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FIND YOUR BEST FIT By Courtney Leach | Illustration by Olivia Perreault
M
uch like rest, reflection, reading for pleasure and so many other restorative measures in life, exercise often shifts down our list of priorities as the day progresses, only to inevitably fall completely off the agenda. We’re busy. We’re tired. We have to help the little procrastinator in the family finish his science project. We think we’re too young to worry about it. We think we’re too old to get back to it. It’s easy to forget what a gift our bodies are and how moving these vessels is really a sign of respect and appreciation, at every stage of life.
The mind-set to move
“Someone can customize a perfect exercise prescription for you, but if you don’t think it’s important, you aren’t ready, you aren’t able, you aren’t making the case to yourself to make a change, it won’t matter,” Mindy Mayol, assistant professor in the Exercise Science department at
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the University of Indianapolis, says. Through her research and work with clients, she finds the mental component to be paramount to success. “Self-Determination Theory tells us that in general people need to feel three basic things: autonomy, competence and relatedness. If they feel ambivalent — like they were told they should do something but aren’t convinced — that has to be explored and resolved first before the physical pieces can come into place. You need the right mind-set, then momentum, and then, once you’re in a good place — which may take some time — you can move forward," she says. As evidence, about 50 percent of clients will cut ties with their physical trainers by the six-month mark. If a mental foundation isn't established, your training program will likely not be sustainable.
Exploring expectations is important, too. “We want it and we want it now. We demand quick results or we concede it’s not working, but it takes time for sedentary behavior to take effect and it takes time to undo it,” Mayol says.
Mindy’s equation for change Once you have a vision of a goal …
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Write down 2-3 things you like about how things are now. Write down 2-3 things you don’t like about how things are now. Write down 2-3 things that would be hard about change. Write down 2-3 things that would be good about change.
Considering what you wrote down, revisit your vision and ask, "Am I ready?" "Am I willing?" and "Am I able?" For each of these questions, rate your response on a 0-10 scale, 0 being "not at all" and 10 being a resounding "absolutely!"