Too Fit to Quit

American Fitness, March, 1998 by Victor Malo-Juvera, Carol A. Weinmann

Tools you can use to commit and persist in an exercise program.

More than half (approximately 58%) of the adult population does not exercise a minimum of three times per week for at least 20 minutes each session. In fact, out of the population who initiates an exercise routine, 50% will stray from their program within six months of the start date. It might be a breeze to initiate an exercise program, but being there four to six weeks later is a different story. If you want to be one of those still breaking a sweat after six weeks to six months, continue reading for ideas that may help you with stick-to-itiveness. The following techniques can help you stay focused, motivated and fit.

Set Realistic Yet Challenging Goals

The famous Nike slogan "Just do it!" does not quite describe the thoughts of regular exercisers. They do not just wake up and "do it" every day. Most adherers have detailed goal setting plans including what they want to accomplish on a long-term and daily basis. The goals range from outcome oriented (with an end result in mind such as losing weight or lowering blood pressure), to process oriented (steps you use to get to your goal, such as what rate you will use to cover your jogging/walking distance each day). Goal setting not only improves performance, but can be associated with positive psychological changes like reducing anxiety and increasing self-confidence and motivation.

How do you use goal setting to stay on track? First, ask yourself what you want to get out of an exercise program in six months. Firmer stomach muscles? More energy? Weight loss? Meet new friends? If you are like most people, you probably have several answers to this question. Write them all on a sheet of paper. Most likely, all of your goals are similar to the ones above, which are outcome goals.

The next step is to ask yourself what you need to do on a weekly and daily basis to reach your big goals. These are called process goals. For example, if you want to lose weight, you might want to set a goal to spend three half-hour sessions per week walking or jogging. Think of the outcome goals as the door at the top of a flight of stairs, whereas the process goals represent each step that will get you there.

Your goal setting sheet or time log might look like the following.

Outcome Goal: Lose 10 pounds in six months.

Weekly Process Goal: Exercise for four half-hour blocks over four days.

Monday Day: Jog/walk for half an hour.

Wednesday Night: Aerobics class at gym.

Friday Night: Aerobic exercise video at home.

Saturday Day: Hike/walk in park.

When writing your time log, set yourself up for success. If Mondays are usually late nights because of volunteer work, for example, don't pick that time to work out. If you find getting to your volunteer job on time a challenge in itself, do not put unrealistic pressure on yourself to wake up an hour early every morning to exercise.

Support Yourself

Once you have concrete goals and plans, the rest should be easy, right? This usually is not the case. The challenging thing about exercising is not necessarily starting, but sticking with the program once you begin.

Self talk can often influence adherence or maintenance in an exercise program. Your talk should be realistic and positive. Become familiar with your self talk. Do you make excuses for yourself to not work out? Do you say you're too tired, don't have enough time or postpone workouts until the next day?

Restructure your self talk. For example, change thoughts like "I am too tired to work out" to "I will feel better after I work out," "I am not good at this" to "I am getting better at this each day," and "I will do it tomorrow" to "I will feel great tomorrow if I do it tonight."

Avoid the statement "have to." You do not have to do anything. You want to work out. Replace the word "try" with "will." For example, instead of saying, "I will try to get to the gym tonight," you say, "I will go to the gym tonight."

Remind yourself of the benefits of exercise like stress reduction and better sleep when you speak to yourself, and remember not to berate yourself. If you miss one day, it's OK. Just get back into the groove as soon as you can without feeling bad or guilty.

The trick is to focus on what you can do and the positive results of these actions. Design your own healthy affirmations until saying them becomes second nature. You can tape these affirmations to your bathroom mirror and repeat them five times each morning with meaning. You can also tape them to the dash of your car and repeat them each time you get in or out of your auto. This sets you up for success and will quiet the critic inside all of us.

Victor Malo-Juvera, master of science degree candidate, and Carol A. Weinmann, Ph.D., are professors with the division of kinesiology and health promotion at California State University, Fullerton in Fullerton, California.