Movement MotiVation
LAURA MCNALLY Social media: @lauramcnallypt Email: lauramcnallypt@gmail.com Call: 07772187313
WHERE’S THE MOTIVATION GONE?
E
ach of us has a different experience of lockdown, and now we are starting to realise we also have different experiences in each lockdown. Some who ‘got fit’ in the first lockdown now struggle to motivate themselves in the short winter days. On the other hand those who gained a little ‘lockdown weight’ might be more motivated to lose it this time. Some of us simply haven’t found our motivation at all. The good news is that these changes are totally normal. In a survey in Italy, 48% of the sample perceived that they had gained weight during lockdown and one study of over 13,500 respondents to an online survey in Belguim found that there was an overall increase in levels of exercise and in sedentary activity during their lockdown.
The benefits of movement and exercise are well documented. The NHS, Government, Scientists, your friends and even your own children might advocate increased movement to avoid health problems and maintain a stable weight and 36 such intrinsic motivators should be enough to
keep us moving, in theory. But we know that’s not how it works: we don’t often think about our health when we plan to go to the gym and the reason is because we can’t immediately see the resilience or protection that exercise offers. Far better motivators include exercising as part of a team or with our friends which brings emotional benefits, or doing something that brings us joy such as lifting or running a ‘personal best’. This is because the reward is immediately felt. Lockdowns create barriers to exercise by removing some of these rewards, and this might explain our lack of motivation. Lockdown has also been seen to change our perception of body image and body confidence through greater exposure to appearancerelated social media content, as well as more general stress through increased exposure to news. Recent findings of a You-COPE study highlighted that half of all 16–24 year olds reported overeating in response to their mood during lockdown. Exercise and movement can help to improve our mood, particularly if it is taken outside during hours of daylight.
