Don’t rely on willpower alone to get fit in Exeter
How did that New Year’s resolution to go to the gym work out for you?
If you kind of conveniently forgot about the gym membership you purchased at the beginning of the year you're in good company. A survey by the Mirror estimated that Brits waste a staggering £558m a year on unused gym memberships.
21% of survey respondents said they visited their gym just three times a year - meaning each visit, on average, cost them £188. Ouch!
Why does this happen? How can you stop it happening to you?
In my 20+ years as a fitness instructor I’ve seen what keeps my customers coming back and can summarise it using this very simple model:
enjoyment + rewards + willpower = success reaching fitness goals
The order is important. Willpower is last in the list because, although you will need some willpower to get yourself up and out on that rainy cold evening or exercising after a tiring day, it’s simply not enough on it’s own.
If you need willpower to stick with your fitness routine it’s because you’re really not having a good time and don’t want to do it.
Enjoyment is critical - #1. Most people find it incredibly hard just to keep following the same routine - same machines, same workout. It’s torturous! What you really need is to throw yourself into something a bit crazy, something super fun, that changes all the time and always challenges you. You need to enjoy yourself so that fitness becomes a fantastic added bonus from having a good time. If you love it, you’re much more likely to keep it up.
Jazzercise is the ultimate dance party workout. It blends dance cardio with Pilates, yoga, kickboxing and strength training. It’s always changing, with new routines to the latest songs coming in all the time. I love seeing my customers totally immersed in dance, smiles on their faces, letting out the odd ‘Whoop!’ when the moment takes them. You work it hard but you love how it makes you feel.
That brings me to the second most important part of my fitness success model: rewards.
It’s not often that people advise short-term thinking but I think it can be really helpful to scale back on these long term weight loss and fitness goals and focus on the here-and-now.
Did your exercise routine give you a mood boost? Do you feel more positive? Less stressed? Did you make new friends? Have a good laugh? Do you feel energised? Does that problem at work seem a little less of an issue?
In my experience, if you can focus on these immediate rewards you will have a far greater chance of success reaching your longer term fitness goals.
Dancing delivers on these rewards. One 55-minute Jazzercise session can burn up to 800 calories but it’s so much more than that. Realbuzz.com says:
“As well as making your body feel fitter and healthier, regular dancing exercise will also reduce mental tension and lead you on the path to a stress-free mind. Dance stimulates happiness endorphins in the brain to alleviate day-to-day worries and concerns.”
I’d like to break the cycle of wasted gym memberships and make exercise and fitness a truly fun and rewarding part of our daily lives. I hope you’ll come along and join in at our lovely new Southernhay studio. Bring your friends!
