Fitness Motivation for Men and Women Differ?

For the past 8 years I have primarily been focused on helping women get fit although I still coach male clients. What becomes obvious is that incentive to get is often driven from different motives.. As I get ready to launch a men's camp I have a heightened awareness about what motivates men to exercise. I know some of you have husbands who are exercise fanatics and others who are weekend warriors and some couch potatoes. There are lots of factors that go into deciding to exercise (and stick with it) such as your past experience with exercise, how uncomfortable you are with your present situation, something in the future that you aspire to, such as a child watching you in an event or a family reunion. There are both internal and external forces that motivate us. We are motivated to move away from pain 2.5 more times than we are to move towards pleasure. There was likely a moment in time where you decided to join boot camp. Some of you had not exercised in decades and others were looking for a new challenge. You may have thought about exercise / weight loss many times before actually committing, but there was some emotion that actually caused you to be motivated to exercise.

The article below shares some differences between men and women in motivation towards exercise. It may give you some insight into your spouse.

When it comes to fitness, men and women motives certainly not the same
Posted by Chris Bynum, Health and Fitness Writer, The Times-Picayune August 22, 2008 5:00AM
Categories: Living: Health and Fitness

Kenneth Harrison / The Times-Picayune
Health, appearance, athletic performance and social approval are the main reasons people work out. And while men and women may express their motivations differently, the differences between the sexes seem to be narrowing when it comes to fitness. A recent poll conducted by Fitness magazine asked readers to identify the thing that inspired them to join a health club. For 41 percent of the women respondents, the answer was: shopping for clothes.

But women aren't the only ones who experience their ah-ha (or uh-oh) moment in the dressing room. When it comes to finding the motivation to pursue fitness goals, it turns out that men aren't from Mars. They're with women on Venus. They just express it differently.

"It used to be that women took better care of themselves and were therefore more inclined to join a gym for health reasons. Men went to the gym to build muscle," says Fabio Comana, exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. "Now women go to the gym because they want to look better in their clothes. In recent years, men are more driven by health reasons than aesthetics to work out.

"I wouldn't say they are reversing roles. There's just a merging of the reasons men and women exercise."

Health, appearance, athletic performance and social approval are the main reasons people work out. And while men and women may express their motivations differently, the differences between the sexes seem to be narrowing when it comes to fitness.

While you might think that the motivation to work out comes down to the fact we all want to look good naked, local personal trainers say the Mars-Venus differences are more complex. Their observations reflect both subtle and significant contrasts.

"Men are more likely to say, 'My doctor says I should get fit' rather than 'I want to get fit,'¤" says local certified personal trainer Rusty Roussel, the co-owner of Salvation Studio, who says men are often motivated by health scares. "Women simply want to embrace what exercise can do for them -- having more energy, looking good, feeling good."

Jonas Deffes, a personal trainer who also conducts NOLA Boot Camp for women, says men work out to look good, and women work out to gain confidence.

But he has observed that once men start to look good as a result of their workouts, they also start to feel better as a result of their commitment to work out.

"And as women start to feel better about themselves, they also feel that they look better," Deffes says.

Local trainers say most women want to lose fat and most men want to build muscle -- the same fundamental goal of a more toned body conveyed in a completely different way.

"Women keep their skinny pants. If one day they try those on and can't get into them, they are motivated to work out," says Shawn Oddo, personal trainer to Simply Fit in Metairie. The "skinny jeans" factor is not one he has heard discussed among men.

"Men just want to be buff," says Oddo.

And because their instinct is always to nurture others before self, women also are more likely than men to require external pressure to work out, says performance expert Mackie Shilstone, director of The Fitness Principle at East Jefferson General Hospital.

"Women make 70 percent of the health care decisions in this country, but they don't make (enough) decisions for themselves," Shilstone says. "In many cases, a woman begins a health program to satisfy a mother, a friend, a spouse."

Important life events -- such as a class reunion, a vacation, a milestone birthday, a wedding -- also play strongly into the workout habits of women, says Joe Moore, president of International Health Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA).

Men, on the other hand, are often motivated by their jobs.

"I have two riverboat pilots whose jobs are demanding both physically and mentally, and they see fitness as part of the skill set for their jobs," says Roussel, the Salvation Studio trainer.

Life changes -- new romance, divorce, job promotion, empty nest -- are also fitness motivators for men and women alike, local trainer say.

A strong indicator that the sexes have more fitness goals in common than ever before is borne out by the fact that health clubs, once segregated by sex, are now almost exclusively co-ed. Even free weight rooms, once an all-boys' club, are now unisex environments.

"Men and women did not work out together. Clubs often alternated days between men and women, or they provided dual facilities to accommodate both sexes," Moore says. Now IHRSA's membership rolls show that women make up more than half of health-club memberships, which runs counter to research that shows women are still hesitant to work out alongside men.

And then there's Dara Torres, at 41 the oldest American Olympic swimmer ever, whose influence crosses both age and gender barriers. She swam the fastest times in her 24-year career while winning three silver medals for the United States in Beijing and inspired countless aging adults along the way.

"Men and women are signing up all over the country for swim classes," Moore says.

Both male and female clients, Roussel says, have come in to his studio to request some of the workout strategies Torres has shared with the world as cameras followed her quest.

Men and women may be different, says Comana, but when it comes to the pursuit of fitness, "They are not as diametrically opposed as they once were."


Health and fitness writer Chris Bynum can be reached at cbynum@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3458. Comment or read past stories at www.nola.com/health.

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Have a wonderful weekend.

Kelli@KelliCalabrese.com
www.KelliCalabrese.com
www.DentonBootCamp.com