The Cycle Of Failure

Two Case Studies In Fitness

 

 

     I want to share with you two case studies that I feel illustrate one of the biggest obstacles to a successful fitness routine and how to defeat this obstacle. The first involves a woman named "Jane". Jane is your typical successful woman in her mid thirties. She has a good job and makes good money. She has a husband and two small children. Jane has decided that she needs to be more active and she also would like to lose some weight. Jane starts by doing some research. She looks at different fitness facilities and personal training options. She investigates different types of fitness equipment. Jane goes online and researches different fitness products and routines as well. Jane finally decides on a fitness program offered by a widely known personal trainer. This certain program is offered in a set of DVD's containing workouts as well as nutrition guidelines. Jane picked this particular product based on the results it promised and the rave reviews posted on the website. Once Jane clicks the Buy button on the webpage she can hardly contain her excitement. Her motivation is at an all time high. She can't wait to tell all her friends and family about the journey she is about to embark on and how much it will change her life.

     A few days later the DVD's arrive. Jane pops open the case and puts the disc in her DVD player. She completes the first workout and feels fantastic. The amount of pride and satisfaction she feels at completing her first workout is overwhelming. Motivation is again at an all time high. The next day Jane pops in the next DVD and completes that workout. Same thing on the third day. On the fourth day, however, something happens. Jane is unable to do her workout due to getting off of work late and having to tend to a family situation. "No big deal", she tells herself. "I will do it tomorrow." The next day Jane has a doctor's appointment after work and one of her children has a dance recital practice. No time for the workout on this day. Over the weekend Jane vows that she is going to do her workout. However, as typically happens the weekend flies by with other errands and activities and the workout doesn't get done. Finally on the following Monday Jane is bound and determined to do her workout. Her motivation is back up and she is confident she can get the workout in no matter what. Jane does the workout on Monday evening but it doesn't go so well. After having four days of not working out and a hectic weekend, Jane is tired and sluggish. The workout is awful and Jane feels worse after the workout than she did before. The next day Jane wakes up and her body is aching. Soreness seems to run through every muscle. Jane rests on this day and the day after. Following her two rest days Jane again attempts to take on the workout only to find herself struggling to finish it. She still has some soreness and fatigue from work and family life coupled with trying to keep up with the increasing intensity of the workouts is leaving her drained. Workouts are now happening fewer and farther between. Eventually the workout DVD's end up on the shelf collecting dust.

     Jane feels awful. She is mad at herself for failing and feels that if only she was more motivated she could complete the workout program. She decides to take a break from exercise and concentrate on work and family. A month or two goes by and one of Jane's friends tells her about the newest and greatest workout routine out. Everybody is talking about it and everybody is doing it. It seems to be everywhere. Magazine articles, Oprah, Dr. Oz, everybody is touting it as the next best thing in fitness. So Jane goes online to the website and likes what she sees. She plunks down another chunk of change and buys the program only to see herself fall into the same vicious cycle as the first fitness program she bought.

     I call this the cycle of failure and if it sounds familiar it is probably because you or someone you know has been ensnared by this fitness nightmare at one point or another. People often blame themselves and their lack of motivation for their fitness failures. Jane sure did. But we need to step back and take a look at this from another angle. What Jane and most of us do not realize is that motivation alone will not get us to accomplish our fitness goals. Motivation is like a wavelength. It has its highs and lows. Some days we get out of bed ready to take on the world. Other days we don't even want to leave the house we feel so unmotivated. Even in a single day our motivation goes up and down. Motivation is not the answer to our fitness problems. So then what is the answer?

 

Case Study #2   

 

     Meet Suzy. Like Jane, Suzy wants to be more active and lose weight. Suzy takes the same investigate actions Jane does and researches different fitness programs and products. However before Suzy buys a fitness program, she wants to be sure she can complete the program and get the results she wants. Suzy decides to evaluate her current fitness habits and decide if she needs to improve or change those habits in order to accomplish her task. Suzy will take walks occasionally in the evenings but other than that she doesn't do any other fitness activity. Suzy notes that the workouts on the DVD's require around 30 to 60 minutes to complete. Suzy realizes that in order to be successful with this workout program she needs to create a structured system of habits to guarantee that she will complete the program and succeed. Suzy begins by finding a block of time in her day that she can develop into her workout time. She decides that at 6:00PM every night she will start a fitness routine. This time works for Suzy because it is when she is home from work and has already eaten dinner. She also notes that she normally spends this time watching television so it is typically a distraction free period in her day. Suzy starts the first week by completing a simple 15 minute routine everyday at 6:00PM. Suzy used to take yoga classes and she remembers a few of the routines so she starts with this. By only taking 15 minutes to complete her routine, Suzy is able to get her workout in easily. One day during her first week, Suzy is unable to do her workout. Suzy has decided to keep a journal to record all of her progress, so she opens her journal up and writes down why she missed her routine. Suzy then writes down possible solutions for completing the routine in the future should she miss her workout. By using the journal and creating solutions, Suzy now has a list of effective strategies for making sure she gets her 15 minute routine completed each day. Suzy continues her routine for the following three weeks. She adds 10 to 15 minutes per session each week. By the end of the month Suzy has a workout routine consisting of 45 to 60 minutes that she can complete everyday without fail. Now she is ready to buy the DVD workout program and implement it into her routine. Suzy will do the DVD workouts instead of her yoga. By using the first month to loosen up and get her body prepared with the yoga, Suzy is now able to jump right in to the workout DVD's and achieve success.

 

  The Moral of the Story

     These two case studies showed us two women with similar lifestyles, similar goals and similar avenues of achieving those goals. However, the approach the women took to achieve their goals were vastly different. Jane's experience is what I would term putting the cart before the horse. Jane took on a workout program expecting to get results without having a structured system of habits in place to ensure her success. Suzy's approach, although taking longer, practically guaranteed her success. Suzy's approach was simple and easy to implement and it allowed her the best opportunity to achieve what she wanted. Suzy's approach to fitness is what I teach in the Hacking Fitness program. I want to take people out of the cycle of failure and place them on the road to a fit and healthy life using the principles of habits that we use in other aspects of our daily lives. Fitness doesn't need to be difficult. And I can show you the best way to be fit and guarantee your success.