CM 068: Michelle Segar on Exercise for Life
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If you struggle with exercise, Michelle Segar has a secret for you: Stop blaming yourself! Blame the system!
After years of studying the science of motivation, Michelle Segar, Ph.D., Director of SHARP — the Sport, Health, and Activity research and policy center at the University of Michigan — has created a framework for rethinking exercise that swaps out prescription for meaning. Filled with practical tips and strategies, Michelle’s bestselling book, No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness, is informed by years of putting these findings into practice with people just like you.
Some of the things we discuss in this interview:
- How systems determine our success in sustaining physical activity
- Why exercise is about so much more than weight loss
- Why finding the right whys make all the difference in our health and wellness
- How reflecting on how we feel when we move can help us sustain activity
- Why relying on willpower is such a short-sighted strategy
- The important role of emotions and decision making in activity for life
- Why meaning trumps should every time when it comes to changing our behaviors
- How we approach eating following a workout we enjoy versus a workout like work
- How exercise recommendations became so prescriptive
- Fewer than 1 percent of American adults know how much exercise is recommended
- How small of a role logical and rational behavior play in our choosing to exercise
- Why we need a new kind of fitness prescription based on how we live and feel
- How we help others when we prioritize our self care
- How a go-to activity resource prevents us from wasting time and energy
- Why reflecting on the immediate benefits of physical exercise fuels us long term
- The importance of finding exercise we love
- Getting past the idea that movement only counts when we sustain it for periods of time
- How awareness of our current situation empowers us to take ownership for what we want it to be
- Why negotiation skills can reap big benefits in helping us create time for physical activity
Links to Topics Mentioned in this Podcast
SHARP at the University of Michigan
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