In the initial phases of lockdown, the streets were filled with runners, and the living rooms were a blurred mess of star jumps and lunges. Physical activity in the UK reached its peak around mid-to-late May. This was just before the lockdown restrictions were eased. After months of social conditions that fluctuated, people have reported on social media they no longer feel motivated to exercise.
Motivation is returning to normal. In April and May in the UK, we had perfect weather for exercising. Many of us also had more time to fit in a workout. Two major obstacles to exercise were eliminated. Motivation is usually a war of choices. Exercise is often a battle against other leisure activities, like going to the cinema or the pub. During the worst part of the lockdown, it was up to the individual whether they wanted to exercise outside or stay at home. Exercise became more motivating.
Lockdowns are similar to new years, school terms, and birthdays. Important dates and events disrupt routines and give us a chance to make a new start. So many of them began to exercise. Our motivation slowly faded, just like our new year’s resolves.
Motivations for starting a new behavior are often different from those needed to maintain it. Many people exercise because they are aware of its benefits and external pressures such as TV ads or friends tell them to. is an efficient way to begin a new behavior.
As the lockdown eased off, new barriers appeared to exercising, such as the desire to go to the pub with friends or to prepare the children for school. In these situations, relying on “should do” motivations requires considerable mental energy and willpower. Unluckily, we tend to avoid the feelings of effort and motivation. The pub, kids, fatigue, and work fight exercise. Exercise behaviour is not sustained by “should-do” motivations.
Some people, even those who have exercised regularly and religiously, are experiencing a loss of motivation. The motivation behind their exercise could explain this. Exercisers who are motivated by a desire to be liked or to improve their self-esteem report higher anxiety levels and body dissatisfaction despite high levels of exercise. These negative feelings may have been exacerbated by lockdowns (and gym closings), because people were not getting the praise and boosts for their egos that they wanted.
In order to stop this decline in motivation, we need a dual strategy that makes exercising easy on the short term while building strong motivation for the long-term. Many psychologists agree that Your Identity can be a powerful motivational system. Identity is a difficult concept to define, but “be’ goals are more motivating that “do’ goals. Instead of “doing”, focus on “being”.
It is much easier to “be” an exerciser than to “do” it. You will seek out opportunities to show your “exerciser identity” and this will be a natural reaction. The mental effort of “being” an “exerciser” is less than trying to “do”, because the attention is naturally drawn to opportunities for exercise . This is unfair in some ways. Exercise motivation is easy for people who exercise regularly and consider themselves to be exercisers. For those of us who do not believe ourselves exercisers but still want to exercise, it takes a lot of mental energy and willpower to leave home.
Exercise can be motivated by engaging in activities that you enjoy. Rawpixel.com/ Shutterstock
We need to be motivated quickly while we develop our identity as healthy exercisers. The short-term goal should be to minimize the amount of effort required to exercise.
Schedule your exercise to be done when you are most comfortable. This may mean that for many, exercising early in the morning before obstacles and temptations begin to surface.
Make exercising easy. Prepare your sportswear the night before. Exercises that do not require you to travel are the best. Prepare as much as possible so that you are ready to start your workout when it is time.
Break up the exercise process into smaller chunks. Changing into sportswear, for example, only requires a small amount of effort. It takes only a few steps to get out of the house. It’s easier to stay inactive than to get active.
Do whatever you like. It is easy and only requires minimal motivation for you to repeat an exercise that feels good. It’s best to follow your instincts and do what you enjoy rather than forcing yourself to lift weights or run.
Although many of us don’t look forward to more social restrictions, it could give us an opportunity to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Focusing on “being” a fitness enthusiast and minimizing mental efforts will result in fewer sudden drops in motivation for exercise over the long term.
