ACTIVITY TRACKING +
MOTIVATION SCIENCE:
Allies to Keep People Moving for a Lifetime
by Michelle L. Segar, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S.
Apply It!
Discover some concerns about
fitness tracking apps and wear-
ables based on the science of
motivation and decision-making.
Learn key science related to cre-
ating lasting behavior change.
Identify how to use basic scien-
tific principles to cultivate intrinsic
motivation and lasting behavior
change using fitness tracking apps
and wearable technology.
Key words: Apps, Wearables,
Motivation, Physical Activity, Exercise
8 ACSMs Health & Fitness Journal
Copyright 2017 American College of Sports Medicine. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
Over one-in-five U.S. adults use some form of personal health tracking device
and an estimated 485 million wearable computing devices will be in the market
by 2018.
(Reported in The Hidden Cost of Personal Quantification, Etkin, 2016, p. 1.)
H
ealth economist Jane Sarasohn-Kahn recently noted research showing
that wearable activity trackers and smart watches are among the
fastest-growing segment in consumer electronic purchases (36). It seems
as if there is a fitness tracker on every wrist, and people are more than
happy to share their statistics about steps and reps and minutes spent
moving. Because of their tremendous commercial success and burgeoning role in promot-
ing physical activity within the fitness, wellness, and health care arenas, it is important to
critically consider both the limitations and promises of activity trackers and wearables in
cultivating sustainable motivation to move. This article will discuss some concerns regard-
ing activity tracking alone to motivate behavior, describe science related to enhancing
physical activity motivation more generally, and then show how this science can become
an ally to tracking apps and wearables to boost their motivational potency, engagement,
and the sustainability of physical activity.
Activity trackers are novel and accessible; its easy to grab one and go. And its just as
easy to get engaged with feedback from your Fitbit, your Apple Watch, or your tracking
app they are shiny new tools, great gifts, and fun. And its not just wearables;
smartphone-based tracking apps for movement, fitness, and health also have made
inroads into the territory formerly occupied by home exercise machines and fitness
July/August 2017
equipment. Tracking apps also have reopened the door to
movement for those who have felt alienated or turned off by
high-intensity fitness classes or feel that they have failed at
traditional exercise.
Many app users are thrilled to see digital proof of how many
more steps they are taking each day and intrigued by observing
data on their sleep patterns and daily heart rate. This is not
surprising positive feedback is considered to be an essential
element in driving ongoing goal pursuit (11). In other words,
for people to stay motivated to pursue any goal, they need to
get continual feedback that they successfully are achieving it. It
is undoubtedly energizing and motivating for previously inactive
individuals to see that that they took hundreds of more steps to-
day than yesterday and to discover that when they get up from
their desk and move around more during the workday, it adds
to their step count and thus toward their ultimate goal.
From corporate wellness solutions to mobile technologies for
patient-centered care, activity trackers are seemingly every-
where. It is no surprise that fitness professionals are interested
in using tracking apps and wearable devices, too: a 2014 study
on the impact of wearables on the fitness industry conducted
by ACE and Inov8 Health found that most health and fitness
professionals say that their clients are interested in wearable ac-
tivity devices and that they want to learn how to better leverage
this technology in their work (3). As a fitness professional, your
clients undoubtedly are asking about them or already wearing
them, and you may well wear one yourself. So they must work
in changing behavior, right?
The answer turns out to be a little more complicated.
