Exercise is about who you are. Take it up a notch this year by training for a lifetime and participating in a sport/activity that reflects your unique personality.
Happy New Year Everyone!
I hope you enjoy this article. It was a fun one to write and I hope you benefit from it. Let this new year be a fun filled year for you, as you strive to make improvements in your own health and happiness. All my best.
Thanks for reading. It makes all the difference.
As a junior in high school I wrote a paper on the psychology of the female athlete. As an aspiring athlete I knew how important physical training was in preparing for any athletic event. What I did not know was how important the psyche is in training the whole person to perform at peak performance. Today, good coaches emphasize the psychology of sports in training their athletes.
“Just Do It” Is Outdated
Whether you are training for better fitness, weight loss, improved health numbers, to look and
feel better, or for an athletic event, taking cues from top sports psychologists/coaches can help you reach your goals. The day of the “just-do-it” fitness guru is outdated. Smart fitness coaches know that enjoyment and fun is a more sustainable option than the “grit-it-out” without complaints mentality. For those of us in athletics, there are some things we must simply gut out, but unlike people who are endeavoring to obtain health and fitness for a lifetime, gutting-it-out is not the smart way to train.
Today’s savvy fitness professionals, by turning to the psychology department, are doing well in converting wanna-be-fit-and-healthy people and sport amateurs, into lifelong recruits. This perspective is in stark contrast to days gone by where coaches prescribed fitness regimens based on current physical abilities with little regard for the nuances of personality traits or individual likes and dislikes. Grant Leitma Ph. D. in his article “What is the Right Exercise for your Personality” writes, “One of the reasons many people fail to maintain an exercise regime—or even get started with one—is the failure to match their personality with an exercise pattern they will enjoy. If you are having trouble with the whole idea of exercising, it may be because you have not found the right match between your personality type and your exercise type.”
What Kind of Personality Do You Have?
Consideration of personality traits, as well as likes and dislikes, can shape a more sustainable healthy life style. The best strategy is to have a mindset that exercise, like fashion, must be ‘tried on’. Not all exercises, similar to fashions, are going to be one size fits all. Understanding this in a practical sense is where many want-to-be fitness people fail. This is not to say, however that we never change our routines/environments or activities, but it is to say that being cognizant of sustainability, likability, and the fun aspects of training is a hugely important aspect in being committed to a healthy body.
Discover the Nuances of Your Life!
Staying in the game of fitness is about awareness and knowing oneself while recognizing how we may be changing in interests and motivations as life cycles evolve. What once was appealing may lose its appeal as one journeys through life. Accepting this is an important aspect of a lifetime of staying lean, strong, happy, and fit. Months ago, a savvy recently retired traveling business gentleman consulted with me to brainstorm why, upon retirement he lost motivation to work-out. He was mystified explaining that he was avidly anticipating retirement so he could “play” a good part of his day. For years he would rise early and train at the hotel’s gym. He enjoyed it, explaining that for him doing the elliptical trainer for 25 minutes daily, 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and 10 minutes of stretching gave him energy and kept his work day focused. “I really enjoyed doing this routine,” he said, “waking up and starting the day with exercise. Now, I just seemed to have lost all desire to move like this again. And ironically I have all the time in the world now.” Fortunately, through a few conversations he came to understand that people change. Motivations change. Personal engagements with various activities change. With this realization, boom – the lights went off! And we preceded to find several activities that he found to be fun and matched his new retired lifestyle.
Where to Start
Taking cues from our childhood is one of the best ways to begin the process of finding activity we connect with. What was your style of play as a child? Were you the jock who loved team sports? If so. joining an adult sport league may keep you motivated to move more. Undoubtedly, some sports, such as football, are unsuitable for lifetime fitness. Often, however, the culture of camaraderie and competitive play keeps many personality types healthy and active for a lifetime rather than the actual sport. For these people, finding another transitional sport such as tennis, handball, Frisbee, volleyball, or tandem biking that offers teamwork, camaraderie and an element of competitiveness can make the difference between growing older prematurely and growing older with vitality.
Not all people are drawn to team sports and competition. For some people a challenging solo activity is “fun” to them. Yoga, distance biking, weight training, running, and biking are examples. All these activities can be fun with or without groups depending on your personality type. It is important to note if you consider yourself extroverted or introverted. Typically, people have a mix of both personality types so experimenting with these activities both in group or solo form, as well as competitively or non competitively, is an important aspect to consider before deciding whether a new activity will be fun and sustainable.
What’s Right For You Is The Question.
Many other variables contribute to finding the right activity for you. What is fun or enjoyable for one person may cause another to quit on day one. Personality variables such as achievement needs, stress management, self esteem, desire for life meaning, general mood and tension, and playfulness of the person can all contribute to sustainability of an activity and in turn make or break the direction one takes in being fit, lean, healthy, and happy! Experimenting with various types of activities or sports, while considering your individual personality is vital for sustaining health and happiness throughout our lives. Best advice: Keep an upbeat perspective as you find the perfect activity. There is no hurry – fitness and vitality is for a lifetime. To get you jump-started this New Year; follow these 10 Guidelines for a healthy, happy, and successful 2014!
Gotta Do Guidelines
1. Accept the perspective that fitness should be fun and enjoyable.
2. Seek a sport or activity that offers you fun and enjoyment
3. Be active. It makes your outlook on life better.
4. Play daily while you pursue your unique activities.
5. Influence others positively including loved ones by engaging in healthy living activities.
6. Partner with a friend, coach/ trainer, or solo if you are so inclined.
7. Be consistent and persistent in your pursuit of finding the right activities for you.
8. Get started. You will be physically, mentally, and emotionally better next year than you are today.
9. Enjoy the process of seeking an activity that suits your unique personality characteristics.
10. Celebrate this time next year knowing you are better today than you were in 2013.
This year is for you! Rely on your own unique personality traits/lifestyle and never feel compelled to follow someone else’s training and fitness style. Follow these guidelines and know that finding your fitness style and enjoying exercise will have you looking good and feeling great!
