Exercise and motivation factors

Here are some of my thoughts on motivation. People have been asking me for years for help on fitness goals and although I have a graduate degree in health and have been working in the fitness industry for almost a decade I stayed away from personal training. Just recently I was updating some certifications, however, and decided to take a course in it. Not to really do it (cause I have a busy life) but just be able to answer questions about personal exercise programs more confidently. I learned a ton. It also started an appetite for learning about sound personal exercise and nutrition programs.

For years I have had ideas about what motivates people to exercise. From what I have read and observed these are just a few. There are both motivation factors and deterants. They key is to increase motivation factors while decreasing the deterants to make it easier to exercise.

Motivation factors for exercise adherence-
Morning exercise- People who exercise in the morning are more likely to stick with their program than people that exercise later in the day. This usually take a substantial lifestyle change however, for those night hawk people who are awake all hours of the night.
The buddy system- There are people who turn the alarm clock off, or can easily brush off the thought of exercising but they would not even dream of letting their buddy down who is knocking on the door to go running or to the gym. These people are motivated by social factors. If this is you, your key is to get a friend involved. And chances are if this is you, you already have plenty of friends to choose from. I would suggest someone of the same gender who is at your level of fitness. (unless it is a spouse). There is nothing more demotivating than going running with someone who runs circles around you the first time.
A rewards system- It is a good idea to set up a rewards system. Of course there is that reward of an awesome body but that is months away. There should be a reward for the first few weeks for achieving your obtainable fitness goals. These goals should not be focused on losing weight but should be goals like run 30 minutes a day for 5 days of this week.
Spousal support- This is one of the strongest factors in exercise adherence. If your spouse is supportive (not pushing) your fitness program. I was in a dressing room and heard a woman and a husband in the stall next to me. They didn't know I was there but he was raving about some exercise clothes she was trying on and how good they looked on her. I stepped out of my room and they both blushed. I wanted to go hug the guy. She explained that she hadn't been to a gym in years so he took her to buy some clothes to help motivate her. A husband needs to be willing to take the kids for his wife. He needs to be willing to make her 30 minutes to an hour away from home as easy as possible. If she has come home and the house is ransacked and her husband is complaining she will be less likely to go back. A spouse can help also with a reward system. He can provide the carrot so to speak by offering a night out (for the wife) if she makes her weekly fitness goals or taking her to dinner. Negative motivation does not work and strains the relationship. An example of this motivation is "I wish you would go to the gym." or "Are you really going to eat all that?"
Reduced injury- Type A personalities (those who go all at the very beginning) are less likely to continue in and exercise program because of injury or strain of burnout. Those who slowly ease into a program are more likely to continue.
Nonsmoking- People who smoke have more difficulty with exercise and quit earlier on than others.
A desire- The desire to exercise needs to be internal in some way. I have seen people start out with no real desire and they quickly make excuses. A desire however can be created and strengthen after an exercise program has already began.
A family experience- There is nothing as motivating at times as a family member who dies early because of a condition that could have been prevented by exercise.
Answering to someone- Someone like a personal trainer or a support group can help by just asking how you are doing. A person who has to answer to someone else is less likely to miss exercise classes than someone who is not accountable to anyone.
Money- Money can be tricky. I used to sell gym memberships. Some people won't bat an eye at spending hundreds of dollars on a membership then letting it slip away with little or no use. Others however are driven by money. The biggest loser is an awesome idea because that reward of money is a great carrot of motivation.
Prayer- I have felt in the past that they Lord appreciates me exercising. Madonna Buddars a 76 year old nun who does the Iron man triathlons is one of my heroes. She started because a priest told her that he was brought closer to the Lord through running because he prayed as he ran. There is a parable of the talents where the Lord gives different servants different amounts of money. To some he gives 5 talents to another he gives 1 talent. Those with more put their money to the changers and received more in return and turned their 5 into 10 and so forth. Than he that had one buried it and gave it back to the Lord who called him foolish and told him he should have put it to good use and multiplied it. I believe this parable goes really well with exercise. Each day is a gift that the Lord has given to use. When we exercise each day we increase our life span and we expand the days (the talents) that the he has given us. It is interesting to me who those with one talent, those who are least likely to exercise often bury this idea and never let it into their life for whatever reason and miss out on not only the length of their life but the quality of life that they could live because they fear or love something more then themselves. In short, I believe that the Lord will help me when I pray for help in almost any area of my life. Especially when I make a plan and ask him to help me carry it through.

Some of the Deterant of exercise are the opposite of many of these.

A commute- If you have to drive 30 minutes to the gym, you probably won't go unless it is on your way back from work.
Spousal - If your spouse makes it hard for you to exercise you are unlikely to continue
Poor health and injury- This is just a vicious cycle