Accountability is the key to a sustainable exercise habit

Two years ago, Amy Gruenhut suffered a near-fatal brain infection that left her in a coma for almost two weeks. Since then, she has gone from learning to eat, speaking and walking to running four marathons.

Ms. Gruenhut had been a regular runner before the coma, but after leaving the hospital, returning to the jogging paths of Central Park felt like a return to life itself.

Progress requires patience and willpower that seemed almost superhuman. But like everyone else, Ms. Gruenhut sometimes had trouble getting out of bed and putting on her sneakers. For those moments, she gathered a group of training buddies to encourage her to get moving.

“I didn’t want to stop them,” said Ms Gruenhut, 44, adding: “They made that commitment to me too.”

No matter how inspired people are to achieve their health and fitness goals, many face barriers when investing time, reps or steps. But experts say the difference between quitting and not quitting often comes down to having a person, group, app, or other outside force pushing you to keep going.

Most accountability tricks aren’t universal: one person might find it motivating to share running times on the fitness app Strava; another may find it very stressful. The key is to shop around until you find a strategy that works for you.

Find a buddy who is more committed than you…

Making plans to exercise with a friend will increase your chances of exercising. But some experts say we benefit most from working with someone who is more enthusiastic about exercise than we are.

a new study on gym motivation, soon to be published in the journal Management Science, found that participants who struggled to exercise saw a significant improvement when they connected with a regular gym-goer, said Rachel Gershon, lead author of the study and assistant professor of marketing at the University of California, Berkeley.

“Working with someone who is already doing well in the goal you’re trying to pursue can be effective,” she said. “And the more committed partner also benefited.”

…or someone who needs an extra push.

If you The more dedicated training buddy, you can benefit from serving as a motivator and teacher for a less experienced friend, says Ayelet Fishbach, professor of behavioral sciences at the University of Chicago.

When you give advice, you not only make yourself accountable to the other person, but you also strengthen your own commitment by hearing yourself articulate how or why you do something, she said.

Justin Ross, a Denver-based clinical psychologist who specializes in athlete mental health and performance, experiences firsthand the benefits of this type of asymmetric collaboration when coaching newer athletes. “I have to show up, not just for me, but for them,” he said.

Sign up for a race, but don’t tell (many) people.

Deciding to train for a race or other athletic event can provide both structure and accountability, experts say. But it’s probably best to keep your plans relatively private.

Sharing a lofty goal widely — on social media, for example — can backfire because it can make you “feel like you’ve already achieved it,” says Gabriele Oettingen, a professor of psychology at New York University. Research has suggested that for some people, talking about an upcoming goal can be a substitute for actually doing it: you get the same satisfaction without working hard for it.

Wait to hype your event until you’re close to the finish line, she said, both literally and figuratively.

Promise a fitness instructor you’ll come.

While paying a monthly gym membership encourages some people to exercise, for others it’s not enough: just half of the gym members go twice a week.

“If you don’t follow the rules, there’s no real punishment,” says Dr. Kevin Volpp, director of the Penn Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics, other than feeling like you’ve wasted money.

To create more accountability, he said, forge a relationship with an instructor or trainer and say you’ll show up for a class or training session at a certain time. Social responsibility – not wanting to come across as a flake – can be a powerful motivator.

Create a paperclip chain to track your progress.

If you are someone who responds well to visual cues or reminders, Dr. Ross recommends you create a paperclip chain to track your workouts and keep them in a visible place.

Start with one paper clip and add a new clip to the end of the chain each time you practice. You can also make a rubber ball.

“On days when you’re really not feeling it,” he said, these visual reminders “can help give you some of that energy to get you going.”

Being paid.

If you need an extra incentive, sign up for an app pays or rewards you for moving, says Heather Royer, a health economist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

These apps track metrics such as minutes or miles through your phone or wearable fitness device and offer discounts on products or even charitable donations in your name. They are typically funded by corporate sponsors or commissions from partner brands.

Dr. Royer prefers Pacelijn, which offers gift cards and discounts for 150 minutes of moving per week. Even though the payout itself is small (only about a dollar or two a week), it is motivating for her. “It’s enough that at the end of the week, if I haven’t achieved that goal yet, I’m going to work out at 10 p.m.,” she said.