why you don't go to the gym enough

Quite a lot of psychology studies these days revolve around a fundamental question: in what ways do our present and future selves conflict, or get each other wrong? Here's a fairly trivial but interesting example that most people will recognise.

You know you ought to go for that run or swim. But when you think about actually getting on the treadmill or diving into the pool, your heart sinks. But then you somehow summon up the will to go through with it - and guess what, you enjoy it; at least, when you leave the gym you're glad you went. Other times, of course, the heartsinking feeling is enough to put you off going. In the latter case, your present self, with its rather gloomy - and unreliable - view of the future, has won out over your future self. Psychologists call this 'forecasting myopia'. Here's a recent study of its effects, and of some mitigating strategies:

Participants significantly underestimated how much they would enjoy exercising; this affective forecasting bias emerged consistently for group and individual exercise, and moderate and challenging workouts spanning a wide range of forms, from yoga and Pilates to aerobic exercise and weight training. We argue that this bias stems largely from forecasting myopia, whereby people place disproportionate weight on the beginning of a workout, which is typically unpleasant. We demonstrate that forecasting myopia can be harnessed or overcome, thereby increasing expected enjoyment of exercise. Finally, Study 4 provides evidence for a mediational model, in which improving people's expected enjoyment of exercise leads to increased intention to exercise. Conclusion: People underestimate how much they enjoy exercise because of a myopic focus on the unpleasant beginning of exercise, but this tendency can be harnessed or overcome, potentially increasing intention to exercise.

I haven't read the paper (it's behind a paywall). I'd be interested in the tactics they identified as useful ways to get around this tendency. Just being aware that this is how our minds tend to work is actually a good start, I would have thought.

Comments

[Ejoch]

I found a good way to get past this was thinking, well, if I don't exercise I'll just feel guilty the entire time I should have been.
Another way to get past it is avoid all gyms and just walk home from work, burns just as many calories and much nicer!

[NicoleS]

'When you leave the gym you're glad you went.' Really? I find it hard to believe anyone likes the airless dungeons full of torture instruments that are gyms. Avoidance of gyms, or indeed of any exercise devised merely to improve health or the figure, seems like a perfectly rational response. Most of us have no difficulty with exercise as long as it is enjoyable or stimulating in some way. Now I wonder if the psychologists have anything helpful to say about the panic that a blank page induces.

[Ian Leslie]

Nicole, your wish is Marbury's command:
http://marbury.typepad.com/marbury/2010/12/on-writers-block.html

[קומיקס]

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