Running Motivation

I recently read Brian Klemmer’s If How To’s Were Enough We’d All Be Skinny, Rich, and Happy. Great title and it indicates that just knowing the steps one would take to accomplish something isn’t necessarily all there is to doing it. Take running for example; it seems very simple. You may hear some of us joke that it is just putting one foot in front of the other and doing it for however long you will go, 10k, half marathon, 25k, 30k or the marathon. Sounds simple enough. Simple doesn’t mean easy. The hard part may be in getting out the door to do the actual training.

Actually, what gets in the way of this simplicity is the other “M” word. Motivation is another of the key skills successful athletes have developed. Research indicates that, among professional tennis players at least, that there are 5 key personality traits considered important to success: Athletic ability, emotional stability, character, self-confidence and self-motivation. Of these five there is one trait that accounts for most of their success: self-motivation. In addition, 80% of this factor is accounted for by what the athlete does off the court. This has obvious implications for running/walking the marathon.

So what is motivation? The dictionary definition is: the interaction of cognitive, affective, behavioral, and social processes contributing to purposeful, often goal directed behavior. You can see that motivation is not a single entity or trait, but rather a dynamic model made up of many different components. Motivation, as it pertains to exercise/running/walking, is often separated into two distinct categories.

The first category focuses on external, or extrinsic, factors involved in motivation, e.g., personal appearance, weight loss, and social support. These factors may be important when beginning an exercise program, or say when becoming a new member of FBF. The motivation may be losing weight or getting in shape. These external rewards may be enough to motivate an individual to start a program. However, research has shown that body-related motives are not, on average, sufficient to sustain regular exercise regimens and thus should not be made the most salient justification for engaging in exercise. The goal must be to move an individual’s focus to internal motivators in order for one to adhere to their fitness plan

The second category of motivation focuses on internal, intrinsic, factors associated with exercise adherence. Internal motivators are those that produce long-lasting adherence to exercise. Some motivators are health factors, personal competence, increased energy, and decreased stress. People who successfully maintain a workout regimen learn to shift their focus from distant, external outcomes like losing weight to positive, internal experiences in the here and now. The Intrinsic Exerciser (IE) looks inward in the attempt to discover what holds true meaning for them. Whatever the reasoning behind one’s motivation for exercising, it must come from within in order for meaning to be attached to it.

Jay Kimiecik, the author of The Intrinsic Exerciser, has developed his own philosophy of intrinsic exercise from years of performing research in the field of exercise psychology. He says the answer to becoming a regular exerciser/runner/walker over a long period of time is simple: You must learn to love moving your body, and make a connection with that experience. The first step in this process is to develop an Intrinsic Mindset, in order to maximize the enjoyment of moving your body. You don’t become a regular IE or runner by telling yourself it will help you lose weight or decrease the risk of disease. You become an IE by finding the joy and fun before, during and after every running/walking experience.

There are 4 core concepts in Jay’s system to be understood.

Vision---one must visualize oneself as an exerciser/runner/walker without actually doing the activity. Get an inner vision of yourself as an athlete.

Mastery---learn to recognize improvement in your performance; the longest you’ve run/walked; a PR in a race. Base success on your own criteria.

Flow---you are totally connected to the exercise; you have deep understanding and concentration in the run/experience at hand. Once flow is achieved an individual will want to run/exercise for the deep psychological connection gained by the activity. Stay in the moment; you practice this by becoming aware of what you are doing mentally and physically and enjoy the sensation of every moment.

Inergy: here, you let exercise help you meet other life needs. This allows you to attach meaning to your exercise beyond the health benefits. Some examples: Houston Marathon Run For a Reason program; Team in Training by LLS; the MS 150 cycling event. Actually, running/walking for any cause accomplishes this. This allows you to be part of something bigger than yourself.

The syngergistic, simultaneous combination of these four factors will lead to your developing an Intrinsic Mindset. You will learn to love moving your body and you will become a regular exerciser/runner/walker over a long period of time. You are now an IE!!!