What’s your desire to exercise?

By: Michael Beiter

Many people are looking for a motivational mecca regarding their exercise routines.

This year, I asked clients to rate their desire to exercise daily on a scale of 1 to 10. Below that, I asked them if they had done one.

My purpose is to illustrate how often your desires will match your actions. For the new exerciser, desire needs to be high to keep them going; they need reinforcement and progress, or they stop. The opposite holds for the veteran: desire is rarely there, but workouts get done regardless.

Somewhere between intermediate and advanced skill levels, you learn to exercise regardless of your desire. When small actions are repeated consistently, they become practice, and that practice is repped even more; it turns into a skill.

My colleague owns a gym, and we regularly joke about our desire to train: "Wes, what's your desire to lift today?" I'll ask.

"Negative 3," he replies.

He's developed over twenty-five years of skill in barbell training. He rarely wants to train but always attends a session.

Our desire to exercise usually runs low because we tend to seek the path of least resistance. Once we accept that we're not going to want to exercise most of the time, we can get on with building the skills we need to get it done regardless of our desire.