What Motivates You?

Mike Fohner, cross country running coach, tells this story about one of his students:

Last year, one of my young cross-country runners was fully content walking up the hills and avoiding physical exertion to the maximum extent possible. I tried all sorts of tactics and motivation techniques…to wits end. Even my “walkers club” (post practice sprints for those that walk during practice) had no effect. One meet, this runner unexpectedly knocked 3 minutes off her best time to which I gave a look of amazement to her parents. They smiled and said, “Well…she didn’t walk…so I guess we owe her ten bucks!!” So it appears that money is an effective motivator for all ages!

The statistics

Brace yourself.  According to Rod K. Dishman, Ph.D., director of the Behavioral Fitness Laboratory at the University of Georgia, nearly 50 percent of people who begin an exercise program drop out within the first 6 months.  The question is, “Why?”  What is it about sticking with a fitness routine that causes so many people abandon it?

The answer?  Motivation.  They don’t want health and fitness badly enough.  It is a simple fact of human psychology that if we want something badly enough, we’ll do everything we can to get it. 

Your challenge is to find out what motivates you to get serious about fitness and stick with it.

Unlocking your motivation

Mike Fohner’s student found that money was the motivation she needed to push her out of her comfort zone and into a commitment that she previously hadn’t been interested in. 

Bryan Reece found a different motivation.  Told by his doctors that he was minutes away from a heart attack, Bryan decided to fight back.  Even though he had not been in a gym in 30 years, he turned his life around and eventually became a finisher in the Arizona Ironman competition.  You can read his story in the book, You Are an Ironman: How Six Weekend Warriors Chased Their Dream of Finishing the World's Toughest Triathlon by Jacques Steinberg. 

You do not have to be part of that 50 percent who quit.  You can stay committed and finish strong.  It is all about finding what motivates you personally.

Here are some possible motivators for you.

1.  Do it for your health. Consistent exercise and healthy eating are the two very best things you can do for your health.  You will develop a strong, healthy heart, reduce your chances of many cancers, prevent diabetes, keep a sharp mind and resist dementia and avoid many of the common ailments that come with aging.  It is possible to age without decay, and the key to this is exercise and eating well.

2.  Do it to look better. Appearance isn’t everything, but most of us care how we look.  A strong and healthy person just looks good.  And it isn’t all physical.  Your demeanor will change as you develop the confidence that comes from the discipline of fitness.  You will appear more energetic and confident because you will be more energetic and confident!

3.  Do it to relieve stress.  Really!  It isn’t a cliché.  Exercising really does cause physical changes in your brain and nervous system that results in feelings of calmness and well-being.  In fact, you may get so hooked on the mental benefits of exercise that you will crave it!

4.  Do it to be strong.  If you have never done focused weight training, then you literally have no idea of the total transformation that you will feel after just a few weeks.  There is nothing like bending over to pick something up that normally results in discomfort, strain and even pain, only to find out that it is a piece of cake!  And by getting strong now, you reduce your risk of age-related falls and fractures because you have the core strength and balance to keep yourself stable.

It is worth taking the time to discover the powerful motivators in your life.  Don’t worry about ‘bribing’ yourself:  do what it takes to get yourself moving.  Find out what makes sweating worth it.  Find out what you want more than that brownie. Your health is at stake; in fact, your very life is at stake. It’s time to transform yourself.

If you know me and my habit of sleeping 3-4 hours a night you may think I'm the last person to be giving out advice about sleep. However I wake up every morning feeling well rested. Most of you don'y have he luxury of getting by on just a few hours of sleep. How often do you hear someone say, “I had a great night’s sleep last night!” or “I feel refreshed and energetic!”?  Probably not very often.  Feeling sluggish seems to be the new normal.  In fact, according to the National Sleep Foundation, it is the new normal:  most Americans are sleep-deprived.  But not getting enough sleep may be causing more trouble for you than just that pesky drowsy feeling:  it could be seriously harming your health.

Why aren’t we sleeping?

Centuries ago, it was common for people to sleep 8 to 9 hours each day.  But now, only about 25% of Americans get 8 or more hours of sleep.  The reasons we are not sleeping are many.  We live in a 24/7 society—practically anything we want to do is available around the clock, from fitness centers to pharmacies to department stores. 

We are working long hours, transporting our kids to activities, trying to make time for friends and fitness and entertainment.  When the heat is on, the first thing to go is usually sleep.  And it’s usually not even a conscious decision to skimp on sleep-we just get in bed a little later most nights, because we are so pressed and pushed. 

But even when we get into bed, we aren’t guaranteed sleep.  The National Sleep Foundation reports that 60% of Americans have sleep problems.  That means more than half of us struggle to sleep.  And it is taking its toll.

Dangers of sleep deprivation

"The foundations of good health are good diet, good exercise and good sleep, but two out of three doesn't get you there,"¹

-- Dr. Anne Calhoun, neurology professor,                           University of North Carolina.

Eating healthily and getting plenty of exercise are not enough to make up for the danger that sleep deprivation poses to your health.  Adults need around 8 hours of sleep each night, although some studies indicate that as little as 7 and one-half hours can be sufficient.  Getting less than that can have serious consequences:

·       Risk of Cardiovascular Disease:  If you get less than 6 hours of sleep each night and have disturbed sleep, you have a 48% greater risk of developing or dying from heart disease and a 15% greater risk of developing or dying from a stroke.²  Lack of sleep can cause high blood pressure, blocked arteries, stroke, kidney disease and dementia. 

·       Obesity: Sleep shortage is directly linked to obesity.  When you don’t get enough sleep, two powerful hormones that control hunger are disrupted.  The result is that you feel hungrier and have fewer sensations of feeling “full.” 

But without enough sleep you will also feel more stressed, which encourages the production of the hormone cortisol in your body.  This hormone causes you to crave high-carbohydrate foods such as potato chips and brownies, and then deposits those carbs as fat around your belly—the most dangerous place to store fat.

Pre-diabetes is also a risk for those who don’t get enough sleep.  Trying to get by on less than 6 hours of sleep per night can cause impaired glucose tolerance. 

·       Compromised immune system:  Why is it that two people can be exposed to the same germs, but only one of them gets sick?  The reason is the immune system.  If your immune system is functioning well, you can ward off many illnesses.  But if something happens to compromise your immune response, you will be vulnerable to infections, bacteria, viruses, and even some autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and asthma.

When you do not get enough sleep, your immune system becomes stressed and compromised.  You actually have a decrease in white blood cells, and those that remain are less active.  The result is that you will get sick more often.

·       Impaired exercise performance:  As if the threat of heart disease, obesity and immune suppression weren’t enough, lack of sleep can negatively impact your fitness efforts.  It’s not uncommon for people to struggle to maintain their normal level of workout intensity when they are sleep deprived.  You just won’t have the energy to push through.  Also, your muscles repair and rebuild while you sleep:  if you don’t allow your body this recovery time, you will be at a significant disadvantage during your next workout.

Make time for sleep

The truth is, if you don’t make time now for adequate sleep, you will likely be forced in the future to make time for illness.  It may take significant effort to arrange your schedule and priorities to carve out time for more sleep, but the payoff will be increased health, energy and productivity!

Sources:

¹http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2010/12/02/f-sleep-tips.html

²http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/09/dangers-sleep-deprivation