Emotional and Motivational Issues in the UK Health and Fitness Industry

EMOTIONAL &
MOTIVATIONAL
ISSUES IN THE UK HEALTH
AND FITNESS INDUSTRY
BROUGHT TO YOU BY

THE MAJORITY OF OUR BAD HABITS WITH REGARDS TO DIET AND
EXERCISE ROUTINES STEM FROM EMOTIONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL
ISSUES.
On a daily basis we are bombarded with
articles on the latest fitness and diet
crazes, images of morbidly obese children
and scarily thin celebrities.
Girls as young as 5 are being treated for anorexia and a quarter of the
UK adult population are now classified as obese. We are a nation that is
worryingly obsessed with the way we look.
Most of us spend our days sat at a desk opting for a fast food, processed
lunch as it’s ‘easy.’ Our lives are now so busy that many people struggle to
find time for exercise and healthy eating, and if they do, they opt for faddy
routines that more often than not result in failure and disappointment. In
general, many of us struggle to find the motivation to make any significant
lifestyle changes.
The majority of our bad habits with regards to diet and exercise routines
stem from emotional and motivational issues, which have become part of a
much wider culturally rooted problem. Understanding these emotional and
motivational issues is the first step in addressing society’s poor attitude to
dieting and fitness. By addressing these issues and combining improved
access to knowledge with technological advancements, we can start to get
our nation’s health back on track.
To gain a deeper understanding of the issues facing those in the health and
fitness industry and how we can overcome them, we have interviewed
Ian Male, a fitness and wellbeing expert currently working as a personal
trainer for Greenwich Training.
EMOTIONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL ISSUES IN THE UK HEALTH AND FITNESS INDUSTRY 2

Q1
IN YOUR EXPERIENCE,
WHAT ARE THE MAIN
BARRIERS TO LIVING A
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE?

Lack Of Time
Most of my clients lead incredibly busy lives, with work dominating the
majority of their time, and any spare time taken up with domestic chores.
This lack of free time results in high stress levels, leaving them feeling
demotivated and in need of an indulgence. This finds the majority of us
opting for a night in front of the television or at the pub, understandably
finding it an infinitely more appealing prospect than a dimly lit basement to
run on a treadmill for an hour.
Likewise, the prospect of slaving away in the kitchen once they finally head
for home sees them taking a detour to the supermarket and its array of
ready-made-meals or ordering a takeaway. This also results in prolonged
elevated cortisol (the stress hormone) release, which carries with it a whole
raft of health implications.
Lack Of Money
Through talking to health club members, most see eating healthily as a
more expensive option than the aforementioned processed foods, which can
be cheaply produced and sold. Couple that with the convenience factor and a
wealth of misinformation both on food labelling and in the mass media, and
you have a seriously flawed food culture.
With regards to exercise, many people feel it is a luxury that they simply
cannot afford. That said, despite the current economic climate, health
club membership has actually risen across the UK over the past 5 years.
The combination of local councils running subsidised schemes, and a
heightened awareness of the potential benefits of exercise has led to an
increase in people signing up to get fit. But the majority of these people will
fail to actually attend their new health club after the first month, when a
lack of time, visible progress and motivation combines to override their best
intentions.
THOSE WHO DO NOT FIND TIME FOR EXERCISE WILL HAVE TO
FIND TIME FOR ILLNESS. - Edward Stanely

Lack Of Knowledge
To understand why people are not getting the correct advice and information
we need to look at where that information is obtained. In the overwhelming
majority of cases it is either from the mass media or the government. The
problem with this becomes clear when we analyse what drives the selection
of information.
The mass media are not motivated by scientific data or results, but simply
which diet or exercise protocol will gain the most traction with the public
and sell the most magazines/draw the most website views and click-
throughs. Their bottom line is profit, not our health and wellbeing.
Our society seems to place a greater importance on how people look than
their health and wellbeing. As a result people are often driven to try ‘fad’ or
‘celebrity’ diets in order to gain results quickly, more often than not leading
to yo-yo dieting. In a recent poll the average 45-year-old admitted to trying
no fewer than 61 diets. This is an alarming illustration of the pressures
people feel, but equally shows that the majority of us are prepared to make
an effort. More importance should be placed on health-related goals such
as lowering body fat or gaining lean muscle rather than chasing a certain
physique. It is the health and fitness industry’s responsibility, along with the
government, to educate people and give them the safest methods to exact
long-term improvements in their health and wellbeing.
A lot of my clients seem to aspire to celebrity figures of one sort or another,
and while it’s great to have these inspirational physiques to motivate us,
quite often they are an unrealistic goal for the individual or, particularly in
the case of females, an unhealthy example exhibiting excessive weight loss
which comes with a raft of health issues all its own.
THE SADDEST ASPECT OF LIFE RIGHT NOW IS THAT SCIENCE
GATHERS KNOWLEDGE FASTER THAN SOCIETY GATHERS WISDOM
- Isaac Asimov

