Improve Your Ratio of Exercise Benefits to Costs02Apr08
Submitted by Louis Moore’s Build a Better Body Blog
It’s only natural to engage in activities that produce more benefits than costs. Who wants to slave away in a job that pays very little with few rewards? Who wants to spend tons of hours and energy attaining a college degree and then not even use it later in life?
The same thing applies in the area of exercise adherance. If you don’t exercise and eat well on a regular basis, maybe you don’t view the “benefits” of exercise and healthy living outweigh the “costs.”
The “costs” of regular exercise and healthy living vary considerably from person to person, but could include:
- the time it takes to exercise
- the hassle of getting to the fitness center
- the expense of a fitness center membership
- the expense of fitness equipment and supplies
- muscle soreness after some workouts
- having to miss out on preferred activities
- feeling tired after working out
- sweating a lot
- not knowing anyone at the fitness center or not having a workout partner
I could go on and on with reasons why people don’t want to exercise. I’ve heard a ton of responses throughout the years. The important thing, though, is to first recognize your obstacles, and then think about the “benefits” you can receive. The “benefits” have to really be strong and become important in your life. You have to really want it bad enough in order to outweigh the “costs.”
Some “benefits” could include the following:
- feeling more alert and focused
- more energy
- better sex appeal
- a boost in self-esteem
- Improved health (cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.)
- weight management
- sleep better
- sports performance
- opportunities for socialization and meeting friends
Other benefits may be long-term, such as living longer and active aging.
The trick here is finding ways to overcome your obstacles and making the benefits worth it. Many sedentary people mistakenly assume that people who regularly exercise are different from themselves (that regular exercisers are consistent because they love every second of it). Well, the truth is, all regular exercisers encounter obstacles every once in a while but still find ways to overcome them. Why? Because their “benefits” far outweigh their “costs.”
Start today and make a list of your major obstacles to exercise and healthy living. Then, make another list of your “benefits.” Now, you can start developing your own set of worthwhile goals and then affirmations
