By Team ICG® Master Trainer Joan Kent
Do any of your students struggle with motivation? Have any of them missed classes, perhaps several in a row, because they “just didn”™t feel motivated”? For a number of years, I”™ve been an instructor/nutritionist for a weight-management program that includes indoor cycling. Motivation has often been an issue.
Which comes first — motivation or results? My immediate response to that question was “motivation.” How can you get results if you”™re not motivated to do anything?
Still, in another life, I had the fitness job of showing people how to use the equipment, getting their health histories, and starting them on programs. Some came in excited, but others were resigned: “My doctor said I need to exercise to lower my blood pressure.” “My wife told me I have to join the club and lose weight.” Some even seemed resentful that they “had to” be there.
So, clearly, fitness programs don”™t all start with motivation. Once these new members started to lose a little weight, though, feel more energetic, sleep better, get a few compliments, that”™s when they didn”™t want to miss a day. That”™s when they put cross-trainers in the trunk because it messed up their plans when they forgot them one evening. That”™s when they began scheduling activities around their workouts instead of the reverse.
Apparently, for some people, results precede motivation.
This brings up another question. What”™s motivation? Several years ago, in the same weight-management program, we had a behavioral psychologist on staff, who defined motivation in terms of excitement. He”™d ask participants if they were still motivated, still excited, as if those were one and the same.
Are they? I feel sure the readers of ICI-PRO are highly motivated. Do you jump out of bed every morning, gleefully anticipating the class you”™ll soon be teaching, or your own workout, whatever it may be? Or every single ride? I imagine many of us feel excitement on something of a sliding scale.
The early A.M. gym crowd tends to be quite consistent. As I worked with a client one morning, a man who”™s at the gym most days approached us to say hello and added, “I really didn”™t want to be here today, but I told myself, ‘Gotta do it.”™” It was exactly what my client needed to hear; he usually dragged in, complaining about lack of motivation.
So back to the question of what motivation is. Is it enthusiasm? On any given morning, many consistent exercisers probably feel much the same way as the man who got himself to the club with, “Gotta do it.”
What can we do to help students who struggle to stay motivated? I suggest we start by telling them to accept their love-it/hate-it feelings about the workout. One day, your class will be their favorite thing to do all day. The next, they”™ll hate it — and you for being the Cycling Nazi. Embrace the dichotomy.
A Book Of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi holds one (rather esoteric) key. The way of the warrior is death. In a life or death situation, the warrior chooses death, accepts and embodies it so there”™s no fear, no desire to back away. Jim Karanas — NO surprise — trained this way for a 24-hour rowing event. Substituting pain for death, he embraced the pain and actually sought it out, rather than trying to avoid or lessen it.
Why not apply this to cycling classes? Accept, embrace and seek out all of the frustrations: discomfort, tedium, sleep deprivation, inconvenience, and more.
Mark Twain said, “Make it a point to do something every day that you don”™t want to do.” He claimed it led to the habit of doing one”™s duty without pain. I see it as the warrior”™s way — saying yes, rather than no, to the pain. Do something each day that you don”™t want to do simply to stay on the warrior”™s path, to move through and past those who think there”™s something wrong with feeling the pain in the first place.
Tell students it”™s okay to come in with scowling faces. No matter how much they didn”™t want to be there at first, they”™ll almost always be glad they showed up.
I”™ve pushed through workouts, competitions and stage performances despite injuries, fatigue, boredom, lack of prep time, or simple lack of desire. My decades as a fitness pro have taught me that anyone who wonders why someone would do something unpleasant won”™t adhere to a fitness program for any length of time.
Help your students redefine motivation. I read somewhere that a key to happiness is to learn to recognize a neutral state as happiness. The same can be said for motivation — it”™s not necessarily enthusiasm, let alone excitement.
Sometimes motivation is nothing more than planning, then getting where you have to be to do what you need to do, so you can get the results you say you want … pushing through obstacles, pain and discouragement, all the way to the goal.
You could call it the dark side of joy.
“Forget about likes and dislikes; they are of no consequence.
Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness.”
-- George Bernard Shaw
Originally posted 2013-04-01 06:46:50.
Contact her at drjoan@foodaddictionsolutions.com
- Raw Food Diets: How Good Are They For Us? - March 17, 2025
- New Year’s Resolutions: A Sugar Addict’s Survival Guide - April 15, 2024
- Motivation vs. Enthusiasm - October 12, 2023
Great article Joan – this is something I’ve been struggling with myself.
I also start a new 6:00am class this Thursday morning where I’m sure I’ll find find plenty of people who “Gotta do it.” In the passed I’ve made jokes about this; “I’m tempted to thank all of you for getting up this morning and joining us… except most of you don’t make the choice to be here… you do.”
To me, personally, motivation comes from the conviction that the means (i.e: spin class, exercise, diet, etc.) will make me achieve my goal (i.e: become a strong bicycle rider).
That conviction that I am doing the best possible exercise/workout guides my every move. How I sleep, how much I eat, what I eat, how much I train, how much I rest, when to take a break, etc.
