Image by Elena Kloppenburg on Unsplash.
I came across a Medscape article on exercising — one of many targeting “older” people.
A Dr. Linkul is quoted: “Encouraging older adults to exercise is hard because many are resistant to it, Linkul acknowledged.”
In other words, people resist because they’re resistant. Brilliant.
OK, he was probably pushed there by an over-eager journalist.
The article talks about a clinical trial published in JAMA Network Open.
Three hundred over-70 people were divided into 4 groups. One focused on being social, one on internal goals, one was mixed and one control had no intervention.
After 8 weeks the groups were “left to their own devices.” The interpersonal group increased their daily activity by 21-28 minutes. The mixed group was similar. The “interpersonal group” showed “no significant changes” in activity.
There are different explanations, such as the social facilitation theory: people try harder to avoid looking bad.
Others believe that social relationships make friends. People looked forward to exercising because they’d see their friends when they exercised.
The paper concludes with a suggestion: “Help patients find their own fellowship of active people.”
Frankly, I think people exercise because they enjoy it. And I think that’s true for people at any age.
So here are my suggestions:
(1) Find a meaningful motivation.
Personally, I work out because of the envy factor. When I walked into class one day, a woman said, “You have really strong legs. Were you a dancer?”
Of course, I wasn’t, but I practically purred when she said this.
It’s even better when doctors admit I’m in good shape. (Doctors hate to say anything good, at least in my experience.)
(2) Make it part of people’s identity.
Many years ago I did a research project on motivation to exercise.
The people who exercised for their own personal reasons tended to stay. People who exercised “to lose ten pounds for my son’s wedding” did not.
People who exercised saw themselves as “fit.” They identified as exercisers.
(3) Tell people they’re exercising.
Ellen Langer likes to talk about her study with hotel chambermaids. These women didn’t realize they were exercising, using the same motions as many machines in the gym. When they were made aware of the similarities, they showed many results of exercise.
Most of us are exercising without knowing it! I once knew an 80-year-old who did nothing but garden. She had no heart problems, although she smoked like the proverbial chimney.
(4) Make it fun.
I have to admit, there’s a social component to a lot of my exercise! I love group classes in a gym. I’ve made some friends this way. Even if I don’t form friendships, it’s more fun than working out alone.
But I also enjoy working out with weights and I’ve met people who like to go for long walks alone. I am not a runner, but people who run are their own special breed. It’s related to their identity and it’s fun.
Many exercise advocates push for one exercise format, usually involving a gym. There are so many ways to work out!
(5) Some people just won’t exercise, no matter what.
As a species, we’re inherently lazy. I have to admit I force myself to go to the gym sometimes. But that’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s in our human condition.
