Why am I Going to the Gym?

By: Chris Ecklund, MA, CSCS, TPI, PES, USAW

“Why am I going to _________?!”
(the gym, workout, torture myself, go run on a treadmill like a hamster, not eat my favorite food, fill in the blank as you see fit)

Over the past 6 months I have found myself veering back into the timeless conversation with clients that centers around questions like this. To be clear…I think it’s an extremely important question to both ask, and to answer for oneself.

Earlier in my career I was always under the impression that the perfect program design would take care of every person’s/client’s needs as it helped them move toward their goals in a healthier and efficient fashion. I couldn’t have been more wrong. My naiveté kept me from considering the other facets affecting one’s path to health, wellness, and performance. Namely, psychology, emotion, motivation, belief systems, good and bad experiences from the past, personality types…the list could go on.

Why are you doing what you are doing?

What will bring you happiness and joy?

…and yes, what sacrifices are worthwhile to you?

The questions must be asked. Why? Because the motivation for what you are doing must be there. You have to have it. I have found empirically that if my client and I don’t have a strong purpose and reason, the program will inevitably fail. This was reinforced to me as I was recently reviewing a textbook on the psychology of sports performance.

“Although extrinsic rewards can positively influence motivation and performance, the results tend to be short-term and the effects on motivation last only until the extrinsic rewards come to an end (which happens sooner or later), the longer lasting motivation, although often more difficult to achieve, is associated with intrinsic motivation. That is why it is important to help athletes [and fitness enthusiasts] discover the joy and enjoyment in participation so the sport of physical activity can be continued for a lifetime (if physically possible).”1

• Do you love the outdoors and the thought of going in a gym makes you cringe? Then never go to the gym. Set up an outdoor fitness program!
• Do you know that intervals help you decrease body fat more efficiently and are probably best in increasing VO2 Max but you absolutely despise them and stop doing cardiorespiratory exercise because of it? Then just do steady state training!
• Do you know that you need extensive core training work but hate it so have stopped exercising altogether? Then just do one per workout and structure the rest of your session to increase core usage doing things you like.

Consider your reasons, your drive, your motivation…and yes, consider what you are willing to reasonably give up to achieve that which brings joy and happiness and delayed gratification. If we can be of any assistance with this process we invite you to reach out to us.

1. McGill, E.A., Clark, I. (Eds.). 2017. Psychology in Sports Performance. Essentials of Sports Performance Training, 2nd Edition (p. 548). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
2. Image: https://healthletix.co/bother-exercise-heres/