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Study Associates Strong Purpose In Life With Exercise

Trending News: You'll Exercise More If You Have A Purpose In Life

Why Is This Important?

Because your life goals should include more than just having a six-pack.

Long Story Short

Researchers out of the University of Colorado found that people who have stronger goals and a purpose in life tend to get more physical activity.

Long Story

Americans don't get enough exercise — and that's a huge problem considering rising obesity, heart disease and cancer rates. As recent study showed that just 2.7% of Americans fit all four requirements for a healthy lifestyle — exercise, diet, being skinny enough and not smoking — but who are these people?

Another recent study out of the National Center for Health Statistics found that, surprisingly, those in sedentary desk jobs and with a higher level of education are more likely to hit the physical activity requirements than those in production-level jobs and with less education. But a new study published in the Journal of Health Psychology has found what sort of mindset people who exercise have.

To come to this result, the researchers asked 104 people to answer questions about their health, levels of optimism and "purpose," as reported by TIME. They then had the participants wear accelerometers for three days to measure their physical activity. And from this research, the scientists found that having a stronger purpose in life causes people to exercise more.

“Reminding yourself what gives your life meaning and purpose, and connecting that to why you want to be physically active, could improve the chances that you stick with it,” advised study author Stephanie A. Hooker of the University of Colorado Denver in an email to TIME.

“We believe that having a strong sense of purpose in life gives people reasons or the ‘whys’ of engaging in healthy behaviors,” added Hooker. “Healthy behaviors, like physical activity, are not inherently pleasurable for all people, but connecting physical activity to one’s innermost values and goals may increase the likelihood that people engage in these behaviors on a regular basis.”

So what does this mean? Well, if you're only motivation to workout is getting a six-pack or to get that beach body, you might not end up hitting the gym enough. Not to say those goals aren't terrific — they are. It's just that if you setting larger goals like success and fulfillment in whatever you do, that could not only help you to reach the top of your passion, but also get super ripped at the same time.

Hooker uses this example: “If someone told me they wanted to be more physically active to lose weight, I might ask them why they wanted to lose weight. They might say they want more energy to play with their kids, which would eventually lead down the path to the person [wanting] to be a better parent.”

Sure, this research study may have been small and with self-reported attitudes, but it builds on previous research that came to similar conclusions.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

But what do you need to do to find your purpose (it's not an easy one to answer, but one that our readers on guyQ have been wrestling with)?

Disrupt Your Feed

Self-actualization first, six-pack second. 

Drop This Fact

Doing just 15 minutes of exercise a day may be enough for some people. 

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