Motivation on doing regular exercise - Essay Example

INTRODUCTION Research suggests that Americans have unhealthy eating habits caused by consuming of fat-saturated food and with high calorie content. Limited physical activities and sedentary lifestyles worsen this problem, therefore, leading to obesity and other health related problems. In the United States people do not realize the hazards until their family doctor makes them conscious of problems like high body mass index, high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol level. However, recent studies have shown that many people try to solve their health related problems by resorting to the “unhealthy methods’. For instance, they prefer to rely on short-term weight loss programs by consuming low carbohydrate diets, taking dietary supplements while some even resort to plastic surgery. In practice, these controversial methods help neither to control food consumption nor to lose weight; they do not even strengthen the body because of metabolic adjustments leading to new fat accumulation when people stop these programs. Unfortunately, people today have forgotten the old, tried and tested method to maintain health without the use of any artificial substance. Fitness centers and sports fields can be found all over The States which allow people easy access to these facilities. Physical activities including exercises and other forms of physical training have become essential in achieving health benefits. Most people believe that exercising on a regular basis does help to strengthen the body. In this case regular physical exercise is the safest, most effective and reliable method to improve one’s health. It helps to prevent undesirable weight gain by burning extra calories and fat. The immunity level increases, which reduces the threat to catch a cold or to fall ill with respiratory diseases. It also minimizes the chances of a heart attack. Regular exercise helps one mentally also by reducing the level of confusion, fatigue or depression. Various studies and researches (a few cited below) conducted by different scientists and psychiatrists all converge at one point – to maintain good health physical exercise is necessary. The results of clinical researches suggest that there is interdependence between health condition and physical training (Penedo, 2005). In 1987 another research demonstrated that, if individuals exercise regularly, they are less susceptible to coronary heart diseases and other sedentary lifestyle related diseases (Powell, Thompson, Caspersen, Kendrick, 1987). Aerobic exercises can be used as one of the many treatment methods for a wide range of medical disorders including cardiovascular diseases, hyperlipidemia, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and diabetes as a finding of the Research conducted by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Duke University Medical Center (Babyak, 2000). Physical activities can also be considered as a preventive treatment to reduce the chance of getting type-2 diabetes (Penedo, 2005). Physical exercises can be used as a potential treatment for a diversity of psychiatric conditions such as depression, according to Gullette, Blumenthal 1996; North, McCullagh, Tran, 1990. Julia Kelly examines occupational stress and reveals that physical exercises have positive influences on prison officers’ psychological state. Physical activities can act as both stress preventors and suppressors to reduce the level of occupational stress, which prison officers may experience (Julia Kiely, 1990). Similar research, aimed to study endorphins, examines the state of participants during and after active physical training. It is supposed that a high level of this chemical substance can reduce stress and sensations of pain (Hopson, 1988; Sime, 1984). The results of the studies cited above demonstrate that physical exercises have both physiological and psychological benefits, but, still there is an urgent need to have an in-depth analysis of this topic in order to understand the interdependence between chemical reactions and physical activity as well as their influence on health. This data will help to develop appropriate physical training programs for people with different health disorders. Many researchers have examined the benefits and influence of regular exercises on human beings. These studies have shown that health risk could be doubled if an individual is not involved in any physical activity at all. Some people are also of the opinion that if a person, who has been engaged in physical exercises, gives them up there is one in five chances that s/he would suffer from depression in contrast to an individual who did exercises on a regular basis. However, they have not analyzed the effect of physical activities on one’s health and the influence of physical training on the recovery process. In response to this phenomenon, this research aims to examine such factors as the influence of the peer group, mass media, health issues and family medical histories, which could raise the public concern in physical work-outs. The research is aimed to persuade people that regular exercise can help them to reduce the threat of cardiovascular disease, a heart stroke, diabetes, and even help to reduce accumulation of fat, overcome depression and stress. Today people seek pleasure in all they do and hence physical exercise is no match when they have better alternatives like munching on KFC while watching a football game. Often, people justify their actions, convince themselves and make a solemn promise to start physical exercise after having a fat-saturated meal or after lazing on the sofa while watching Super Bowl Sunday games. Unfortunately, the very next day they conveniently forget their own promise made to themselves. The problem is that people are lethargic and do not want to modify their sedentary lifestyle. Since regular exercise involves modification of one’s lifestyle, people, who lack the determination often give up exercising in the beginning itself. Besides, most people fail to practice healthy behavior patterns until they actually become scared of their body image. Taking these factors into account, people should not only acknowledge the benefits of exercise, they should also learn how to adopt and plan their life style to have a healthier existence. According to the facts mentioned above, the aim of the present study is to examine how the peer group, mass media, health issues and family background motivate various groups of people to exercise on a regular basis. First of all, this research will prove the hypothesis that men and women are