Several researchers have established a relationship between our attitude and feelings towards exercise and our physical activity habits. In general, a positive attitude typically equates to being more physically activity. For example, the work of Carol Dweck, a prominent professor of psychology, has shown that having a growth mindset (in contrast to a fixed mindset) may help to alleviate many of the psychological barriers that prevent us from being physically active.

In general, individuals with a growth mindset:

1. Believe that skills can be improved
2. Focus on the process of learning.
3. View effort as useful and can lead to growth and development
4. Embrace challenges and frame them as opportunities
5. Consider mistakes as a vehicle to learn
6. Encourage constructive feedback

In general, individuals with a fixed mindset:

1. Believe that skills are born and can only be marginally improved with practice
2. Focus on performance outcomes and try to avoid looking bad
3. View as unnecessary for growth and development
4. Consider challenges as threats
5. Become frustrated by making mistakes
6. Take constructive feedback personally (they get defensive).

Check out the Mindest Questionnaire at http://performanceredefined.ca/posters/ to see how growth minded you are!

Commonly cited barriers to regular physical activity include:

1. Not enough time. But…every little bit counts. Whether 5 minutes, 20 minutes or 2 hours, physical activity of any kind and any length can provide health benefits. There is also evidence that just 3 minutes of high intensity exercise can elicit health benefits.
2. Too tired or no energy. But…exercise can help. Being active in the morning or taking small physical activity breaks throughout the day can boost energy levels and combat the effects of a busy work/life schedule.
3. Too lazy or no motivation. But…schedule an appointment. If lacking the motivation to be active or consistently putting things off “until tomorrow” scheduling time for yourself can help to change an existing behavior. The support and encouragement provided by a peer group can also be a powerful motivator in both the short- and long-term. Challenge your friends to something fun!
4. No support or encouragement. But…join an exercise community. Whether a group exercise class, running group or sport and social league, there are several options available to meet new friends, try something new and build a sense of community.
5. No money. But…it can be cheap. Go for a walk, a run or swim at the beach. Climb the stairs or ride your bike to work. Perform a bodyweight circuit in your living room. There are many options that don’t cost anything.

Practical tips to be active every day in as many ways as you can

But, to make exercise matter – to ensure its impact extends beyond the training environment – we must always remember the reasons why we are exercising in the first place. For most of us, exercise is a means to improve safety or performance at work, maintain a fitness level so that recreational activities such as golf or hiking can be enjoyed, or support a healthy lifestyle long into retirement.  Regardless of our motivation to be physically active, adherence in the long-term will be likely be tied to the extent to which we see a direct benefit to our quality of life. In other words, we must perceive benefit from the exercise!

Building on theoretical foundations of exercise science, biomechanics, ergonomics, motor learning, physiology, psychology and coaching, several researchers have started to explore the utility of exercise to change behaviors. For example, performing a particular exercise or group of exercises repeatedly in a semi-controlled environment has shown to elicit changes in the way that performers move while completing a range of unrehearsed tasks of varying loads and speeds. However, the direction of change (whether they get better or worse) appears to be influenced by the instructions and feedback provided while exercising, and the attention that is given to how each exercise is performed.

When an emphasis was placed on select key movement patterns that have been associated with a higher injury risk and poor performance (e.g. control of spine flexion and frontal plane knee motion), firefighters’ movement patterns improved post-training. In comparison, when an emphasis was placed on fitness alone, the firefighters exhibited less control of their low backs and knees following the exercise intervention in comparison to before they started. Frost et al. J Strength Cond Res 29(9): 2441–2459, 2015.

One of the most important factors to elevating our capacity is the realization that the way we move every single day can have a dramatic impact on our lives. If exercise is viewed as a way to establish desirable movement behaviors, there is evidence to suggest that an emphasis should be placed on engraining select key movement features (e.g. spine and frontal plane knee motion control) that have been shown to be or cited as possible injury mechanisms, or performance-limiting factors. Against this backdrop, exercise can and perhaps should be used strategically to stabilize or engrain these desirable patterns using a variety of frequencies, intensities, times and types of activities such that they emerge and persist in relevant activities beyond the exercise environment.

