Motivate Yourself To Exercise With This Clever Science-Backed Strategy

Like many people, you probably have good intentions when it comes to exercise. You know you should do it, you understand why it’s important, and yet… you just can’t seem to find the motivation to stick with it.

This is incredibly common. If you search the internet for “how to motivate yourself to exercise”, you’ll find a lot of advice. One of the most common suggestions is to reward yourself for achieving goals.

Most of the online advice about how to reward yourself for exercise misses the mark, though. 

I’ve written a full article about the right way to use a reward system for exercise. Check it out here.

Here’s a brief summary of that article, although I still recommend reading the whole thing so you can learn how to use rewards the right way.

The wrong way to use a reward system (which unfortunately is how most people do it), is to use a reward as a prize for achieving certain results. Instead, your reward should be something that happens during or immediately after the behavior you’re trying to do.

That article outlines exactly what a good reward system looks like and some ideas for setting one up. Did I mention that you should check it out?

In this article, I want to teach you about a specific type of reward system, called "Temptation Bundling".

What Is Temptation Bundling?

Temptation bundling is a when you combine a “want” behavior with a “should” behavior to motivate yourself to do the “should” behavior.

A “want” behavior is something that’s instantly gratifying but may not be the best for working towards your goals. It might even be something that you regret afterwards.

For example, you might have a habit of scrolling through social media or mindlessly watching tv. You feel good while you’re doing it, but then you feel bad – like you wasted time you should have spent doing something else.

A “should” behavior is something you feel like you need to do to move towards your overall goal. If you want to get fitter, you should go for a jog or do a strength training workout.

A "should" is not something you necessarily enjoy (but you can learn to enjoy it – read my article on building intrinsic motivation to find out how). It takes some motivation and willpower to do it now, for the promise of a long-term benefit.

Temptation bundling brings the two together. You do the thing you want to do at the same time as the thing you know you should do.

Ideally, you should set and enforce a rule for yourself that you only do the “want” at the same time as the “should”, and not at any other time.

An example of temptation bundling is to watch tv only while you’re on the treadmill.

The Benefits Of Temptation Bundling

There are some important benefits to combining your “wants” and “shoulds”.

Most obviously, you’ll be more motivated to do your “should” behavior. If you really like watching a certain tv show and you can only watch it while you’re on the treadmill, that’s a pretty good incentive to get on that treadmill.

You might also enjoy that treadmill time a little more. If you’re watching a show you really like, your brain can start to associate that enjoyment with the exercise you’re doing. Soon, exercise won’t feel like so much of a burden, and you might even feel a “pull” to work out. That’s how you form a habit.

Finally, temptation bundling might even improve your mental health.

If you feel bad about yourself for doing things that undermine your healthy lifestyle, temptation bundling gives you the opportunity to reframe your negative behaviors, thought patterns, and self-concept.

You can turn those “want” behaviors into positive instruments for change without having to give them up altogether. Your tv watching or social media habit becomes a tool you can use on your journey of self-improvement.

The Research On Temptation Bundling

The first study to investigate temptation bundling found that having gym-goers combine listening to an audiobook with their workouts resulted in a 29-51% higher gym attendance rate than a control group who didn’t use temptation bundling.

In that study, the 29% improvement was in people who were able to listen to their audiobook anytime, including at the gym. The 51% improvement was in people whose iPods (this was in 2012) were kept in a special locker at the gym, so they could only access them during a workout.

More recent research backs this up, finding that temptation bundling motivated people to go to the gym more often during a 4-week study. When the researchers checked in on their participants up to 17 weeks after the study finished, they found that people who used temptation bundling were more likely to have kept their gym habit going.

How To Use Temptation Bundling

Temptation bundling is a great tool to add to your arsenal of success strategies. It shouldn’t be your only strategy, though. Motivation and behavior change are hard, and you should use everything at your disposal. That includes other strategies like changing your environment, shrinking the change, and reducing decision fatigue.

To try it yourself, grab a piece of paper and make a list with two columns. In one column, write down as many “want” behaviors as you can think of. In the other column, write down “should” behaviors that are important to your overall health and well-being. 

Brainstorm ways you could combine an item from each list. Remember that this will be most effective if you only do your want behavior at the same time as your should behavior, so brainstorm ways to stick to that rule. That might mean enlisting some social support or an accountability buddy.

Good luck! If you need help, contact me. All of my personal training programs include health coaching and added accountability to help you follow through on your good intentions.