You probably took one look at that title and said, "What the Hell?"
The ganja-loving Beatnik I refer to is John Lennon, because the Beatle had some good insights that can be applied to your New Year's fitness resolution: "All you need is love."
Before you say "What the Hell?" a second time, allow me to explain.
Love may not be all you need, but developing a passion for the physical activity you engage in is critical for long-term success. People who get up early to run in the cold, adapt their schedules to go to the gym, push themselves to the limit in exercise classes, or cycle to work every day all have one thing in common: they don't hate what they're doing.
Purveyors of bogus fitness products sell a quick-fix miracle cure for getting in shape, but not only are they lying about the effectiveness of their products, they perpetuate the mistaken idea that exercise is a punishment to be endured, not enjoyed. That's why they say things like "Just minutes a day..." Unfortunately, those who see exercise simply as means to an end rarely last more than a few months.
How do you learn to love exercise? It helps if you start off by not hating it.
Don't go into a new exercise program with the attitude that it's going to suck. Instead, minimize your discomfort by understanding some important keys to motivation. I'm not referring to the Tony Robbins pseudo-scientific "Awaken the Giant Within" crap, but the real science of cognitive behavioural change. This includes the work of Dr. Albert Bandura, the Stanford University psychologist who in 1977 developed an important behaviour modification model called self-efficacy. This model implies that you should do the opposite of Nike's famous "Just do it" tagline. Building self-efficacy follows more along the lines of: learn, plan, prepare, then do.
Bandura determined that self-efficacy is a situation-specific form of self-confidence that can be developed to give people a sense of comfort prior to engaging in a new behaviour and increase their likelihood of persevering.
Here's an example: you've never lifted weights before and someone advises you to start going hard with the iron tomorrow (Just do it!). You go to a gym and have no clue what you're doing. You're a total spaz at lifting, maybe you hurt yourself; you hate it and never want to go back. Alternatively, you build self-efficacy by reading about lifting weights, hiring a personal trainer, getting a plan and some nice workout clothes together, and then go to the gym. You might not love your first workout, but there's a better chance you'll stick to it.
It may sound negative to talk about people hating exercise, but if it were easy to love then a lot more people would be doing it. Another way to minimize the discomfort of adopting a new exercise routine is to start slow. Don't be in a rush to get in shape; instead, choose a level of intensity that is only moderately uncomfortable and increase the amount and intensity over time.
Going slow at adopting exercise is a difficult mindset for people who want to lose weight fast, which is why you need to put these types of goals out of your mind for a while. The most important goal you can have is not losing a certain number of pounds, building muscle, or decreasing cholesterol. The critical objective for a new exerciser is adopting a permanent lifestyle change. If you accomplish that then all other related goals are more easily achieved and maintained.
Sticking to it
Bandura's advice helps you prepare for and act on your goals and the work of renowned psychologist Dr. B. F. Skinner helps you maintain with his reinforcement studies, called operant conditioning.
You not only want to start exercising but want to keep doing it for years to come, correct? Skinner discovered that there are different types of events that can take place after a new behaviour that influences the likelihood of that behaviour taking place again in the future. The most important of these, and the most relevant to getting in shape, is "positive reinforcement." If something good happens during or immediately after exercise then you will be willing to do it again. This is why losing weight is such a lousy motivator, because the reinforcement comes so much later than the activity. Instead of thinking about getting healthy or burning fat, focus on why exercise is enjoyable now. Some ideas for positive reinforcement are: get into the social aspect of exercise, relish in the sense of accomplishment, enjoy the rush of endorphins, and even take pleasure in how a hot shower feels after a run in frigid temperatures.
There are many ways to develop a love for exercise, but a key element is simply having the knowledge that it is important for success. If you approach exercise with a positive attitude and the understanding that you will learn to love it, then eventually that love will find a way.
Oh, and I advise against taking up pot-smoking. It would suck going for a run and having to stop to cough your guts out.
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