Using a range of loads, speeds, activities, etc. to improve a performer’s control and coordination of these key features is critical to the transfer of exercise since it would not be possible to practice every possible activity they may encounter in life. Instead, introducing gradual changes to the demands, complexity of the activity, and training environment could alter the habitual patterns used to perform several life-related activities without having to replicate these exact tasks. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that there may be attributes, or “key features”, of an individual’s movement behaviour that are common to a range of activities. The hope is that a desirable behavior emerges as a new habit.

Although exercise provides an excellent opportunity to engrain desirable behaviors such as spine and frontal plane knee motion control, rehearsing an undesirable movement pattern could lead to undesirable consequences. Attention must be given to how we exercise to maximize the potential benefits. Having great strength, endurance and aerobic capacity will have little influence on our safety, performance and quality of life if we move in an undesirable manner. It is often stated that practice makes perfect; however, the truth is that practice makes permanent. Only perfect (deliberate) practice makes perfect. Bad practice leads to bad habits.

While intrinsically motivated (e.g. active for enjoyment, excitement and challenge) people are more likely to maintain a physically active lifestyle in the long-term (i.e. adherence), extrinsic motives can (and perhaps should) be used along the way to engage, excite and empower. Extrinsic factors can motivate us to start something new, persevere, and redefine performance. However, one of the potential limitations to being motivated in this way is becoming complacent when the incentive disappears. This is why knowing what factors regulate our motivation to exercise can help to create a physically active lifestyle – one in which small steps are made every day to cultivate a growth mindset, develop physical literacy, and maximize quality of life.

Central to this integrated approach is an evidence-informed framework that can be easily adopted and understood by all parties involved – every employee needs the capacity to meet the demands of their life. This model provides an excellent foundation to establish recommendations or to create resources by emphasizing the application to employees’ lives. Streamlining the continuum of care and delivering a consistent message (this is for you!) will provide every employee with the opportunity (and motivation) to reduce their risk of injury and disease, improve their health and wellness, and enhance the overall quality of their life.

The Case for Wellness

It is commonly stated that focusing on treatment instead of prevention has created a “sick care” system (not “health care”) in which much of the available funding for health and wellness is spent in reaction to people getting hurt or sick. In this model, most professionals (e.g. physicians, chiropractors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, exercise specialists) treat clients in response to developing or existing problems. Unhealthy, unsafe and stressful work environments can cost employers billions of dollars annually because funding is allocated to these short-term and reactionary initiatives.

However, recent initiatives are helping to create a “proactive” health care system by encouraging the development of wellness and prevention strategies. Placing an emphasis on workplace wellness has consistently shown a return on investment of $2 to $8, which for a large organization amounts to millions of dollars saved annually by investing in employee health. In general, a workplace should only be considered healthy if it addresses the physical environment, personal health resources and the organizational culture.

A Practical Example from the Fire Service

In 1996, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and Fire Fighters (IAFF) launched a Wellness and Fitness Initiative (WFI) to improve the health, fitness and overall quality of life of firefighters across North America. Fire departments who implement the WFI must develop a program that is agreed upon by both labor and management, mandatory, non-punitive and confidential, and specific to firefighters’ physical and psychological needs.

Although the WFI is structured to ensure that firefighters are fit, healthy, and able to handle the unpredictable, physically demanding nature of the job, it is well know that each individual is not just a firefighter. They are are also a father, mother, brother, sister or friend who happens to have a demanding occupation. For this reason, the WFI is as much about preparing firefighters for the job as it is preparing for life, both while working and long into retirement.

