Quitting was probably one of the toughest things I ever had to do.” It took him about six months to break his smoking habit. “If I would pick up a cigarette now, I would be back to it. But I remember the agony it took to quit.”
He thinks the same thing about the weight — how hard it was to get off and how he doesn’t want to go through that again. “It’s a lot easier to keep it off than take it off,” Pete says. “Between the health reasons and the weight, I want to stay with it.”
To make exercise part of your life, consider these steps:
1. Find an activity you enjoy and can do with ease.
2. Get up and get started even if you don’t feel like it.
3. When possible, exercise with a buddy or a dog.
4. Look for a greater purpose than just the activity.
5. Do a little every day and don’t skip.
6. Let the long-range health benefits motivate you, and
7. Believe it’s possible for you to become an exerciser.
*Always consult with your doctor before starting an exercise program.