psychologically different in terms of the requirement of having a companion during exercise. This investigation explains that peer influences play an important role in regular physical activity. Secondly, this research discusses how fitness and healthy body image advertised by different mass media stimulates individuals to participate in sports. This study evaluates mass media influences on one’s choice of physical activity. Personal health issue and family background are also included in the research analysis. The discussion section covers the influence of regular physical activity on working and academic performance of people, and shows that a particular family background can motivate individuals to be engaged in regular physical training. The research is aimed to single out and describe the reasons, which help to motivate people to go in for sports. METHOD To explore the motives that force people to participate in any sports, random subjects have been observed in the clubhouse of the Parkwest apartment. Random participants in South Coast Metro Center, Costa Mesa have been interviewed as part of the data collection process. To keep confidentiality, pseudonyms have been used for random participants. Setting The study was carried out in two different locations: the South Coast Metro Center and the clubhouse in Parkwest apartment respectively. These locations were highly diversified in terms of ethnicity, profession and exercise preferences. The South Coast Metro Center consisted of a room for aerobics, cardio and weight equipment areas, a swimming pool, showers and lockers, a sauna room, a steam room, rooms for personal and group training activities. The Parkwest apartment clubhouse, on the other hand, consisted of two components: an indoor clubhouse and outdoor sports fields. The indoor clubhouse provided a variety of facilities including basic aerobic equipment, cardio and weight equipment such as treadmills, exercise bikes, step machines, rowing machines, counter-balanced smith machines and hammer strength equipment. Outdoor facilities consisted of a swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts. Participants/Subjects The sample consisted of 30 randomly selected participants. I visited the fitness room, the swimming pool, the tennis court and the basketball court and four males and six females were randomly chosen as the subjects for the research without a preliminary interview. Among the 20 volunteers, who visited South Coast Metro Center on a regular basis more than twice a week, there were eleven males and nine females aged between 22 and 46 years. Eleven of them were full time workers (55%) and nine participants were non-working forces (45%). In terms of ethnicity, there were twelve Caucasians (60%), seven Asians (35%) and one African American (5%). Five participants were college students (25%), four persons were housewives (20%), seven persons were office workers (35%), and two persons were high school teachers (10%). An apartment consultant and a college counselor each accounted for 5%. Observation My observation took place in the Parkwest apartment clubhouse. In order to gather more or less objective data, I visited the clubhouse twice and spent four hours per visit to observe different phenomena. My first visit lasted for four hours. For an hour, I stayed and observed people in the swimming pool, and then, I observed indoor training for three hours. My second visit lasted for four hours as well. I spent two hours and a half observing basketball players and one hour and a half on the tennis court. The primary objective was to determine the duration of physical training of each individual, to observe their choice of clothing for training, to observe what kind of exercises they were involved in, how often they needed relaxation, how active their involvement was, and whether they were exercising alone or with a companion. In order to record the data accurately, the gathered information was noted and copies made later. Interviews The interviews took place in the South Coast Metro Center. I visited this place thrice to collect necessary data. The first visit was on a Saturday afternoon. I spent three hours to evaluate the size of the target population for the research. After the evaluation, I confirmed that this location had population size enough for the research, and decided to interview people from this region. The next afternoon, I visited this place again. I spent six hours there and conducted eleven interviews with six males and five females using a list of eleven prepared questions. My third visit was on the following Saturday. I spent seven hours to conduct the interviews. Nine participants, five males and four females, were successfully interviewed using an identical set of prepared questions. Side conversations It was supposed that the target interviewees were people who exercise at least twice a week. In order to seek the appropriate target participants, I began each interview with a conversation, which helped me to eliminate inappropriate participants by asking whether they were doing exercises at least twice a week. I interviewed the next visitor when found that a participant did not exercise on a regular basis or was not interested in this interview. 25 successful conversations were made. However, only 20 random individuals, who go into the fitness center for achieving their regular exercise purposes, were successfully interviewed. Formal Interview Prior to each formal interview, I explained the purposes and nature of the interview to each individual. If they agreed to be interviewed, I asked the permission to record the information. With “yes” responses, I recorded the interview with a digital recorder. Eleven open-ended questions were asked regarding their motivation and exercise preferences. (See Appendix A for a complete list) RESULTS General 20 participants have been interviewed, eleven males and nine females, all of whom have been exercising on a regular basis from one to ten-year periods. Eleven participants report that they exercise twice a week; six participants state that they exercise thrice a week; two persons confirm that they take physical exercises four times a week and one person reports that he exercises almost everyday. Fifteen participants admit that they did try to stop doing regular training at the beginning stage. Five participants mention that they cannot find a convenient place for training, four participants report that they have no time for training, three participants report that they were lazy and the rest of the participants state other reasons such as unpleasant environment and work