Why Is Working Out So Hard? New Research Reveals Surprising Findings
You usually procrastinate on tasks you consider daunting or boring. Whether it is ironing your clothes, doing your homework, or cleaning your room. We all tend to avoid certain tedious tasks.
But there is something so intimidating about working out, which is different from all other activities. I’ve always asked myself, “Why do I find it so hard to get myself to work out?”
And just like me, you always find an excuse not to exercise, whether it is the upcoming exam, a work assignment, or you simply say to yourself, “I have no energy or motivation to exercise today.”
Why is it so hard to stay consistent when working out? Why do most of us hate physical exercise?
Working out is hard because our brains are wired to hate it for various reasons, such as genetics, environmental and cultural influences, and childhood experiences. Scientists also believe that our aversion to exercise may have an evolutionary advantage because our ancestors had to save their energy to survive, especially during times of food scarcity.
So, a variety of factors contribute to our natural aversion to exercise.
Let’s find out more.
So, Why Is It So Hard to Stay Consistent Working Out?
Despite working out consistently for over a decade, I still struggle to go to the gym. Working out became a habit for me, but it still doesn’t feel second nature to me.
It is obviously harder for your body and mind when you start lifting weights or cycling, but overtime, you build resilience and stamina, so it becomes easier with time.
For some people, working out is obviously an enjoyable activity and may even be addictive, as it is associated with the release of the happy hormone (endorphin), but these people are obviously the exception and not the norm.
Most of us go to the gym because we have to, because we know it’s a healthy choice for us, but it’s not with great enthusiasm that we put on our gym clothes.
That’s what led me to research the reasons for our hatred for exercise and our inability to stick to a routine, despite the countless health benefits of physical activity.
The following factors primarily cause our aversion to exercising:
Exercise is inherently uncomfortable : your body is under stress during workout; your heart rate goes up, your breathing speeds up, your body temperature increases, and you start sweating. Your body exhibits symptoms that resemble the fight-or-flight response.
Also, if you aren’t used to working out, your muscles will be sore, and you’ll feel tired for days after your workout.
These physical manifestations of exercise may feel unpleasant, especially when you are just starting a workout routine.
Our brain has a natural tendency to avoid unpleasant experiences, which may explain why we don’t like physical activity.
You live in a comfort-obsessed society: physical activity was a prerequisite for the survival of our distant ancestors, but our modern civilization and technological advances have made us less active than ever before. There is always a technology or a machine that can save us time, energy and make our lives easier.
Our strive for comfort is what makes us overly aversive to physical effort, which is inherently uncomfortable; we value comfort and despise anything that makes us feel any kind of discomfort.
Your genes may be to blame: there is compelling evidence that your desire—or not—to exercise is written in your DNA.
A 2014 study done on two groups of rats across many generations showed that the group of rats that loved to run passed that trait on to their offspring. Lazy rats also transferred their aversion to exercise to later generations.
In 2006, a large study looked at the activity levels of 37,051 sets of twins. The researchers found that 60% of the desire to exercise is due to genes.
Your brain is wired to hate exercise: there is evidence that “exercise enthusiasts” had higher active pleasure and reward-related regions of the brain, including dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitters. This may explain why exercise triggers a rush or “runner’s high” in some people, while others, like you and me, never experience that endorphin rush.
Check this in-depth article about the connection between Dopamine and Procrastination.
Other factors: researchers found that your cultural background, ethnicity, and experiences as a child can all affect how much you want to work out.
How Long to Make Exercise A Habit?
It takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit, like exercising.
According to a 2009 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit.
The study also concluded that, on average, it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic.
Bear in mind that this is an average; it may take a longer or shorter amount of time to build a sustainable workout routine.
How Do You Stay Consistent with Exercise with A Busy Schedule?
Staying consistent with physical activity despite our busy lives can be achieved by establishing a workout routine and following it until it becomes an automatic habit.
This workout routine is built in eight steps:
- Don’t rely on motivation to workout.
- Don’t set superficial goals.
- Build a progressive workout routine.
- Establish a strict workout schedule.
- Change your environment.
- Track your progress.
- Create a reward system.
- Learn from your failures.
For a more in-depth dive into these steps, check out this article: How to Stay Consistent with Working Out? (8 No-BS Steps)
How to Work Out After Work?
Exercising after work may seem like the hardest thing to do, especially after a long day at the office when your motivation is at its lowest. You are drained physically and mentally, and you can barely move from the coach.
What I personally found to be very effective in creating a solid workout routine after work is through ritualization.
Ritualizing and automating tasks is one of the best and most effective strategies to build good habits. There is immense power in incorporating important tasks into your after-work routine.
Find an after-work routine and incorporate “workout” into it. For me, my workout routine starts shortly after I come home from work.
It looks something like this:
Come back home → put off my clothes and place them in the closet → put on my gym clothes → Prepare hot milk-coffee → prepare my protein shake and put it in my gym bag → drink my milk-coffee and eat a banana→ put on my shoes → wear my coat → take my bag and head to the gym.
Why Is It Important to Ease into An Exercise Program?
It is important to ease into an exercise program because your body needs time to adjust to a new workout routine. When you go slowly and progressively into your new workout regimen, you avoid injuries, reduce post-workout muscle soreness, and improve your overall workout experience.
Pushing yourself beyond your limits can have detrimental effects on your body, and it can be so mentally draining that you may develop an aversion towards physical activity and start missing workout sessions.
Don’t forget to warm up before doing any physical activity to prepare your body and avoid injuries.
Why Does Your Exercise Program Need to Be Updated Occasionally?
You need to switch up your workout routine from time to time. This is important for many reasons:
- Avoid workout plateaus: If you do the same workout every week, your body will quickly adapt to it and your endurance, strength, and overall performance will stagnate.
- Prevent overuse injuries: by doing the same workout, you are overusing some muscles, joints, and ligaments, which can wear them down overtime and cause injury.
- Increase motivation: it is easy to get bored by doing the same routine, so you need to mix things up to keep yourself motivated and excited.
- Increase muscle mass: when you work the same muscles for a long period of time, your progress will plateau. So, mixing up your workout allow you to work and grow other muscles.
Takeaways
Please don’t take this information as an excuse for not going to the gym. All these factors do influence some of our behaviors, but you still have the last word.
Despite these factors, you can cultivate the habit of working out, and it has been demonstrated that you can influence how your genes express themselves by making lifestyle changes such as diet and physical activity.
So, stop making excuses and grab the towel, it’s gym time.
SHARE
Get exclusive content and top-tier strategies – only for our subscribers.
Be part of a movement!
By Sam David
Published December 30, 2022
