Have you ever wondered why some people have a good relationship with exercise, and some don’t?  Some people rarely, if ever skip workouts.  They have a routine and they arrange their lives around that routine.  Some even get angry when the other aspects of their lives, like work, impede on their training. 

Meanwhile on the flip side you have people who say they are too busy to workout, yet always are up on the latest episode of that generic reality TV show.  Come the spring and the weather clearing up, with a holiday on the horizon, or just after Christmas and the start of January, they make a beeline for the gym. 

We all know these people.  I could go into why I think they have such a poor relationship with exercise but that is for another blog.  And I assume that anyone reading this is a long-term exerciser.  Short termers tend to dive in without thought or consideration of this kind of stuff.  But you will know short term exercisers, and they are very different people, as the table below will reveal.

Why does this matter?  Because there is a very real possibility that you are the inspiration to one of these short termers.  They see you going to the gym multiple times a week and working hard and getting results and they want that.  And they believe that if they turn up enough they can get what you have. 

Where they fall down is that they are too short sighted.  They have a goal point at which they expect to reach their idealised look or result, and nothing will deviate them from that.  They get tunnel vision, and they are over eager at the beginning.  When results don’t appear to be going their way early on that enthusiasm dies away, and the first time attendance becomes difficult they waver and miss out. 

It’s probably best to try to support them and steer them in the right direction through well-meaning encouragement and advice.  Don’t outright tell them what to do, but suggest things.  And when the time comes and they seek out advice refer them on to an expert, someone you know will be a safe pair of hands in dealing with them.