TRACKING ALONE MIGHT NOT MOTIVATE
SUSTAINABLE MOTIVATION
Activity trackers and wearables are certainly fun to use. They
encourage users to count all physical movement and provide
valuable feedback that keeps some people moving. Because of
their popularity, stand-alone tracking apps and wearables, as
well as tracking integrated with other behavioral interventions
(health coaching, Web-based competitions, etc.), are being
researched at high rates. Yet this burgeoning area of research
varies a great deal (e.g., study design, populations, type of track-
ing, placement of tracking device, duration of study, number of
components in app, and targeted outcomes) leaving many unan-
swered questions. For example, some intervention studies
among healthy participants have found that wearables help peo-
ple lose weight (47). Other interventions among chronically ill
populations have reported that the use of pedometer plus Web
site can increase daily walking (33). Still, other research has
found that only some types of trackers influence outcomes. For ex-
ample, a study of inactive postmenopausal women found that al-
though a standard pedometer did not motivate increased
physical activity in the group wearing them, a comparison group
wearing a Fitbit did increase their physical activity (8).
But for many, as one recent study has found, tracking-related
motivation may not be sustainable over the long term. By the
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Copyright 2017 American College of Sports Medicine. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
end of a yearlong study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endo-
crinology, Fitbit participants increased their physical activity by
16 minutes per week. However, by 6 months, 40% of the partic-
ipants had stopped wearing their trackers, and by 1 year, only
10% of the participants were still wearing them. Study authors
noted that none of the targeted health-related outcomes changed
from this increased participation (16). Another recently published
investigation found that tracking plus participating in a competition
increased steps, whereas tracking alone did not (35). Furthermore,
a survey of wearable users found that over half had discontinued
using them, and of those participants, one third had stop using
them within 6 months (30).
Tracking activity also can have some unanticipated negative
outcomes. A University of Pittsburg study of 571 participants
looked at the efficacy of tracking with lifestyle intervention
targeting weight loss (26). Surprisingly, researchers found that
tracking plus the intervention actually resulted in less weight
loss than participating in the intervention alone. According to
study author John Jakicic, These activity trackers really dont en-
gage people in strategies that really make a difference in terms of
long-term lifestyle change (25).
Despite the mix of positive and negative research findings,
and mounting concern that wearable technology doesnt suffi-
ciently motivate (9,19), tracking apps and wearable technologies
hold promise for increasing physical activity when they are de-
signed using scientifically supported principles in motivation
and consumer behavior.
Yet, whether the activity tracker is in a smartphone or worn
on the hip, bra, or wrist, it is vitally important for fitness pro-
fessionals and users alike to understand that these are only
tools. Their value is as an aid toward reaching a goal, such as
being more physically active, but they are still just tools
not the holy grail of motivation. To date, research sug-
gests that activity trackers by themselves are not going to help
most people achieve long-term motivation and sustainable
behavior change.
It is vitally important for fitness professionals
and users alike to understand that activity
trackers and wearables are tools; they are not
the holy grail of motivation. Some research
suggests that activity trackers alone are not
going to help people achieve long-term
motivation and sustainable behavior change.
Tracking devices and wearables provide a visible
incentive for physical activity. For sustained
use, they need a synergistic partner: the
self-generating fuel of internalized motivation.
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FITNESS TRACKING + MOTIVATION SCIENCE
ON AND OFF (AND ON AND OFF) THE TREADMILL
To understand this contention, lets take a step back and con-
sider tracking apps as part of the continuum of physical activity
tools and options weve seen over the past several decades: think
Jane Fonda workout videos, Coopers Aerobics, Jim Fixx and
running, the Nordic Track, Suzanne Somerss ThighMaster,
and todays very popular P90X, Insanity, and Orange Theory.
Like new gym memberships that eventually go unused, many
novel fitness products and services become wildly popular
for a while. And for a while is an ideal outcome for the compa-
nies that profit from consumers purchasing their solutions. But for
consumers, for a while reflects the unfortunate short-term out-
come that typically has resulted from most physical activity tools.
Heres how this cycle often works: John sees a commercial
about a new fitness product right after his annual physical, where
he learns he is prediabetic and needs to take action to reverse
this trend now. In this moment, John is acutely worried about
his health and future. Prompted by his clinician and his partner,
he is understandably very motivated to try something that
promises to turn this situation around quickly. Hes in a moti-
vation bubble, where all he can see is what he needs to achieve.
