Exercise Adherence and Goals

According to the statistics 50% of people quit their exercise program after 6 months. There are many reasons this could be, from personal reasons, boredom, lack of support , unrealistic goals, the list goes on and on.

As a trainer I see people starting programs for all different reasons. In my experience it’s the people that start exercising because they want to be healthy that have a higher rate of adherence and success.

Any goal that is focused on appearance or a number brings with it many opportunities to fail. Think about it–if your only goal is to lose x number of pounds or fit into a pair of jeans, that’s a goal that has an end–either you reach it or you don’t. Either way the statistics show most people stop working out at that point.

What I am suggesting is try making your goal better health and feeling better. When you think this way you lose the pressure of a “weight” or “size” goal. Better health is a goal that is maintained more than it is reached-it has no end.

In my experience people who have the goal of better health stick with there exercise programs longer. And remember just because you’ve changed your goals doesn’t mean you won’t lose weight or fit into smaller clothes or look better-if you adopt a healthy lifestyle the body you want will follow.

There is never a bad reason to exercise, only good reasons and better reasons, which ones give you a better chance of adherence and success.