I also get a lot of motivation by measuring my progress in an empirical repeatable way, both indoors and outdoors. And when I reach my goal, I rethink my goal to an even higher level while keeping it attainable.
So to make this short, my motivation comes from knowing that my goal is achievable and not a final goal but yet another step to a better me.
John and Alan,
Thanks so much for reading my post and commenting. John, I’m wondering if you see a difference between “gotta do it” and the ones who “do.” How does that play out in your classes?
Alan, you have interesting insights on motivation and seem to be crystal clear on what motivates you. A couple of factors seem to work for you: results/progress, and believing that you’re doing the best possible workout to get you those results. You sound hard-core, and I mean that as a compliment. Have you ever faltered in your enthusiasm? Have any of your students? If so, how have you handled it?
Thanks again for the interesting comments, you two.
Best,
Joan
Joan,
Thanks for replying to my post! 🙂
Yes I have faltered at times. More so in the distant past than today. That is because before I was unsure of the results and now I am convinced that my training routine is a great way to get where I want to be.
What kept me coming back was the realization that training is important and that I would loose all the investment in time and energy that I so hardly invested in me.
It is very hard to motivate students that disappear from class. However, I keep my students motivated and wanting to come back to every class with a mixture of factors.
Some are easy to understand: decent music, interesting routines, some humor, very clear directions, sharing my enthusiasm for the sport and exercise, riding as hard as they expect me to be, laugh at my own mistakes, I try to connect with each and every student, I offer advice when I feel it is appropriate, etc.
When I have a student that has been absent for one or more classes I always ask where has he/she been. I make eye contact with all students during class. I solicit them for suggestions on how to improve their experience.
It is all about allowing and empowering your students.
These factors may seem obvious when reading it here. But I see a lot of my instructor colleagues failing to practice most of them.
I also try to establish an environment where I make myself available and where they feel that they can come to me to ask ANY questions related to class or the sport.
Does this answer your questions?
Cheers,
Alan
Alan, I’m quite impressed with how thorough your instruction seems to be and wish I could take more time to comment in detail, but this week is a bear. Let me just say that it might be easy for some to write off the factors you’ve listed as “obvious”, but you’re right that they’re not always included in classes. Congratulations on being an instructor who makes a point of including all of them!
Thanks for your comments,
Joan
Joan/Alan,
Sounds to me like most of those ‘obvious’ factors relate to connecting with your riders.
While motivation skills come naturally to some, most must learn them. The same is true for making a connection.
I’ve said it before and Joan has highlighted the single most important aspect connecting, establishing a portal through which an instructor can help motivate just by being there, being thoughtful, courteous and most of all, a teacher.
Great post Joan.
Chuck,
It’s not a stretch to say no one knows more about connecting, and the importance of doing so, than you do. The post describes a rather odd form of connection; thanks for understanding what I meant.
Best,
Joan
We need a little of both it is a balance of being push, motivate and let “free” enthusiasm.
The problem of our society is that we are totely out of our self, body and mind is no where … even in most body mind Technics …
In my class I try to balance the motivation with freedom and exploration. This post come just in good time as yesterday I tough a “freedom” class. I mostly said: “it is Friday so a mostly Strenght and you will have 3 blocks but what is important today FOLLOW YOUR ROADS = FOLLOW WHERE THE MUSIC DRIVE YOU”.
I remind them to be like a baby exploring by error, finding fun, play, … also today there are no level of intensity, no good no bad, no number, … JUST pleasure (that can’t be a pleasure if you are affraid of where your sensation bring you …). It would have been interesting to do it and mesure the datas HM and power and a few week later teaching it totelly differently and see the differences …
That was a great experience and a totely forget way to train … it is how I “train” nowadays and my body have never been as much balance and healthy as now but yes I do not reach the crazy level I reach in the past but is training reaching goals without listening to your body … is pain a way to grow and learn ? I am not sure, our body is smart and anykind of pain will induce a reaction, a reaction that will limit us for the future … be a new born and play that is the real way of life.
Hi, Pascal.
Thanks for your comment. I like your idea of listening to your body and seeking pleasure in the workout. In fact, it seems like a primary recommendation for getting back motivation that seems to have disappeared.
Good thoughts!
Thanks,
Joan
Hi Joan,
What a great article! Thank you.
I admire our 6 am members the most (along with the dedicated instructors of course!)
I sub these classes as often as possible and always tell them they are my heroes. Because, they really have MOTIVATION just to rise, drive and work out before going to their careers at that time of the day! I am so in awe.
Also, as you said, it is just fine to be okay with where we are at. If our member is struggling at AT…great! They are still at AT working away. If our member is at AT and loving life…great too. We all feel differently at AT on different days and it truly is all good. We need to embrace it and work through it, whether enthusiastic, motivated or just simply doing it because…for this one day- we know we need to for the better good of tomorrow.
Thanks for your kind comment, Amy. You’re in awe of the early risers for rising, driving and working out before the work day — but you’re doing it, too. They’re probably in awe of you.
I got some great coaching one time when I was struggling and feeling discouraged: “You don’t give yourself enough credit for hanging in there.” Now I give myself credit for just that, and feel fine with wherever I am on a given day.
Great comments; thanks!
Joan