With these concerns at the forefront of his mind, John con-
siders which physical activity tool will enable him to address this
situation and decides to order a treadmill to put in his basement.
He figures that having this exercise machine in his home will cut
out the 20 plus minutes of commuting to and from the gym. He
starts out with the best of intentions and great enthusiasm, plan-
ning to get up 30 minutes early every morning to fit in a tread-
mill session before work. The first week his plan goes well. The
second week is a more demanding work week, with an unex-
pected out-of-town meeting that causes him to miss 2 days on
the treadmill. He gets behind on his work because of this trip
and stays up late when he returns to catch up. For the next
few days hes tired and only makes one morning session. By
week 4, he reflects on the last couple of weeks of hit-and-miss
workouts and feels like a failure. Now every time he walks past
the treadmill it just makes him feel bad about himself. In another
month its become a great place to toss dirty clothes on the way to
the laundry room.
Once the initial novelty and intention fades from using a tool,
and the very real competition of life circumstances bursts the
bubble, motivation leaks out until there is no more.
This story about treadmills exemplifies the vicious cycle of
failure that so frequently occurs when people become active
based on the belief that the specific tool they just chose will be
their ultimate solution for sustaining a physically active life.
Whether the shiny new tool is a video, a class, a gym member-
ship, a celebrity instructor, a machine, or a wearable technology,
this story has an all too common trajectory: the renewed promise of
finally getting hoped-for results motivates physical activity for a
while. But the excitement and primacy of the tool, and even the
goal itself, quickly take a backseat to the immediate need to care
for a sick child or get a report finished on time. When this happens,
an activity tracker (like any tool) easily can become a source of guilt
10 ACSMs Health & Fitness Journal
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and get tossed into a drawer to avoid this reminder of yet
another failure.
To understand the limitations of tracking alone as a motiva-
tional tool, as well as ways to boost its motivational potential, it is
important to understand how motivation actually works and
how you can better use activity tracking apps to harness it.
HOW MOTIVATION REALLY WORKS
Motivation energizes us to pursue our goals and values. Because
it fuels our behavior, it plays an essential role in peoples long-
term exercise behavior, health, and well-being. Most people
consider motivation to be the necessary beginning of sustained
exercise and physical activity. But research shows that motiva-
tion results from peoples primary reason or goal for starting to ex-
ercise (24,38,44).
Diverse research across behaviors (including physical activity,
education, and consumer behavior) suggests that goals both en-
ergize and direct behavior (6,10,17) and create the frame
through which a behavior is perceived and viewed (28). Further-
more, peoples primary goal or motive for becoming more active
determines whether they will experience low- or high-quality
motivation for doing it (24) and influences whether they stay
motivated over time.
Tracking steps and collecting other activity statistics undeni-
ably can be motivating at first. But trackers, and quantifying
behavior more generally, in fact have been shown to reduce the
pleasure people get from physical activity. According to a recent
research study (15):
Six experiments demonstrate that while measurement
increases how much of an activity people do (e.g., walk or
read more), it can simultaneously reduce how much people
enjoy those activities. This occurs because measurement
can undermine intrinsic motivation. By drawing attention
to output, measurement can make enjoyable activities feel
more like work, which reduces their enjoyment. As a result,
measurement can decrease continued engagement in the
activity and subjective well-being.
Ironic, isnt it? The tracker is a tool that is designed and sold
to be motivating, yet it actually has the potential to decrease intrin-
sic motivation a specific type of self-determined motivation
that research suggests is one of the very best drivers of sustainable
physical activity (49).
