Is signing up to an event a good idea?
What if I’m not the perfect toned and conditioned athlete yet?
Should I enter?
Target events for some people represent the peak of their training effort for a given year or season.
But what happens if you’re still on your way to becoming an experienced and conditioned athlete? Perhaps you’re coming back from an injury, re-entering exercise after a long break away or feeling like the “ole body” isn’t up to what it used to be? Do events still work?
While we all know exercise is good for our health, on average approximately 75% of adults don’t achieve the minimum amount of 150 minutes of exercise per week. Turns out, human evolution has hardwired us to conserve energy, meaning it’s incredibly tempting to press the snooze button on the alarm in full knowledge of the negative health implications of inactivity; leaving for later, the exercise we all know is essential for our health!
Our biggest gains in life come when we apply deferred gratification principles. That is, we resist the temptation of immediate pleasure in favour of process that delivers a preferred reward at a later date.
Events work as the perfect deferred gratification solution because the process comes with multiple cues for rewards which start from the moment you register for a sports event.
First you receive your event date registration receipt and you put it somewhere handy for safe keeping.
Next you circle the date on your calendar right alongside all the other special occasions you have listed there.
Then you research the course, the area, past results, scan photos, check out the medals.
After which you tell your friends perhaps connecting on social media which introduces you to entire communities of other ardent event participants.
All these small interactions along the way take our minds ahead to the anticipation of the vibe of the day, the endorphin buzz of crossing the finish line.
We can anticipate encouragement from our family and friends. Perhaps complete strangers on the day will wish us well and offer their congratulations. These cues help us to anticipate the many rewards we receive when we achieve and complete our event. Effectively, they keep the necessity of exercise and all its’ benefits, top of mind!
Sports events provide each of us with a wide variety of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, massively increasing the likelihood of maintaining the habits needed for a healthy body with multiple events increasing the likelihood our ability to exercise consistently over a lifetime.
Will you register for an event today?
For help selecting your next event, we can help…
Email us : barbara@eventreadybodies.co.nz