Family's Affect Motivational Strategies
STOP right there! That is the point where you need to fight through…make adjustments to accommodate the family, but don't give up the exercise time.
A great article written by Windee M Weiss titled 'Motivational Strategies for Every Stage of Exercise' published in Technique's April 2006 issue highlights 5 stages that people go through when they are moving toward an exercise program. Additionally it also gives tip and techniques on how to move out of one stage and into the next stage. The end goal is to incorporate an exercise program into your lifestyle.
Here are the stages and a brief description of each stage from Windee's article:
Stage 1 – Precontemplation: Individuals have no desire to begin an exercise program; in fact incorporating exercise into their life is not even a thought.
Stage 2 – Contemplation: Individuals are thinking about and at least are considering starting some type of exercise regime within 6 months.
Stage 3 – Preparation: Individuals have actually begun the process of preparing to exercise: bought a gym membership or shoes or talked to a physician.
Stage 4 – Action: Individuals are exercising; in fact, these people tend to be highly motivated early on… most unstable stage as people may find it difficult to maintain the exercise routine.
Stage 5 – Maintenance: Individuals have been exercising consistently for more than 6 months and consider their routine a habit.
Everyone knows getting started on an exercise program is hard, now when you add your schedule, lack of communication, and family time into the mix… Might as well try climbing Mount Everest ! There is hope, and recognizing where you are, and where your family is compared to the stage of exercise you are in is the first step in successfully having a habit that will actually improve the quality of your life.
Family Stage 1 – Precontemplation: The family is going about their normal routine.
Family Stage 2 – Contemplation: The family has heard something like the spouse or family member is thinking about joining a health club or wants to loose a few pounds or had a Doctors appointment and shared the advice of the physician with the family.
Family Stage 3 – Preparation: Someone has a new pair of running shoes, or the statement came in the mail for health club membership dues, or it was mentioned that someone in the family signed up for a race that is too close for comfort.
Family Stage 4 – Action: Family starts to see the effects of exercise by hearing how sore and tired they are; The family starts to feel the effects of a new schedule that includes exercise time for the family member. The hardest stage is this one! Not only because of the personal challenges, but because of the family factors that make it even more difficult.
Family Stage 5 – Maintenance: Family has accepted the exercise program as part of the family schedule. They start to see the changes take place in the family member's physical appearance and mental state. It becomes strange that the family member doesn't exercise and the family notices and asks if everything is okay as it has become abnormal for them not to exercise.
So what?! Why is this going to have any impact on me personally or my family?
Stage 1,2,3 are all mental stages that you need to go through in order to personally start your exercise routine. That can be handled fairly easily without external family factors influencing your progression through each stage. Stage 4 is where the money meets the road, so to speak. This is where family schedules, personal schedules, children, jobs, all play a role in turning the action stage into mud.
When change occurs people and families adjust in the short term. Once the short term expires the pressure to bring things back to the way it was will be tremendous. Couple that pressure with the way you feel the first 3-6 weeks of exercising and you will want to make things how it was before. STOP right there! That is the point where you need to fight through… make adjustments to accommodate the family, but don't give up the exercise time.
Make it through Stage 4. Get to the 6-8 month point and things get easier. The family adjusts and starts to embrace the benefits of how exercise is actually helping the family.