Research shows differences in behavior change trajectories
depending on whether people initiate a new behavior (e.g., physical
activity) with controlled or autonomous motivation (13). Con-
trolled motivation is when individuals feel controlled or pressured
by the idea of being active. It reflects when people consider
physical activity as a should, something they think they ought
to do (e.g., because of cultural pressures to be thin or look more
attractive, or follow a clinicians orders to lose weight) and be-
cause of that is considered to be low-quality motivation. In
contrast, when people have high-quality motivation, they feel
July/August 2017
autonomous over their physical activity and self-determined in
their actions; they deeply value the benefits they get from being
physically active and/or the inherent pleasure it brings. Auton-
omous, self-determined forms of motivation for physical activity
are more likely to drive sustainable behavior compared with
controlled forms of motivation (49).
For sustained motivation, it is necessary to go beyond Siri
to the real source: the self. Consider that tracking devices
and apps provide an external, visible incentive for physical activ-
ity. For sustained use, they need a synergistic partner: the self-
generating fuel of internalized, autonomous motivation.
WHY ACTIVITY TRACKING OFTEN MISSES THE
MOTIVATION MARK
Tracking apps and wearables often are designed and purchased
by consumers under the assumption that seeing feedback on
steps/activity inherently is motivating for most. Why, then, do
only a small percentage use them past 1 year?
This gap between starting and sustaining is due to the lack of attention
to the true motivator of physical activity: the primary goal it aims to
achieve (28,32).
Tracking apps and wearables often are marketed as the ulti-
mate motivator, yet most are just feedback generators. Feedback
is crucial to ongoing goal pursuit (11), yet using a tracking app to
get feedback on only activity per se does not address the core
motivator: why an individual wants to become more physically
active or use a device in the first place.
The individuals underlying reason for increasing his/her phys-
ical activity his/her why for including more movement in his/
her life is the foundation of the entire motivational and be-
havioral process (11). The why motivates behavior or it doesnt.
The individuals underlying reason for becoming
more physically active his/her why for
including more movement in his/her life is the
foundation of the entire motivational and
behavioral process. The why motivates
behavior or it doesnt. Ultimately, it influences
whether people will stay motivated to stick with
it long term. Without strong internal motivation
to exercise, tracking apps are unlikely to pick up
the motivational slack.
Ultimately, peoples underlying whys for physical activity
directly influence whether people stay motivated to stick with
it long term. Unless trackers ally with a strong internal motiva-
tion for being physically active, they often are not strong enough
to pick up the motivational slack.
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THE WRONG WHYS: LOGICAL GOALS OFTEN LEAD TO
SHORT-TERM MOTIVATION
When asked about their motivation for becoming more physi-
cally active, most people say they are doing it to lose weight, look
better, and improve their health (27,43). And why not? Exercise
and physical activity are vigorously promoted as a prime way
to achieve weight control, prevent disease, and achieve better
health overall by public health messaging, fitness profes-
sionals, clinical encounters, advertising, and the media (1,2).
Unfortunately for patients, consumers, and health and well-
ness professionals alike, research suggests that these types of
logical, future-oriented health-related whys might be nonop-
timal for motivating people to sustain physically active lives
(18) these forces effectively have branded physical activity
as medicine and as a body-sculpting tool (39) rather than a
pleasurable experience. This easily turns being active from
something people want to do to a chore they are obligated
to do.
Consider how this works:
An individual initiates a more physically active lifestyle to
achieve an abstract goal such as better health. The motivation
frequently comes from an external pressure his/her doctors
advice, his/her partners remarks, peer pressure, or that fitness
magazine cover. This initiates a sequential process that results
in a vicious cycle of failure.
The vicious cycle of failure starts with what I call the Wrong
Why (Figure 1) (42) an initial reason for wanting to become
more physically active driven by avoiding a disease in the
future (perhaps simply following doctors orders) or achieving
unrealistic changes in body shape or weight (e.g., wanting to
look good for an upcoming wedding). Whatever the
impetus for change, the wrong why often originates from an
external source, such as wanting to meet a societal standard
or please someone.