The issues with using the government as a source of advice couldn’t be
more different. Our knowledge of the human body is increasing incredibly
quickly, with hundreds of thousands of peer-reviewed studies published
every year on a variety of topics. Graduating medical students are often told
“half of what we’ve taught you is wrong, however at present we don’t know
which half”. In other words, you will need to keep reading and learning in
order to offer people the very best advice and treatments. Unfortunately one
of the characterisations of large companies and governing bodies such as
the NHS is that any changes to policies or official guidelines take years to
implement, resulting in out of date or inaccurate advice in most cases.
IN A RECENT POLL THE AVERAGE 45-YEAR-OLD ADMITTED TO
TRYING NO FEWER THAN 61 DIETS

Q2
SO WHAT IS THE
RESULT OF THIS LACK
OF KNOWLEDGE?

A lack of results closely followed by an
understandable lack of motivation. When
people fail to see or feel an improvement,
they will simply revert to their previous
habits.
Every year 50% of us make a New Year’s resolution, however 88% of us fail
in sticking to it. A huge factor in this is boredom. At first heading to the gym
each week or eating a healthy breakfast is a fun and interesting change,
which we feel highly motivated to continue with. However over time we come
to see it as a chore, and find ourselves increasingly tempted to break our
new regime. This usually coincides with a drop off in results compared to
those observed in the first few weeks.
The best way to combat this is to ensure that we are still seeing and feeling
results, but the human body will only change as a response to a stimulus.
This means that to improve any aspect of your fitness, you will need to
push your body out of its comfort zone. By doing this you create a strong
stimulus, and a more dramatic response from the body. However, after
approximately six weeks the body adapts and is able to perform the tasks
you are asking of it. This leads to something called the plateauing effect,
where progress slows or stops altogether unless the stimulus is changed. A
good training plan should always be periodised to avoid this, however it is an
element missing from the majority of exercise plans available through the
aforementioned sources.
90% of our immune system lies in our digestive tract, however simple
dietary changes, which can heal a huge proportion of modern afflictions,
are routinely overlooked in favour of prescription medication. Time and time
again I prescribe dietary changes and supplementation for my clients, and
see their symptoms for conditions such as crohns, irritable bowel syndrome
and arrythmia disappear completely within six months. They are able to
avoid surgery, or greatly reduce the number of prescribed medications and
in some cases stop them altogether.
Put simply, the most efficient way to effect a permanent improvement in
health is to improve the quality of the information provided.

Q3
WHAT ISSUES DO YOU
COME ACROSS ON A
DAILY BASIS THAT
INHIBIT PEOPLE FROM
FOLLOWING A DIET OR
FITNESS PLAN?

No matter the individual, making the
decision to contact a personal trainer
represents a major decision, and almost
always results from a significant change or
event.
This pivotal moment or tipping point is usually quite informative and can
often be used to determine the underlying motivations and goals of the
individual. The following are issues that I encounter on a daily basis, and
while they don’t all apply to everyone, I believe several different factors
apply to most people, rather than one single issue. Determining which of
these will illicit the biggest response is key to gaining the best results in the
quickest time with the minimum of perceived effort.
Emotional
• Self-confidence - This can be a powerful reason for joining a health
club or working with a trainer, however at the same time it can be a
barrier as well. Quite often I meet with prospective clients who see the
initial consultation as daunting, and worry that their physical limitations
might lead them to be judged in some way. Many people have so little self-
confidence that they feel they need to improve their fitness before enlisting
a trainer, which is incredibly counter-productive. Other people realise that
becoming healthier or transforming their physique will give them more self-
confidence. It is part of my job as a fitness professional to ensure that the
client feels encouraged and supported rather than bullied into exercising,
as negative associations lead to sub-optimal results, with the focus on how
they’re perceived rather than the exercise itself, and a fear of failure.
• Lack of willpower - Similar to the issue with exercise participation, clients
will often fall off the wagon and binge on unhealthy foods after following
a nutritional framework for a few days. This can happen for a variety of
reasons, and if these can’t be identified before, then it is very important to
spot them and ensure we take measures to avoid them going forward. Again
it is possible to adjust goals according to the individual, for example some

