What determines your success in getting your workouts in?
When asking people their reasons for going to the gym, their responses are various: staying in shape, meeting up with their friends, winning their next competition. The reasons are many and often they mix and form complex patterns of thought and motivation.However, we know from theories of motivation, that having a clear goal often helps, as this gives the individual something to strive toward. Therefore, we will here examine which factors usually contribute to the completion of a behavior, in this case, the completion of exercise and the adherence to exercise goals.To do this we will be using the theory of planned behavior. The theory of planned behavior states that the strongest predictor of a behavior is the intention to complete the behavior and that this intention in turn is influenced by the 3 following factors: attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control.Now, this is all well and good in theory, but to examine how exactly this affects whether you get from the couch to the gym in real life, we’re going to take a closer look at each of these from the perspective of exercise while including tips for how you can analyze your own thoughts to get a clearer picture of what helps you get out the door and what hinders you.
Attitude towards exercise
This refers to your own personal feelings and beliefs about training. Do you perceive exercise as an enjoyable event, or do you merely go through it to avoid becoming unhealthy? These two views aren’t mutually exclusive, however when evaluating if you’re being pulled towards exercise due to finding joy in it or being pushed towards it due to worries about becoming unhealthy, most people will find that the first option is more motivating. Carrot over stick you could say.This also includes the role of your training in achieving personal goals and past success or failure. So, try to think about how exercising helps you with life goals, even if these are not sports or exercise-related. You may be sharper and more energized at work or have more strength and energy to play with your kids, spend time with loved ones, or what you may prioritize in your life. For some, this will be a tad too abstract, so it can also help to set goals for yourself or engage in competition, as this will make it easier for goalsetting and increasing motivation. However, everyone is different, so think about what motivates you the most and try to implement more of these things.
Subjective norms
This considers how social factors influence exercise behavior. Now normally you would probably consider this a given when training is involved because you’d think that everyone loves exercise. However, many have experienced negative reactions to their training. Some may feel you exercise too much, perhaps because it reminds them that they don’t. Some have experienced friends questioning them prioritizing their workouts over social events or partners feeling annoyed that they are working out instead of spending quality time with them. Personally, I have the impression, especially about strength training, that many have received comments about how a more muscular physique is unattractive, and especially women, sadly, receive comments about their physiques not being feminine enough or the likes due to strength training.Some of these concerns are of course legitimate, such as a partner feeling left out, and will require communication and can’t be ignored. Besides this, it is often difficult to control the behavior of others but try to ignore or avoid these interactions if you can do so without having to compromise in your own life. Otherwise, simply remember to take pride in what you do and when you can and want to take the time to explain to people why you work out and how it affects your life – you might just end up convincing someone to start themselves.
Perceived behavioral control
This is targeted towards your own beliefs regarding more practical matters. Your perception of your ability to control and execute your exercise behavior. This can be influenced by time constraints, access to facilities, knowledge of exercise techniques, and self-discipline. Higher perceived behavioral control is associated with a stronger intention to engage in the exercise behavior.Just like with the behavior of others, some external factors can be hard to control, but evaluating the barriers you have in your own life is an important first step towards overcoming them.
Sounds fancy, but what now?
Until now we’ve looked at explaining exercise behavior by using the theory of planned behavior. That’s all well and good, but it’s important to remember that while theory is often a sound foundation for understanding the world, it’s of little use if we can’t implement it into our real lives. Therefore, I’ve tried to come up with concrete suggestions as to how these theoretical considerations may fit into the individual’s real life. If you are now sitting and wondering how it may be implemented in your own life or have objections, please remember that you know your life best and all change begins with you. Theory is all well and good and can guide change, but you’re still the one who has to wish for, plan out, and implement the change.
