Ask anyone who regularly works out or plays sports and they’ll tell you how wonderful exercise is. On the other hand, if the mere suggestion of walking or going to the gym makes you cringe, read on to find out how you can overcome exercise reluctance and acquire this happy habit (yes, exercise CAN make you happy!).
One scientist is actively searching for a drug that can induce motivation in those who are averse to exercise. Take a pill, and run to the gym…? But the answer to how to overcome exercise resistance is easier to access than that. Here’s how to overcome reluctance and make exercise a happy habit that keeps you healthy and living longer.
Many Seniors Never Overcome Exercise Reluctance
I like to believe that most seniors are wise to the fact that their health in later years is directly correlated to their exercise habits. After all, I see more and more older people in gyms everywhere. Sadly, they are not the majority.
The truth is most seniors are sedentary. While everyone knows how important exercise is to aging seniors—the percentage of active older people is much less than it is for average active adults. In the United States the average adult engages in less than ten minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a day. Is it any wonder so many have poor health, obesity, and chronic diseases when we age?
Hate Exercise? Let Me Count the Ways
I talk to people who won’t step foot in a gym. They hate exercising and present a list of reasons why, including the fact that, “At my age, I’m never going to get fit anyway, so why bother?” They are misguided and headed in the wrong direction. They resist it, it’s as if they got vaccinated against the idea. Perhaps if they can understand that it’s not about getting “fit,” it’s about getting happy, having purpose, being “you,” and staying connected to others as we travel the road of aging. And for some, it’s all about those “happy-feel-good” endorphins that mimic pleasurable feelings.
Reasons Seniors Are Reluctant to Exercise
I contend that their reluctance is formed from previous bad experiences as well as misinformation about it means as a senior to become “fit.” I will list a few examples in no particular order.
- Senior fitness means sweating in spandex in a gym where others are judging you.
- It means you compete with others for how heavy you can lift, or how flexibly you can stretch, or how fast you can run, jump and lunge.
- It means group classes where everybody else knows the moves and have been doing them for years.
- it means running or power walking alone in early morning weather conditions.
- It means you’ll never catch up with the others …
- I might hurt myself and I’m hurting already so why risk it?
All of the above are reasonable thoughts, but they keep people from joining any fitness program no matter how much their medical advisors insist they get off their butts and do something.
Two Ways to Overcome Exercise Reluctance
One thing that might persuade people would be to change the word “exercising” to “moving.” It would make more sense. “Exercising” seems to imply hard work and a lot of sweating and grunting. “Moving” encompasses much more, like stretching, dancing, yoga, gardening, playing, and many group social activities.
I came across two resources that deal with the issue of lack of motivation to exercise. One was an article from the Psychiatric Times on how doctors should prescribe exercise to those who need it, just like they would prescribe a medication.
The other resources was a book, The Joy of Movement by Kelly McGonigal. It is subtitled, “How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage.” In a nutshell, I’m summarizing these informational goldmines into two simple tips:
- Exercise prescription from your doctor: Exercise is as necessary to aging well as good diet, quality sleep, family ties and social connections, and life-saving medications. For this reason, many medical professionals are now writing prescriptions for this key health remedy. It can not only prevent some of the chronic diseases of aging, but it can ameliorate the symptoms and severity of conditions that seniors may already have. I’ll be sharing more information about this in a future post.
- New data suggests exercise as a way to feel joy: Exercise is not only good for the brain and the muscles, but it is also a key element in obtaining happiness in life, especially as aging gets more challenging. It provides remedies for loneliness, grief, depression, dementia, and gives hope and courage to seniors. This is partially due to the fact that exercise stimulates nerve receptors in the brain that mimic cannabis and other recreational drug substances.
Is Exercise a Drug?
Scientists are investigating why so many people seem to get “hooked” on exercise like addicts. What they’ve discovered is that 20 minutes of sufficiently vigorous exercise stimulates nerve receptors similar to those that respond to cannabis and cocaine. These endorphin receptors create pleasant feelings in athletes, known as a “runner’s high.” But it doesn’t just happen to runners.
Here is a passage from Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., in her book The Joy of Movement:
When you exercise, you provide a low-dose jolt to the brain’s reward centers—the system of the brain that helps you anticipate pleasure, feel motivated, and maintain hope. Over time, regular exercise remodels the reward system, leading to higher circulating levels of dopamine and more available dopamine receptors. In this way, exercise can both relieve depression and expand your capacity for joy.
How to Turn Exercise into a Happy Habit
If you enjoy solitary activities, you may find that persistence will lead to those feel-good emotions that runners’ experience. Otherwise, group activities are a way to tap into happy feelings through the joy of exercising together.
It is in experiencing such happy feelings than many who were at one time averse to exercise became avid participants after a while. In Dr. McGonigals book, she writes:
Our brains change as we age, and adults lose up to 13 percent of the dopamine receptors in the reward system with each passing decade. This loss leads to less enjoyment of everyday pleasures, but physical activity can prevent the decline. Compared to their inactive peers, active older adults have reward systems that more closely resemble those of individuals who are decades younger.
Although typically described as a runner’s high, an exercise-induced mood boost is not exclusive to running. A similar bliss can be found in any sustained physical activity.
Scientists have long speculated that endorphins are behind the high, but research shows the high is linked to another class of brain chemicals: endocannabinoids (the same chemicals mimicked by cannabis or marijuana)—what neuroscientists describe as “don’t worry, be happy” chemicals.
As a species, we were born to move, and the effects of exercise on our psychological and social well-being are many. So, why not start now? Try it one more time and add more movement to your life. No doubt you’ll feel better, be happier, and you might even gain new social relationships because of it.
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