One of the greatest challenges of exercising is overcoming the resistance to actually exercise. The sole desire to sculpt a fit body does not make a person get off the couch and into a gym. As studies and statistics have already proved, extra belly weight doesn’t get someone on a treadmill either.
So, here are the unauthorized reasons why the people of Tampa Bay exercise. From a small sampling of individuals* and a brief, casual interview the following are five motivations for fitness:
1. Break-up: Nothing makes you slam your ice-cream carton down or push your beer mug aside faster than a jealous ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend. Seeing the look on your ex’s face when you strut your lean, beautiful body is priceless and completely worth all the pain and tears.
2. Coffee: Sounds like a cop-out, I know. Chances are, if you can work a 14-hour day and still find some energy to go for a quick jog or a spin class, you probably had a few cups of coffee.
3. Boredom: Post-college, for one year, I moved in with my parents in Naples, Fla. I was bored out of my mind 90% of the time. Yes, I had a job and yes, I had a few friends but every evening when I’d come home from work, out of pure boredom, I’d go to a fitness boot-camp class and jog three miles. I kept that up for eight months and I was in top-notch shape.
4. Someone made them do it: Ah! The motivation of motivating others! I use this trick all the time. And yes, I’m admitting to using people but in this case, everyone reaps the benefits. Somehow, I managed to persuade three classmates to go to back-to-back Zumba and Cardio Bootcamp classes with me. At first, they wanted to kill me, but now we call it Power Wednesdays!
5. Bayshore Boulevard: Hot men. Hot women. With careers. Under 40. Need I say more?
Runner-ups/Honorable Mentions:
Wedding Day: Brides and grooms across Tampa Bay want to walk down the aisle like a runway model, have their wedding pictures look impeccable, and dance like they invented the electric slide. Oh, and they also want to be able to post full-body swimsuit photos on Facebook from their Hawaiian honeymoon.
Imminent Death: My apologies on the abrupt shift to a morbid topic but if someone told you that you would die tomorrow unless you did 50 jumping jacks right away, I would hope that you would choose the jumping jacks.
Please take careful note that contrary to popular belief, not one of these motivations includes any mention of being overweight or self-conscious about their bodies or striving for a healthier lifestyle. Why? Because cheesy Nutri-System or Shake Weight commercials only discuss the solutions and never address 90% of the battle: getting started.
*By individuals, I mean my friends, family, and acquaintances in casual conversation. Most of these individuals did not know they were involved in a study.
This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 6, 2010.