{"id":40750,"date":"2015-06-22T07:15:08","date_gmt":"2015-06-22T11:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=40750"},"modified":"2021-11-18T08:53:50","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T13:53:50","slug":"workout-motivation-reward-punishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/workout-motivation-reward-punishment\/","title":{"rendered":"Dread the Gym? Here’s What Might Motivate You"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"How
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What gives you the incentive<\/a> to get your butt to the gym? Imagining how awesome you\u2019ll look on vacation<\/a>? A 5K race you\u2019ve got on the calendar? While there are many ways to get workout motivation<\/a>, many people revert to the \u201ccarrot\u201d or the \u201cstick\u201d approach. This old idiom refers to the idea that we\u2019re most often driven by either the promise of reward (the carrot) or the fear of punishment (the stick).<\/p>\n

If promising yourself new gear\u00a0from Nike helps you commit to sweat sessions, you might be the \u201ccarrot\u201d type. On the other hand, if the fear of not fitting into that outfit you have to wear to your cousin\u2019s wedding is enough, you might be inspired by the \u201cstick.\u201d Either way, figuring out what works for you can help give you the extra push you need to reach your fitness goals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Stick: Why Some People Are Motivated by Punishment<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Penalizing yourself for missed workouts<\/a> may seem harsh, but there\u2019s a reason why it works. The fear of losing something (be it your abs<\/a> or money) can be a powerful motivator. A recent study<\/a> published in the journal Cognition<\/em>, found that while rewards reinforce good behavior, we really, really hate punishments. So we try to avoid them at all costs \u2014 even when the damages are rather tiny (like losing five to 25 cents). Researchers found that the threat of a loss had a two to three times bigger effect on manipulating behavior than a reward.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>4 Science-Backed Ways to Motivate Yourself to Work Out<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re ultra competitive and thrive on winning, you may be suited for the stick system, says Gregory Chertok, M.Ed., certified sports psychology consultant through Telos Sport Psychology Coaching<\/a>. \u201cI had a client who teamed up with a friend and they\u2019d put their own money on the line. An insufficient number of weekly workouts would lead to losing a certain amount of money,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Yet, this method is not for everyone, Chertok warns. If you\u2019re loss-averse, risking money might discourage you too much, causing you to quit altogether. Plus, this method only works if you\u2019re punishing the behavior \u2014\u00a0not yourself. Calling yourself \u2018lazy\u2019 for not going to the gym will only hurt your self-esteem.<\/p>\n

If you want to try this method, Chertok recommends setting it up as a buddy system where one person or a group of friends can hold you accountable. It\u2019ll foster friendly competition and you\u2019ll have to answer to someone if you skip out on the morning spin class<\/a>. Why not make it into a friendly wager: The loser buys everyone else lunch. (A healthy lunch<\/a>, of course.)<\/p>\n

\"How
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Carrot: Here\u2019s Why Rewards Work<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you feel you lack self-motivation<\/a>, a reward approach may be right for you, especially if you need a little something extra when you\u2019re just starting a routine. You can reward yourself for a job well done in many ways. Maybe it\u2019s an immediate pay-off: You promise yourself a dessert-like protein shake<\/a> after a long run. That\u2019s called dangling a carrot, and it works by reinforcing positive behaviors, which over time, become habits.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 7 Reasons to Never Miss a Monday Workout<\/a><\/p>\n

Another strategy might be a financial incentive, whether you\u2019re depositing a couple dollars in a jar every time you hit the gym, or getting paid to exercise through an app like Pact<\/a>, where you can earn cash by exercising (paid by penalties from people who don\u2019t). According to a 2013 meta-analysis<\/a> of 11 studies in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine<\/em>, financial incentives were effective at getting people to the gym for up to six months. The catch: They don\u2019t know if the effects last beyond the short-term. In fact, there\u2019s evidence that using outside rewards can tank natural motivation once the novelty wears off. Instead, you may want to focus on rewarding yourself with experiences<\/a> rather than things, says Chertok. Research shows this can lead to longer-term motivation and happiness.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Best Workout Motivation:\u00a0Finding Your Inner Carrot<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Regardless of which way you lean, over time, you may find yourself getting hooked on the endorphins<\/a> provided by exercise, which can be an even bigger motivator, says Chertok. That\u2019s called finding your inner carrot, and it\u2019s the most important piece of the puzzle. Because if you exercise as a means to an end (lose weight, get some moolah), what happens when you achieve it or the rewards stop?<\/p>\n

\u201cIntrinsic rewards seem to better sustain a behavior,\u201d says Chertok. \u201cNot everyone gets motivated by the allure of financial gain. The most powerful motivator comes from within,\u201d he says. Focus on what\u2019s going on inside: You feel good, you\u2019re getting healthier by the second, and, gosh, yep, it\u2019s even fun. At the end of the day, that\u2019s what counts when it comes to maintaining an exercise routine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lacking workout motivation? Here\u2019s how to figure out what will inspire you to stick with a gym routine for good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":22706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,24,6],"tags":[289,104,103,341,343,100],"class_list":["post-40750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardio","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-exercise","tag-goals","tag-motivation","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2exercise","tag-workout"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}