As a first step, the WFI highlights the importance of inspiring change. One of the first and most important factors of the initiative is gathering information regarding the attitudes of the members and organization as a whole. The WFI exists to inspire each and every firefighter, whether they are new to the department or nearing retirement. This is arguably the most important step in developing a wellness initiative – to implement any large-scale change requires that employees be open-minded and willing to participate (i.e. buy-in is critical!).

The WFI also provides evidence-based information to help shift firefighters’ perceptions of wellness, fitness and exercise. Knowing that there are simple things that every firefighter can do regardless of age, interests or experience to dramatically improve the quality of their lives today could be the spark needed to achieve success. Only after members have expressed an interest in wellness can measures to be taken to develop education and resources that change their perceptions of health, wellness and the overall workplace initiative.

Ultimately, to establish a positive and productive workplace culture may require a change in employee behaviors. Once the firefighters have embraced the notion of wellness (changed their attitudes) and learned about the potential benefits of the initiative both on and off the job (changed their perceptions), strategies can be developed to change behaviors. The WFI prioritizes member buy-in prior to implementing any intervention that will improve performance, reduce risk or enhance overall quality of life. This is largely accomplished by relying on a network of Peer Leaders (e.g. Peer Fitness Trainers) who have the knowledge and skills to provide guidance within a department.

Lastly, the WFI is built on a framework that every firefighter can use to make exercise and training matter beyond the gym environment. Having embraced an approach that focuses on members’ attitudes, perceptions of wellness and fitness, and positive behavioral change, the WFI truly can impact the quality of firefighters’ lives. Ultimately, an emphasis is placed on enhancing firefighters’ capacity with respect to the demands of their lives so that they can continue to perform any activity they need or want to do today, tomorrow and long into retirement.

Your demands reflect the activities that you need, love or want to do. For a physical active population such as firefighters, they reflect the skills necessary to safely fight a live fire and effectively assist at the scene of an accident, but also encompass those activities performed at the end of the day such as going for a run, doing chores around the house, or playing with their kids. Every one of these activities imposes demands (physical, psychological and emotional).

Your capacity can be viewed as your ability, (e.g. strength, endurance, flexibility), desire (e.g. motivation) and awareness (e.g. perception of risk) to perform, safely and effectively. The DEMANDS – CAPACITY framework can be used as a foundation to make your exercise matter!

In the unfortunate situation that an individual’s demands exceed their capacity, their risk of injury and cardiac or respiratory distress will go up, their performance will go down, and quality of life will suffer. In these situations, we can reduce life’s demands (e.g. no more golf, no more lifting…and yes, this also applies to playing with your kids), but this is no way to live!

Most of us want to be active today, tomorrow and 10 years from now, and therefore we need to look for opportunities to build our capacity to meet the demands of our lives. This approach also offers an excellent strategy to enhance motivation and adherence to exercise in the long-term.

To gain a better appreciation for the demands of your life (i.e. your reasons to exercise), begin by asking three simple questions.

1. What activities do I need to perform, love to perform, or want to perform? Consider work, life and play?
2. In general, what frequencies (how often), intensities (how hard), and times (how long) are the activities that I need, love or want to perform?
3. In general, what movement patterns are associated with the activities I need, love or want to perform? In general, each of us should exhibit the control and coordination to squat, lunge, hinge push and pull.

While your demands can offer insight into how “fit” you need to be, your capacity highlights where you are now. As a first step towards establishing your capacity, pose the same three questions from above, albeit in the opposite order.

1. In general, what movement patterns are associated with the activities I need, love or want to perform? This question will help to establish the types of exercises or activities that could be used during an assessment.
2. In general, what frequencies, intensities, and times are associated with the activities that I need, love or want to perform? This question will help to establish the frequency, intensity and duration of the exercises or activities that will be used during an assessment. However, as a rule of thumb, start low!
3. What activities or exercises will provide me with an opportunity to assess the movement patterns, frequencies, intensities and times listed above?

Using this framework, your exercise programs can be created to progressively build your capacity to meet or exceed the demands of your life!