When it comes to working out, it’s OK to “choose ‘good enough’ over ‘perfect,’” a University of Michigan researcher says.
“Nothing has to be perfect, including exercise,” said Michelle Segar, a behavioral scientist at the university.
Segar and a team of researchers from U-M and Kent State University recently conducted four focus groups among 27 adults (ages 19 to 79) who wanted to exercise but found they couldn’t stick with it.
Based on the group conversations, the researchers uncovered four components that “collectively make up an ‘all-or-nothing’ mindset”:
Rigid, idealized standards: For example, if exercising was 15 minutes, it wasn’t enough – even if it was at full effort.
Excuses for not exercising: “This component reflects participants actively trying to avoid their intended exercise.” Exercising the “right” way hurt, was hard or didn’t feel good.
Exercise was “expendable” compared with daily priorities: Exercise was easy to push aside.
Confused about why they don’t exercise: Participants couldn’t reconcile their current inactivity even though they could recall previous positive experiences exercising.
“Exercise-related all-or-nothing thinking occurs when a specific exercise plan becomes unworkable,” Segar said. “At this moment, when people cannot perfectly adhere to their plan (the ‘all’), they choose not to exercise at all rather than modify the plan.”
She added, “Most people are tired and overwhelmed, so in the moment of decision, the immediate costs of exercising feel much bigger than the benefits.”
Do you find it challenging to stick with an exercise routine? Along with not aiming for perfection, Segar’s advice includes:
Don’t blame yourself for getting off track: “Our culture has taught an (all-or-nothing) exercise formula that sets most people up to fail.”
Don’t be a prisoner to your exercise past: “Know that negative exercise experiences in your past can demotivate you now. Acknowledge that fact, then move forward in more positive and realistic ways.”
The study was published in the journal BMC Public Health.
