Self Confidence Can Help Inspire Motivation to Exercise 6/21/02

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Educating people about the benefits of exercise isn’t necessarily the key to promoting active lifestyles; it may be more important to make people confident in their ability to exercise, said Paul Estabrooks, an assistant professor of kinesiology at Kansas State University.

Estabrooks, co-author of The Psychology of Physical Activity, said studies have shown that most people already know that regular exercise is good for them. But motivating people to exercise has more to do with giving them a sense of control over the particular activity they’re interested in trying.

"If someone’s confident that they can do the [activity], then that predicts their behavior pretty well," said Estabrooks, who is also the physical activity specialist for K-State Research and Extension’s Office of Community Health. "That confidence can be developed by having small successes with exercise, seeing others like yourself exercise, or by having those people close to you support a decision to exercise."

Many types of exercise promote health, Estabrooks said. Some people like to walk; others prefer to jog, swim, bike, lift weights, join aerobics classes or ride cardio-machines. The particular activity doesn’t matter as long as the person can exercise at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week at moderate intensity – which is the guideline supported by the national Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

10 Reasons to Exercise

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Need a reason to exercise?

There are a lot of good ones, says Paul Estabrooks, co-author of The Psychology of Physical Activity and a professor of kinesiology at Kansas State University. Here are 10 benefits that Estabrooks lists to help provide motivation for those either having a hard time getting started, or staying with their current exercise program:

1. Exercise decreases a person’s chances of dying from heart disease, diabetes-related complications, and colorectal cancer.

2. People who exercise are less likely to miss work and are more productive while there.

3. A lack of regular physical activity coupled with poor eating habits is the second leading behavioral cause of death in the United States (after tobacco use).

4. Obesity, and its associated risk factors, is an epidemic in the United States that is caused in large part by physical inactivity and poor nutrition.

5. Regular physical activity helps people to be in a better mood.

6. Exercise can help people deal with anxiety or depression.

7. Exercise strengthens kids’ growing bones, and helps keep older folks’ bones strong longer.

8. Exercise may help people think more clearly. Children in high school and older adults who participate in physical activity often do better on memory tasks.

9. Exercise can help people manage their blood pressure and weight.

10. Regular physical activity can be fun. It only has to be a moderate intensity activity that raises your heart rate, lasts 30 minutes and is done five days of the week. Activities that ‘count’ include walking with one’s spouse or children, walking the dog, bicycling, swimming, mowing the lawn or playing active games in the yard.

Paul Estabrooks also is the physical activity specialist for K-State Research and Extension’s Office of Community Health in Manhattan.

In the United States, studies indicate that inactivity is a serious public health issue. Physical inactivity and poor nutrition are the second leading behavioral cause of death in the United States, behind tobacco use. Estabrooks said as much as 40 percent of the U.S. population is not physically active, and only 30 percent of Americans meet the weekly goal of five days and 30 minutes.

Yet, making a commitment to being active can work into busy schedules. Estabrooks said that 30 minutes of exercise can be cumulative, so one approach may be to divide exercise into "pieces" of 10 minutes or more to achieve the same health benefit.

Each 10-minute session should include moderate intensity exercise so that one’s heart rate and breathing increase slightly, Estabrooks said.

"This doesn’t mean that you can count everything you are already doing and say you’re meeting the requirements," he adds. "If it takes you two minutes to walk from your kitchen to the sofa, and you do that 15 times a day, you are not getting enough physical activity.

"It may help to think of the activity as being purposeful; that you’re doing it for your health and that you have some understanding of its benefit."

Window-shopping at the mall won’t help people reach a "moderate intensity," yet monitoring one’s heart rate during exercise isn’t necessary, either, Estabrooks said. Instead, using walking as an example, exercise should be done "at a pace as though you’re trying to get somewhere on time."

In addition to raising a person’s self-confidence, other tips to maintain the motivation to exercise include:

* Find a partner to exercise with. Estabrooks said it could even be a group of people, such as a work group that uses breaks to walk for 15 minutes. "You need a social network that’s supportive of what you’re doing," he said. A person is less likely to miss a day’s exercise if they think their partner will be there for them.

* Pick a regular time to exercise. "That’s a mental thing," Estabrooks said. "When you plan a time to exercise, physical activity becomes a higher priority item because you’ve actually scheduled it."

From a physical standpoint, the time of day one exercises doesn’t matter, but from a mental standpoint, people who exercise first thing in the morning seem to exercise more consistently, he said.

* Ease into a regular program of exercise. If a person is just beginning to exercise, perhaps taking a Monday evening walk is enough for the first week. "Then work your way up to where you’re able to do two nights a week, then three...," he said. "Eventually you build up to five days a week, 30 minutes or more."

* Avoid times when the environment may make exercise more difficult. For example, in hot climates, early morning or evening may be more comfortable times to exercise. In cold climates, noon may be better during the winter. If a person must exercise outdoors when it’s hot and humid, Estabrooks suggests they take plenty of water to drink during exercise. As a guideline for hydration, "if you get thirsty, you’ve waited too long to drink," he said.

* Encourage physical activity in your community and neighborhood. There is a move to use public funds to build safe paths for walking, running and biking. Some of the paths run through neighborhoods, or to nearby businesses such as grocery stores and shopping. "You get people that aren’t thinking about exercise, but that they’re just going to get a jug of milk from the store," Estabrooks said.

* Pick an exercise that’s fun. "You don’t need to run yourself to the point that you feel like you can’t go any further," Estabrooks said. "Yes, you’ll probably perspire, your heart rate will go up and you’ll breathe heavier, but whatever activity you do, you should be able to go out and enjoy it."

For more information on health and physical activity, interested persons can contact their local Extension office, or call the Office of Community Health in Manhattan at 785-532-7750.

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.