The Key to Fitness Success
by Matt Pitcher
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"If you and I want to change our behavior, there is only one effective
way to do it: we must link unbearable and immediate sensations of pain to
our old behavior, and incredible and immediate sensations of pleasure to a
new one."- Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within
Why isn't every person who wants to be fit and healthy exercising on a
consistent basis? If we know what we should be doing, then why aren't we
doing it consistently? Fitness Motivation Coach Lisa Nordquist calls this
"The Fitness Gap" and many of us suffer from it.
Knowing that we SHOULD be exercising rarely makes any of us do it on a
consistent basis. So, how can we motivate ourselves to practice optimal
self care - which includes exercising and eating right CONSISTENTLY? For
those people who weren't born loving exercise, it takes more than JUST
DOING IT (at least at first).
We start to practice optimal, and CONSISTENT, self care (even if we
find aspects of it painful at the beginning) through a process I call Pain
to Pleasure Conversion (PPC). So, as the Robbins quote above suggests, we
must find pleasure in what we change our behavior to. But I think he
misses a step in getting there. Before we find pleasure in something, we
must (even if subconsciously) find MEANING in it.
So, the conversion begins with assigning MEANING to the very concept of
exercising. For some, examples of meaning can be stress release,
longevity, optimal health, strength development, or even the pursuit of
spirituality. Or it could be simply being in a social setting or knowing
that you're doing 'the right thing'. The meaning that we assign to
exercise gets us into the gym and helps us TO BEGIN exercising (after all,
how do we know if it will give us pleasure if we don't try it first ...
and, in order to be motivated to try it in the first place, we must assign
meaning to it). But, finding exercise meaningful alone won't lead you to
do it consistently forever. Now, this is where Robbins comes back into the
equation.
The 'doing CONSISTENTLY' conversion is complete once the ACT of
exercising itself becomes pleasurable. For some, examples of pleasure can
be the 'pump' from lifting weights, 'runners high' from running really
long distances, or simply sweating.
Well, what about those of us, you ask, who have never experienced that
kind of pleasure from exercise? Most people who don't find the process of
exercising to be pleasurable, will exercise occasionally, but not
consistently enough to maximize its benefits. If you can't stand to sweat
or get frustrated by your lack of strength or lack of endurance, how can
you start enjoying each and every workout? Who'd blame you?
So, how do we make this entire conversion happen so that we start
exercising consistently and make fitness a lifestyle change, even for
those of us who don't find exercising all that pleasurable?
First, assign a meaning to exercise that is important to you. Second,
start making some progress towards what is meaningful to you through
exercising. Once you start getting the results you want, the MEANS of
getting those results (in this case, exercising) will then start becoming
pleasurable to you.
The Pain to Pleasure Conversion (PPC) Equation at Work
An example of
the Pain to Pleasure Conversion at work can be demonstrated through a
series of "if/then" statements.
In the Beginning:
Weightlifting ("pain") = Don't DO*.
*For example: "I don't lift
weights because I'm not very strong and get intimidated by the weights at
the gym. But, I want to reduce my stress and get stronger."
So, if:
Living a less stressful life/having strength = Meaning
And if:
Weightlifting = Burns off stress/gives strength
Then:
Weightlifting = Meaningful
Then, after I start lifting weights and getting stronger and
alleviating stress over time (i.e. progressing towards what is meaningful
to me) I might find that:
Weightlifting = Pleasure
And if:
Weightlifting = Pleasure
Then:
I will lift weights CONSISTENTLY and start loving every minute
of it! And, if I start loving every minute of it, I will do it
consistently the rest of my life!!**
**Because, as the equation above
shows, every single thing we do consistently in life we find pleasure AND
meaning in it ... somehow, some way.
I know this sounds a little black and white, but if you think about it
it's true. For example, you might say, well, I know people who
CONSISTENTLY complain about everything. Isn't that oxymoronic? My
response: absolutely not. That makes perfect sense. I've known plenty of
people who find intense pleasure in complaining about everything. And so
they do it ... all the time!
So, by going through the PPC process, you can associate pleasure with
exercise and start CONSISTENTLY practicing optimal self care the rest of
your life even if it was once very painful for you.
It's that simple. I've seen it work over and over again. In fact, it
has worked for me in my life and many of my clients. If you struggle with
exercising or eating 'right' consistently, try PPC out and let me know how
it goes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matt is a certified fitness trainer through the International Sports
Sciences Association, author of numerous health and fitness related
articles, an entrepreneur and investor and co-founder of the enormously
popular website DeepFitness.com
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