people find it easier to go cold turkey and completely overhaul their exercise
and eating habits, where others prefer to make small changes gradually
over time.
• Peer pressure - While most people associate peer pressure with our
formative school years, peer pressure plays a huge part in every aspect of
our lives, especially our exercise and eating habits. The habits and decisions
of individual’s will be greatly influenced by the people they work with, as
they spend the majority of their waking hours with them. If everyone else
is heading to the gym before or after coming into the office each day, you
are far more likely to do the same. The same is true if the majority of your
colleagues lead sedentary lives. These pressures don’t only come at work
though; both friendship groups and family members influence people’s
decisions, so this can be a huge factor to consider when setting goals.
• Body image - I would say that altering or maintaining body composition
accounts for around 90% of people who exercise. This can be a difficult issue
for two reasons. Firstly, weight loss is incredibly hard to achieve through
exercise alone. Many people struggle to come to terms with the fact that
they need to eat healthily as well as exercise regularly, with good nutrition
actually having more of an effect than exercise on weight loss. If gaining
muscle is the goal rather than dropping pounds, this is far harder to achieve,
requiring on average three relatively intense sessions of resistance training
coupled with strict nutrition to gain results. Secondly that how people see
themselves in the mirror is often different to how they actually look. This is
why before-and-after photos or measurements are always useful tools, as
they give you ammunition to support the progress that some clients may
struggle to see.
• Nutrition - British society has an increasingly unhealthy relationship
with food, with more and more people using it as a crutch to improve their
mood or state of mind. On one hand we make unhealthy choices when
we’re depressed or feel we deserve a treat, for example eating an entire tub
NO ONE CAN MAKE YOU FEEL INFERIOR WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT
- Eleanor Roosevelt

of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream if we’ve had a tough day at work. This issue is
exacerbated by the availability of huge quantities of the processed, unhealthy
foods on various promotions in every supermarket up and down the country.
On the other hand, more people are skipping meals and not eating sufficient
amounts because they feel they’ve gained weight or need to lose weight to
feel better about themselves.
Motivational
• Mentoring - As mentioned earlier, having a personal trainer who you see
regularly acts as a powerful motivator for most people, however for those
who can’t afford this a lack of motivation is the single most common reason
people fail to continue exercising.
• Goal setting - By creating targets or goals that are pre-agreed with my
clients and achievable, we create a reason for them to stay committed.
Some great examples of this are any upcoming events such as a family
wedding or holiday, or performing a body-weight pull-up for the first time.
After this has been achieved it is important to re-evaluate and set new
targets.
• Plateauing - The majority of people who make a significant change to their
exercise and/or eating habits will see an immediate and obvious change
which acts as a fantastic motivator. However after a few weeks or months
these results can plateau as the body adapts and becomes used to the
changes. Again at this point we re-evaluate and establish new goals, and
change something in order to give the body a greater stimulus, for example
switching the focus of you exercise sessions from weight loss to strength
gain. This kick-starts the body and ensures the client sees continued
progress, which in turn motivates them.
• Competition - A common tactic employed by health clubs and weight-
loss companies that can really drive participation and improve people’s
performance is establishing competitions or leaderboards. In my experience
everyone loves to see their name in lights, and that innate sense of
competitiveness can really drive people to push themselves and exceed their
own expectations and goals.

The key with all these motivational factors is striking the right balance
and understanding that everyone is an individual. Where some people will
love competing with a workmate to get the quickest 5k time or lose the
most weight, others will find the idea incredibly intimidating, so it is always
important to make these things optional.
OUR GREATEST WEAKNESS LIES IN GIVING UP. THE MOST
CERTAIN WAY TO SUCCEED IS ALWAYS TO TRY JUST ONE MORE TIME
- Thomas A. Edison

Q4
HOW CAN
WORKING WITH A
PERSONAL TRAINER
HELP TO OVERCOME
MOTIVATIONAL
ISSUES?

When working with a personal trainer or
nutritionist people are far more likely to
see results, and when they do they are also
far more likely to continue exercising and
making healthier choices.
Fewer than 25% of regular gym users achieve the goals they set out when
they join. Of that 25%, over 90% work with a health and fitness professional.
In my personal experience there is one overriding factor though - motivation.
In the majority of my clients simply knowing that they have an appointment
with me in the diary motivates them to stay on track. Of course it helps that
they have expert advice and knowledge on hand, but nothing can beat the
knowledge that they are going to be held to account for any poor choices
they’ve made. This social pressure, which is created entirely from within, is
the key to gaining results and permanent improvements in health.
However the vast majority cannot afford to pay a personal trainer or
nutritionist, so have to rely instead on quick-fix workout programmes
and ‘fad’ diets, which unfortunately set unrealistic targets and normally
yield poor results. With this in mind, I believe the best way to alter and
encourage people to lead healthier lives is to give them access to as many
of the benefits of working with a personal trainer as possible without the
financial costs. While this might sound unrealistic, a huge step could be
taken simply by educating people and giving them the knowledge to make
the most of their efforts. Positive results drive continued participation both
in individuals but also in their friends, family members and colleagues,
creating a healthier society over time. In business the Pareto principle
states that in the majority of cases, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the
causes. I believe this could also be applied to the nation’s health problem; by
identifying the most effective methods used by personal fitness trainers and
replicating them, it would be possible to educate people on the best ways to
improve and maintain their health and in turn the health of their families.
FEWER THAN 25% OF REGULAR GYM USERS ACHIEVE THE GOALS
THEY SET OUT WHEN THEY JOIN

Q5
WHAT ROLE DOES
TECHNOLOGY PLAY IN
INCREASING
MOTIVATION AND
SUCCESS LEVELS?

