Exercise Motivation Hypnotism - Your Secret Weapon

By Alan B. Densky, CH

If you're like many people, you are interested in developing an exercise plan that will help you stay in shape and lose weight. But you may be surprised to find out that not any old type of exercise will do - in fact, studies consistently show that there are two basic types of exercise that are both highly efficient and successful.

Because so many people have trouble with exercise motivation, performing the most efficient types of exercise is imperative, since the less time you spend exercising - and the less time you waste on inefficient exercise - the more likely you will be to continue to exercise and therefore to reach your personal weight and strength goals.

The first type of exercise that has been consistently shown to help people lose weight and get in shape is progressive resistance. In brief, progressive resistance is a particular type of strength training. It works by progressively ramping up the amount of weight lifted, the number of sets, and number of reps performed. The result is that muscle fibers are never strained or damaged - instead, they slowly and steadily strengthen without any setbacks.

The second type of exercise that has been thoroughly studied is cardiovascular training. This name is given to any type of exercise that gets the heart rate up to 60 - 85 percent of its maximum. Examples of cardio training could include jogging, jump rope, aerobics, or treadmill, among others, but the choice is up to you.

Although progressive resistance and cardio training alone have been found to be highly efficient forms of exercise, it turns out that combining them is the best bet for success. By performing both progressive resistance and cardio training, you will strengthen muscle groups and build whole-body endurance. In a recent study, exercisers who participated in both cardio and progressive resistance over a two-month period lost 45 percent more weight than those doing cardio or progressive resistance alone.

Just as important as the type of exercise you perform is the way in which you exercise. It probably will come as no surprise that consistency is the name of the game. Exercising irregularly may strain your muscles and will probably not help build strength and endurance. Nor will it improve your overall health. According to many experts, the best plan is to exercise for 40 minutes to an hour 3 - 5 times per week.

Unfortunately, for a significant subset of the population, getting enough exercise is not just as easy as going to the gym several times every week or listening to what the experts say. For these people, exercise motivation is the primary problem - they simply don't want to go to the gym. In fact, they may dread any and all exercise, to the point of severe anxiety.

It is not known what percentage of the American population suffers from problems with motivation to exercise, but experts say that up to 20 to 40 percent of people claim that they "hate" or "dread" exercise. Even more people may have milder exercise motivation problems, finding that although it is easy enough to commit to an exercise plan for a week or two, motivation eventually fades, leaving them where they started - out of shape and overweight.

If you are one of these people who struggles with exercise motivation, the good news is that there are some simple ways to deal with it. In a recent study, volunteers who needed to begin an exercise program received a brief educational program that helped them choose the right types of exercise, were matched with a motivational therapist, and received a short course in exercise motivation hypnosis. After six months, they were re-evaluated. It turns out that over 85 percent of the volunteers had adhered to an exercise program during the entire six months. Better yet, they had lost an average of fifteen more pounds than the control group.

If you are interested in the results of this study, it might make sense to look into finding a motivational therapist, habit control therapist, or counselor who specializes in hypnotherapy. These therapists are specially trained in helping to overcome anxieties, develop exercise motivation, and reinforce good habit formation. Another option for exercise motivation is self-hypnosis - a simple and inexpensive process that helps individuals harness their own innate powers of motivation.

Hypnotism and self-hypnosis are risk-free ways of increasing motivation that have been proven to provide success in the case of exercise motivation. Hypnosis works by using simple relaxation to elicit the powers of the unconscious mind to influence behavior modification and habit formation. Hypnotherapy is a good choice for the exercise adverse because it can help provide the motivation to get in shape and lose weight easily and effectively.