overload. However, they did mention that regular exercise has become a habit with them. Sandy began exercising in college. She claims that she has been exercising for four years. For the first two years, she could not acquire a habit of regular exercise on a weekly basis. However, after setting a progressive schedule, she successfully acquired a habit of exercising thrice a week. Teresa began to participate in a sport regularly since the eleventh grade. She admits that she tried to stop because of laziness and boredom. She could not resist the temptation of watching her favorite soap operas and go shopping with friends. Nevertheless, when she realized that exercise could help her to loose weight and keep an attractive appearance, she resisted the temptation and has exercised twice a week continually for six years. Peer Group It was found that both males and females prefer to have a companion during exercise. According to the interview, 17 out of 20 participants (nine males and eight females) said they prefer exercising with friends or family members. Annie claims that she and her friends feel more comfortable while exercising together as they can release stress talking to each other. Peter also prefers to have a companion explaining that exercising with friends or family members was more enjoyable for him. Tony prefers to exercise with friends because he enjoys outdoor activities, which requires cooperation and companions. Further, he explains that these activities were small competitions for him with teamwork spirit. Tony’s opinion was supported by the result obtained from other male interviewees, who reported that they too favor outdoor activities such as baseball (44.4%), basketball (22.2%) and football (33.3%), due to team spirit. This explanation shows that males prefer group activities with friends to an individual training. This can also be viewed as a motivational factor for them to have regular physical training. My observations show that six out of ten subjects were female, and four of them were talking with friends while exercising in the clubhouse. I found that women prefer indoor activities because the environment they occupy was smaller and quieter compared to outdoor settings. Seven out of nine female participants prefer such indoor activities as yoga (22.2%), aerobics (22.2%) and cardio equipment (33.3%). For instance, Julie explains that aerobic equipments were placed close to each other, which allowed her to talk and exercise at the same time. Fiona and Mary explain that they had a sense of loneliness when exercising alone. Mary feels more secure having indoor activities with friends. The results illustrate that 77.7% female participants favor indoor activities whereas the rest of them, 22.3% female, prefer outdoor activities such as swimming and playing tennis. Media During the research process, I found that mass media was the most powerful tool for transmitting information about fashion and cultural trends. Almost all the fashion magazines and television shows display “ideal” body images and encourage their readers to wear specific clothes for particular sports. An ideal figure is what everyone dreams of. Ideal is when the height and weight commensurate with each other, the situation when one feels comfortable when he or she looks at him/herself in the mirror, which boosts the self confidence and becomes a motivating factor to keep up with the daily routine of physical work- outs. When the media highlights this it has a very great impact on the viewers. They visualize themselves having the “ideal” figure. Visualization turns to desire and then ends up in action when they start working their way to attain it. The research results also indicate that all women participants wore specific, fashionable and functional outfits in order to be exceptional. Michelle claims that wearing appropriate clothing in an appropriate setting makes her feel like a real athlete. It also increases the duration of the exercise, the motivation being to have a “perfect” body so often displayed on glossy magazines. Mary says that a special outfit helps her to feel confident. She too feels that wearing a stylish outfit, such as a yoga dress, makes her feel like an athlete. During my observation in the basketball court and fitness center, both male and female participants were wearing trendy and specialized outfits. All men in the basketball field were wearing professional NBA uniforms. All women in the fitness center were wearing special cloths for yoga, gym outfit and so on. Such observation proves the fact that media does have a great influence on people’s attitude towards sports and physical training. Susan mentions that her parents had forced her to exercise regularly because she was overweight. They often compared her with teenagers from TV commercials, situation comedies and soap operas criticizing her body, which was far from an ideal image that people desired. Her parents said that having a “negative” body image could prevent her from getting a good job after graduation. In the additional comments, four female participants suggested that further investigation should be done to examine the influence of mass media, especially the TV industry, on the perfect body image, which motivated women to be fit. Two male participants mention that TV commercials with masculine athletes prompted them to exercise regularly to have an ideal body. Health Issue and family background It is observed that health issues also force people to exercise and maintain a healthy body condition. In the last part of the interview, David added some personal information about his family history and explained why he exercised on a regular basis. He said that both his father and paternal grandfather died because of congenital heart disease. After visiting his family doctor several years ago, he realized that he had inherited the same disease from his father. The family doctor warned him to pay extra attention to his health condition and advised him to exercise regularly to feel and remain fit. From that day onwards he has done exercise every day. It is observed that it is really difficult to be fit and go in for sports regularly. Since one’s health condition directly affects work, family and social life, people become motivated to improve their health. The research shows that 55% participants have been forced to exercise on a regular basis because of diseases and deaths of the family members or friends, caused due to lack of physical activity. Another interesting case was described by Cathy. Once, she received a warning letter from her supervisor for being absent at work for a long time