I believe technology has a huge role to
play in curbing the obesity epidemic and
associated illnesses. Smartphones and the
Internet, when utilised correctly, offer an
incredible platform to revolutionise the way
we stay healthy.
Both hardware and software such as Nike+ and Zombies, Run! have already
found success through creating an online community where likeminded
individuals can meet and push each other to excel and gain great results.
Nike+ uses motion sensors or the accelerometers found in smartphones to
monitor and measure a users’ activity levels, earning them “NikeFuel” which
can be shared via social networks and used to earn trophies or complete
challenges. With over 11 million users it is proving a huge success and
illustrates people’s receptiveness to new and innovative ways of exercising.
NIKE+ DASHBOARD NIKE+ DEVICE SELECTION

Zombies, Run! goes further with the gamification aspect than any other
app and illustrates technology’s potential to combine exercise and gaming
to improve participation and results. This downloadable smartphone app
plays out a developing story where the user is being chased by the undead
between music tracks, prompting an interval-training style of training. As
the user completes runs they collect supplies like ammunition and medicine
which can then be distributed by the user on their home computer in a Sim
City-style platform game.
From a nutritional standpoint, things are far less advanced. Most apps
focus solely on calorie counting - an incredibly inefficient and old-fashioned
method of monitoring food intake. One of the most popular apps of this
type is My Fitness Pal, which allows users to log the amount of calories
consumed each day, and the amount of calories expended through
exercise. They have an incredibly extensive database of most widely
available foods, coupled with a relatively simplistic system that calculates
calorie expenditure based on your weight, age, and the type and duration
of exercise. While calorie counting does tend to yield reasonable weight
loss results, it is by no means the most efficient method and is rarely
sustainable, meaning people usually put the weight back on once they reach
their target weight. It also places no importance on the correct proportions
of nutrients, and makes no effort to actually educate people what to eat.
ZOMBIES, RUN! DASHBOARD ZOMBIES, RUN! INTERFACES

If you show people how to eat a clean, non-processed diet then the body will
begin to work correctly, releasing hormones to limit your food intake and
rendering calorie-counting obsolete. I believe the key here is to give people
less choice, and to provide them with a weekly shopping list and a set menu,
based on their likes and dislikes. By gaining more information about each
user, it would be possible to generate a food and meal plan specifically
tailored to give them the most efficient route to their target.
In my experience people are far more likely to follow a rigid meal plan or
selection of suitable recipes than a rough set of principles. By saying to
someone “if you eat exactly what I’m telling you to, when I’m telling you
to for the next four weeks, you will see huge improvements in your body
composition, guaranteed” you are making a commitment to them, which in
turn motivates them to make the same commitment in return.
There are hundreds of other health and fitness apps currently available, its
even a category all of its own in Apple’s AppStore!
However no-one has managed the
complete solution yet - an online
community where both diet and exercise
can be tracked easily and accurately, with
engaging gamification aspects combined
with expert knowledge and advice which
users can access easily and instantly.

Q6
WHAT ARE YOUR
FINAL THOUGHTS?

We need to acknowledge that there is no
miracle pill or fitness programme that will
help us become fit and healthy overnight.
Some people will simply not be willing to put in the work to get where
they need to be, and for many it is a long road back to a truly healthy body
composition. I would argue that by identifying the people who are willing to
make the effort and focussing all our energy on helping them, we will see
far greater results than by trying to help everyone.
I have trained many individuals, from a bride-to-be who lost 3 stone over 4
months, to experienced marathon runners who took over an hour off their
previous best time. This has shown me that while every case is different, one
thing is constant; everyone is motivated by something or someone, and if
you can harness that drive and set achievable goals then almost any client
can and will get the results they want.
Contributor
Ian Male
Ian is fitness and wellbeing expert currently working as a
personal trainer for Greenwich Training.
“I’ve been a Personal Trainer for over 3 years, working at
various different gyms around London. For me, the key to
keeping fit and staying fit is making exercise enjoyable, it
shouldn’t be a chore.”
ian@greenwichtraining.com

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