Momentum vs. Motivation

"I Just Need Some Motivation…"

Whenever and wherever fitness is being discussed, the word “motivation” comes up endlessly.  And I totally get it.  In evolutionary terms, we still haven’t developed beyond the psychology of the hunter-gatherer, and our bodies and minds still kinda see the world in those terms.  “Exercise”?  Just, do strenuous things that don’t result in food or self defense or sex?  Waste of energy.  Forget it.  We are programmed to conserve that energy, just in case.

BUT!  The human body is uniquely designed to be challenged and put to work, so evolution is not entirely working against you.

This tension between conserving energy and storing fat on one side, versus putting your body to work and being healthy on the other side, is where a lot of “motivation” talk comes from.  People know intellectually that they should be healthy and that they want to look awesome, but there’s still that pull toward laziness that we all feel.  Most folks would say that motivation is there to bridge the gap between lazy and healthy.

Go online and search for exercise motivation, and you will be drowning in it.  You will read frightening statistics about what will happen to you if you miss your workout.  You will chuckle over attitude-filled one-liners.  You will be treated to uplifting quotes about determination and grit.  You will shed a tear over someone’s life journey.  You will see inspiring photos of skinny or muscular people covered in sweat.  Eagles will soar.  Ships will majestically sail.  Men will land on the moon again and again.

And sometimes, that stuff helps.  But all too often, that kind of motivation is usually good enough to get us back into our workout shoes only once.  The effect wears off quickly when confronted with that voice inside us that says, “But I don’t wanna!”

The Hole

I have a name for the feeling of resistance to working out.  I call it “The Hole”.  You have to climb out of that Hole before you can get to work.  If you don’t climb out, you stay on the couch feeling simultaneously relieved and filled with shame.  The Hole will be deeper or shallower, depending on a million variables from your mental and physical state to the weather to how much effort it takes to find a matching pair of socks.  But getting out of The Hole takes effort.

Sure, motivation can be that extra little bit that gets you out of your Hole and gets you moving.  But there’s something else that is more important for keeping you on your path to fitness: momentum.

Building Momentum

Getting out of your Hole does get easier over time.  (If you’re shaking your head and laughing bitterly right now, it’s possible you’re forcing yourself to do a form of exercise that’s just not suited to you.  In that case, I’d like to invite you to stop here and read another of my posts, called "The Exercise Dating Game".)

Building momentum tends to happen in stages:
The Not-So-Bad Stage – If you work out regularly enough, you start to have more positive than negative thoughts about exercising.  It’s even better if you can focus really fiercely on those positive experiences.  Climbing out of your Hole is more like stepping out of a bucket.
The Automatic Stage – Over time, working out is just part of your week.  You tend to hop right over your Hole without even entering it.
The Don’t-Get-In-My-Way Stage – You can’t imagine your life without exercise as part of it, and it really ticks you off when something interferes with your workout.  Hole?  What Hole?

We all have setbacks, sometimes big ones.  Injuries, illness, life events both good and bad.  If you need to, put up a motivational poster in your Hole for the occasions when you fall into it.  And if you miss a few sessions, forgive yourself and get back on the horse.  Don’t leave room in your hole for self-loathing.  Do leave room in your hole for a ladder.

Consistency is the key here.  Set yourself a schedule and do your very best to keep to it.  Get up early and get to the gym before work.  Go for that walk during your lunch break.  Keep that time in the evening sacred for when you go biking.  Enlist a friend if it helps.

Try not to think about IF you are going to exercise, just WHEN.

Some Kinds of Motivation Are More Effective

I don’t mean to tell you that all motivation sucks, just that some kinds aren’t as effective as momentum is at keeping you on your exercise program.  Everyone is different, but certain things are pretty effective for many people.  Maybe one of these will keep your head in the game when you start to lose that momentum:

• Reminding yourself that you want to be healthy for your spouse/child/parent/etc.
• Buying a great outfit that’s just a bit too small, and trying it on from time to time
• Remembering that your grandparent/parent/sibling had heart disease/fatty liver/diabetes/etc. and you want to avoid ending up with the same health problem
• Proving to your critics, real or imagined, that you’re better than they said you are...those jerks
• Pretending you’re someone, real or fictional, who you really look up to, and nothing can stop you (seriously, this worked for me)

I PROMISE this exercise business gets easier, the more you keep at it.  You’re going to get there.  Just keep going!
The Friendly Lifter