“That’s it! One more rep…”

“You got it, pick it up and get back to the line.”

“See you the same time tomorrow!”

Woooooooh! Maria was tired! She completed a training session with her personal trainer (PT) and high-fived Alex, her training partner. Over the following days, she felt sore, almost too sore! Getting off the couch and going to the second floor welcomed her glutes, quads, and hammys to pain city.

She thought, “Did I do the workout wrong?” Am I that out of shape?”, “How is Alex keeping up so well?” And most importantly: “Is this for me?”

When it came it renewing her personal training contract at the end of the month, Alex decided not to.

What Gives?

She started out strong, but over time, each training session become harder, and she felt less motivated.

(Motivation is not a thing, but a result of behavioral events).

There are a host of variables at play:

• Maria’s baseline activity levels
• The intensity of the PT’s workouts
• The progression of workout difficulty
• Changes in personal schedules
• Maria’s finances
  

Maria reached out to me, voicing her frustration, and felt lost on how to get started again.

After a quick chat over coffee, we discovered that Maria’s trainer contributed to an aversive learning history.

What is a Learning History?

A learning history consists of what an individual experiences related to certain stimuli in the environment. We learn by doing, and repeat those activities that produce meaningful reinforcers.

It’s what we learn. In grade school, college, and at work. We continuously learn in the fitness environment, too. We learn how to lift weights, run with good form, and sign up for competitions.

Reinforcers vary person to person, but common ones in the context of fitness behavior may include: coach’s feedback, sweaty clothes, completing a new movement (e.g., a pull-up for the first time), high exercise minutes on your Apple Watch, and working out with a friend.

However, for others, those same stimuli may actually function as punishers, or aversive stimuli. Punishers decrease behavior, and we actively avoid aversive stimuli. That is, we engage in a new behavior (e.g., deleting the trainer’s text message) to avoid potential negative consequences. Some people prefer to work out by themselves in the air-conditioning.

We remember, or at least it’s more obvious to us when things are going well. But we tend to forget how our past fitness experiences shape our current behavioral levels of fitness activities, contributing to our sense of not feeling motivated.

Have a great learning history — filled with positive reinforcement? Then you probably have a consistent fitness routine.

Have a poor learning history — filled with aversive consequences? Then you probably have some work to do.

Unfortunately, in the latter, your previous fitness environments failed you.

(But don’t worry, there’s hope!)

In Maria’s case, many of her workouts produced aversive outcomes:

• Excessive soreness
• Constant yelling (“Just go!)
• Confusing workouts
  

Those stimuli punished Maria’s fitness behavior.

Further, we discovered that the PT did not individualize training sessions based on her skills, abilities, and fitness level. Lacking a better term, the personal trainer used a cookie-cutter program and said, “Go, go, go!!!!” The PT did too much too soon — too many reps, too many movements, and not enough recovery between training sessions.

There are bad trainers out there, like any bad waiter, car mechanic, or customer service rep.

Routines Vary

This may not sound like a big deal, but people work out in waves, certain things happen, and either fitness behaviors are reinforced, punished, or situations are avoided altogether. You may be consistent for 6 months and then go a year without a consistent routine.

For Maria, her PT did not provide enough reinforcement for her fitness behaviors, and incidentally, punished her behavior. She worked out for 3 months, and had a large gap in a consistent routine.

Learning History As An Algorithm

The learning history, or experience with health and fitness activities, is almost like our own personal algorithm. Nothing is certain, but there is some percentage likelihood that a fitness behavior will occur. I am 99% likely to run on a Tuesday or Thursday given a consistent workout environment — no family obligations, clean workout clothes, and fair weather. Maria is 0.5% likely to sign up again with this trainer because of her experience.

Our fitness algorithm changes based on what learn and experience.

• Have a good experience at the gym? Attendance likely increases!
• Hear about a bad review of a local gym? Attendance likely decreases!
  

What’s Next For Maria?

After the “Aha!” moment for Maria, she felt better about her program moving forward. We continue to work together, and as a coach, I have to be sensitive to her learning history and repair certain activities and shape behavior in a methodical way.

What’s Next For You?

If you have gone too long without a fitness routine and want to increase the frequency of your workouts, then consider your reinforcers.

• What do you enjoy about working?
• How do you recruit your reinforcement?
  

Exercise may not inherently produce automatic reinforcers(e.g., the “burn”, enjoying the sunshine on a run), but maybe there are aspects on the environment that would be preferable: working out with others, finding a friend, trying a new activity, listening to a podcast on a walk, or watching a movie on the upright cycle.

Reinforcement is a key ingredient to everything that we do. When all else fails, think about how your reinforcers are going? Are they missing? Not occurring enough?

I give you permission to seek and find ones until you solidify your routine!