This leads directly into the how-to-do-it or chore phase
vowing to work out intensely, join a club, or buy an activity
tracker; whatever it takes to achieve the objective. The person
feels like he/she should do the physical activity, regardless of
how it makes them feel until, inevitably, something gets in
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FITNESS TRACKING + MOTIVATION SCIENCE
Figure 1. Vicious Cycle of Failure.
the way. They miss a workout or two, forget to check their num-
bers, or feel guilty about putting this ahead of other priorities.
Eventually, they stop, feeling as if they have failed.
After some time has passed, however, they feel inspired (or
pressured) to try again. But because this is the only approach to
physical activity they have learned, they jump right back into
the vicious cycle optimistic that this will be the right time
or the right tool. Only temporarily motivated by another wrong
why, however, they unknowingly have set themselves up for
failure again.
Its not that health- and weight-related goals are inherently
bad. Rather, its what these motivators do not do: they do not im-
bue physical activity with a meaning and purpose within peo-
ples lives that give it sufficient clout on a daily basis. Thus,
even a wonderful goal such as better health easily becomes
the wrong why for many (45). On any given day, it is hard for
physical activity that aims to achieve a vague future outcome such
as better health (or losing weight) to beat out the urgent and
unexpected life tasks against which they constantly compete.
Consider tracking apps and wearables within this perspective.
Some people clearly are motivated by the immediate visual
feedback (numbers, graphs, etc.) that they receive from activity
tracking alone. Although instant gratification provided by this
feedback may lead to feelings of success for some, this quantified
achievement may not be enough. There is growing concern that
the immediate gratification this feedback provides does not
transform into something that is sufficiently relevant to peoples
daily roles and goals to generate sustained motivation (9).
So what do people make time for?
12 ACSMs Health & Fitness Journal
Copyright 2017 American College of Sports Medicine. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
People make time for whats essential and for experiences
that make them feel good. Even when people say they are moti-
vated to pursue a behavior to achieve a goal in the future, it is
the immediate rewards that actually predict persistence toward
that goal (53)! Growing research shows that physical activity that
is enjoyable and makes people feel good right now is more moti-
vating than a noble but far-off goal such as improving their
health (39,48), even for people older than 60 years who likely
consider being healthy as highly relevant (18).
Its clear: when we are less stressed and more energized, we
enjoy life more and perform better in the key life roles that we
value, such as parent, partner, and professional. When we notice
the immediate benefit from moving our bodies in increased well-
being, and observe how feeling better improves our perfor-
mance in the everyday life roles that we care most about, we
are motivated to continue to do a self-care behavior such as
physical activity.
So, odd as it seems, it may be time for professionals to stop
promoting future health and weight loss as motivators for move-
ment (40). Because when we promote positive health behaviors
for their very real and instantaneous payoffs that benefit daily liv-
ing, individuals experience a much more compelling incentive
to adopt and sustain them within their busy lives. This notion
aligns with behavioral economics research showing that humans
are more motivated by immediate rewards (e.g., well-being now)
than ones they have to wait for (e.g., better health in the fu-
ture) (22,31).
Instead of working counter to human nature, lets harness its
power to motivate autonomous motivation. Tracking apps and
July/August 2017
wearables should move from the quantified self (e.g., I am focused on num-
bers when I move) to the feeling self (e.g., I am focused on how I feel and
function when I move).
THE RIGHT WHYS: FEELING GOOD GOALS BETTER
MOTIVATE OVER THE LONG TERM
Active lifestyle behaviors do much more than improve health:
they lead almost immediately to increased energy and produc-
tivity, focus at work, patience at home, and more generally boost
life satisfaction. Furthermore, evidence indicates that we uncon-
sciously and consciously can prime people to expect and notice
these real-time positive experiences and benefits from being ac-
tive (4,23), and by doing so, we can create a reciprocal cycle of
enjoying how we feel when we move, increasing intrinsic moti-
vation and ultimately behavioral sustainability. Ironically, by
asking people to focus on immediate pleasure and well-being
from moving, instead of on future health benefits, we are set-
ting people up to perceive all opportunities to move as a gift,
something that should motivate an ongoing desire to move,
and ultimately improve their health (21).