because of chronic pains. The supervisor wrote that her absence would cause burden on her colleagues. In order to improve her health condition, she consulted a health professional, who suggested her to exercise for 45 minutes no less than three times a week. She has continued this treatment for six months, and now has become stronger than ever. Both Cathy and her supervisor were pleased with her improvement, which encouraged Cathy to persist her goal. Similar cases happened with 15 % of the participants. DISCUSSION Most people prefer to have a companion while doing exercise as they share the same interests and encourage each other to continue. Once an individual gains a peer support and encouragement, he/she overcomes the sense of boredom and acquires the habit of regular training. It has been found that mass media of different types also play an important role portraying fit and healthy body images to the audience. Thus, it passively motivates people to exercise. Furthermore, personal health issues and family history also urge people to exercise regularly which brings to light the alarming facts of their health condition. Most of them use exercise as a potential treatment and preventive measure to avoid diseases such as heart attacks, diabetes etc. Individuals reported that they were instigated to exercise due to various reasons. In most cases, there is a tendency to acquire an exercise habit due to wrong motivations, which does not have a lasting effect. To facilitate and acquire a regular habit, it is essential for individuals to find effective motivation. Thus, examining peer relationships, mass media, personal health issues and family medical history, a more comprehensive understanding of effective motivation on exercise preference is achieved. Even though engaging in regular exercise can be a potential treatment for certain diseases, a lot of individuals misunderstand this fact and believe that overactive exercise once a month can have the same effect as a regular training three times a week. This may produce a negative effect on the individuals with cardiovascular diseases. Greater awareness of the exercise duration should be studied in order to prevent individuals to be engaged in inappropriate types of physical activity. Alternative future research should examine the area of children’s exercise enthusiasm and its development on a regular basis. This would help educators to design appropriate measures for children to form and develop the regular exercise habit. Future studies may also explore measures to support regular exercise among adolescents. Also, children are more likely to compare themselves with other children of the same age and imitate the behavior they observed. The study of peer influence, in childhood as well, can help researchers to develop positive competition exercise program for children. This can increase their enthusiasm and eagerness to do exercise. A special competition can be designed and introduced into K-12 education. Prizes should be given to students who exercise 30 minutes a day. This form of incentive allows children to compete with each other and build up a positive attitude towards physical training. For college students and adults, community group should organize “Community Weekly Sports Day” with gifts such as free meals and free newspapers to encourage every citizen to go in for sports. Furthermore, companies should also give extra minutes for those who want to do exercises during lunchtime. These measures have been introduced by some companies in Japan and Hong Kong. Research proved that work performance increased impressively after these innovations were introduced. As a result, similar policies should be introduced into the U.S. society to encourage people to go in for sports and acquire a regular habit. This study is originally designed as a cross-sectional research and aimed to collect data at one-time point. However, in order to improve the efficiency and significance of the experiment, future studies should be extended in order to provide more accurate results. Not only the design, but also the sample size of the experiment needs to be modified. The sample size of this experiment is 30, which is relatively small. According to the Law of Large Numbers, a large sample size gives more precise estimates of population values. That is why an increase in sample size will provide a macro-result. At the end of the research I have come to the conclusion that peer influence, mass media, personal health issues and family medical histories have a great influence on the motivation to do exercise regularly. To encourage children to exercise regularly, parents may act as the role model by sharing their exercise experiences and benefits. It can help the parents and their children to acquire a habit to go in for sports together and enhance the family relationship. In addition, it was found that a companion also has a great influence on motivation to do exercise. Also, a companion or friend can increase the sense of positive competition between people and help each of them to improve their performances and cooperation. On the other hand, advertisers utilize famous athletes like Michael Jordan and Jerry Rice as icons to create a brand image in order to attract people to buy their products. Similarly, policy-makers should utilize the power of these famous athletes to encourage children and sports fans to do exercise and introduce the benefits of regular exercise for them. Individuals should understand that doing exercise on a regular basis could improve their health and become a preventive treatment to certain diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Most people refuse to go in for sports believing that they have a good health. Nevertheless, it is necessary to raise people’s cognition and motivation, forcing them to go in for sport before acute pain starts controlling their body. Appendix A 1. When did you start sports regularly? 2. How often do you do exercise (go in for sport)? 3. What types of exercise do you prefer? 4. Do you ever stop doing exercise regularly? i. If “yes”, please, explain the reason(s)? ii. If “no”, please, explain the reason(s)? 5. What do you usually dress for training? 6. Do you prefer doing exercise alone or with a companion? i. If “yes”, with whom do you prefer doing exercise? 7. Are you living with your family? 8. What is your martial status? i. If you are married, “do you have any children?” 9. What’s your favorite location for doing exercise? 10. Do exercises benefit your physical health? i. If so, how? 11. What additional comments would you like to add to the interview? Read More