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When I joined my current job, I used M&M's as reward when learning the names and faces of the people there using memory cards. Also worked!
Fortunately I've found that Belegarth fighting is so much fun that I need no extra carrot.
By far the most effective thing to motivate me to exercise, and run in particular, is the "VO2 Max" section of the Apple health app. It's a rough indication of your cardiovascular endurance, and the higher, the better. The real key is that, though, is that it basically works like an XP bar in a game: if you "grind" running, it goes up. If you don't, it doesn't. It's incredibly addicting to check the number every time you finish a run and see if it's ticked up slightly. It's also great because in some sense it is "real". If it goes up, I have an easier time on hikes, runs (obviously), playing sports, etc.
The second thing that really got me into running is that I found that the most effective way to get VO2 Max to go up is to run in heart rate zone 4, also tracked on the Apple watch. Zone 4 is 80 - 90% of your maximum heart rate. It's not an all out sprint, but you'll be moving pretty fast.
The reason it's so effective is best illustrated by contrast. In the past, I've tried tracking a number of metrics on my run: total miles, average speed, calories burned, whatever. But I found it psychologically draining to continuously try to top my fastest speed, and I inevitably had off days (or weeks or months) when the score I was measuring wouldn't go up. Obviously as you get faster, this happens more and more, and it gets easy to start wondering if you're even progressing. Heart rate is a much better measure, because in some sense this is compensated for. You don't have to continue to beat yourself every day (or fret that you're not) to get to 80% of your max heart rate, and on days when you're more exhausted, you'll hit a higher heart rate faster, so the effort is roughly the same.
Also, Zone 4 is a great place to be. You're pushing yourself, but it's a sustainable sort of push. I often found that when I ran sprints I wanted to die. They were so psychologically demotivating that I would do anything to avoid them. Zone 4 is not like this. It's very manageable, and I wake up excited to do it!
At this point, I want to run every day - I'm at the point where I have to force myself to stop sometimes because it's healthy to take rest days!
Usual disclaimers apply, BTW. Don't do all your running in Zone 4, don't immediately go from no running to an hour of zone 4 every day, do a reasonable ramp up over a long period of time, etc etc.
> My adulthood litmus test has always been the following: > > If you know what date it is every day, you are an adult. Tangent - My definition of "adult" that I came up with as an early teen: "When I realize I'm looking in the _driver's seat_ of passing cars hoping to see pretty girls, that will mean I'm `an adult`.". Years later I had a palpable shock moment in which I glanced in a car and remembered coming up with…
I generally unbundle age and adulthood. For me the definition has always been "an adult owns up to their own mistakes". Which is the shorter version of "A child doesn't care about their mistakes, a teenager expects others to fix them and an adults own up to them". This allows me to categorise older people who I feel like don't act like adults.
Just got back from a run! By far the most effective thing to motivate me to exercise, and run in particular, is the "VO2 Max" section of the Apple health app. It's a rough indication of your cardiovascular endurance, and the higher, the better. The real key is that, though, is that it basically works like an XP bar in a game: if you "grind" running, it goes up. If you don't, it doesn't. It's incredibly addicting to c…
Truer words have never been said. It's absurd how much bureaucracy adults have to engage with just to exist.
Good job hijacking your own pavlovian responses to run more. Personally, the low-tech solution of a plunger stuck to my forehead with a klondike bar dangling from the end has always worked for me. Related but if you're wanting to get into running (and have the environment for it) - I HIGHLY recommend favoring trail running over running streets/sidewalks. It's far better for your joints, it'll make you work harder sin…
A few years ago I did Couch to 5k. I did all my running at a local park with hiking trails. I actually really enjoyed "running" at the park. After I finished the program, I signed up for a 5k that was run on a flat, paved trail. I finished it, but it beat me up so badly that I could barely walk for the next week.
I recently found that store-brand peanut M&M's (my favourite) were just as good, half the price, and fair-trade! Win-win! When I joined my current job, I used M&M's as reward when learning the names and faces of the people there using memory cards. Also worked! Fortunately I've found that Belegarth fighting is so much fun that I need no extra carrot.
Just got back from a run! By far the most effective thing to motivate me to exercise, and run in particular, is the "VO2 Max" section of the Apple health app. It's a rough indication of your cardiovascular endurance, and the higher, the better. The real key is that, though, is that it basically works like an XP bar in a game: if you "grind" running, it goes up. If you don't, it doesn't. It's incredibly addicting to c…
What is it measuring? VO2 max is usually measured with a mask that can measure the flow of gasses while running on a treadmil/stationary bike.
Just got back from a run! By far the most effective thing to motivate me to exercise, and run in particular, is the "VO2 Max" section of the Apple health app. It's a rough indication of your cardiovascular endurance, and the higher, the better. The real key is that, though, is that it basically works like an XP bar in a game: if you "grind" running, it goes up. If you don't, it doesn't. It's incredibly addicting to c…
What is it measuring? VO2 max is usually measured with a mask that can measure the flow of gasses while running on a treadmil/stationary bike.