Lets consider how this works. When people use physical activ-
ity and moving more generally as a way to boost their mood or
generate energy, they get immediate positive feedback when they
are active and want to do it again and again. This successful cy-
cle of motivation springs from the Right Why (Figure 2) (42).
The right why reflects enjoyment and empowerment: choos-
ing to move for reasons that feel relevant and compelling and
then participating in physical activities that deliver immediate
positive feedback: listening to high-energy music while using
the elliptical; walking for 10 minutes with a partner for connec-
tion; being in the present moment when swimming; sharing
laughter with a close friend during a workout. In this cycle, peo-
ple learn that moving brings them real rewards fun with fam-
ily, creativity and innovation at work, or simply feeling more
grounded in themselves.
When people continue to get these experiences when they are
active and move their bodies, their motivation becomes self-
perpetuating: they want to keep having these experiences! So move-
ment becomes the gift that keeps on giving and sustains motivation.
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It is essential to help people learn to understand their own
motivation and to identify strategies that will transform health-
promoting decisions from chores that require self-control to im-
mediate gifts they want to experience now (12).
Sustainable physical activity and purposeful movement through-
out the day are made up of consistent decisions to do it
choosing to get out of the chair and get to the gym, taking time
for a short walk, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and
wanting to get off Facebook to get enough sleep before an early
morning walk with a friend.
This does not mean saying no to fitness trackers! In this
context, fitness professionals must go beyond seeing tracking as
a tool and see it as a movement ally, effectively using the levers
that science suggests will motivate individuals to choose to move
on a regular basis.
Generalizing from neuroscience and other affective and be-
havioral self-regulation research (4,7,11,14), when people be-
come aware that they can use physical activity to cultivate
immediate positive experiences (e.g., well-being, lifted mood,
more energy), they will be much more motivated to continue
to move because it feels good now (14,34). Tracking technology holds
great promise to help people learn these essential associations.
Fitness tracking apps and wearables can be designed to more
powerfully harness intrinsic motivation. They might, for exam-
ple, guide consumers to ask themselves the right questions and
use the best evidence-based strategies for building sustainability.
Specifically, they can be developed to identify the specific
whys and experiences from moving that will be most motivat-
ing and meaningful for the individual to pursue, and even, per-
haps with whom (41).
But we dont have to wait for technology to catch up.
We can do this right now: ask clients to identify immediately
gratifying rewards they can feel when they move and then
use activity trackers as a way to create these new positive asso-
ciations with physical movement. This is a winning combina-
tion that converts external rewards (e.g., increasing numbers
of steps generated by moving) from activity trackers to feed-
back about the benefits that science suggests would be more
likely to be internally motivating and which they can feel right
now (e.g., how physical movement lifts their mood or cultivates
focus and creativity at work).
ALLY TRACKERS WITH THREE CORE
MOTIVATION GENERATORS
Most fitness professionals are extremely motivated to exercise
and are passionate advocates of physical activity. Yet the con-
sumers they aim to convert into fitness enthusiasts are likely to
have very different passions and priorities. This is a crucial
distinction for fitness professionals to keep in mind: to reach
their clients in meaningful ways, fitness professionals need to
try and understand their clients and what matters most to them.
What motivates one person will not necessarily motivate an-
other. In fact, even as more and more science suggests that imme-
diate feel-good rewards from physical activity may be optimal
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FITNESS TRACKING + MOTIVATION SCIENCE
Figure 2. Successful Cycle of Motivation.
motivators in general, its important to remember that nothing is
ever true for everyone. In the Fitbit study mentioned previously, al-
though 10% of participants continued to use them (16), their reasons
for continued use are unknown. To date, we do not yet know which
type of individuals or personalities will stay motivated to be ac-
tive from tracking apps. There is still a great deal to be learned.
The goal of the fitness professional is to help clients and pa-
tients identify what will make physical activity and movement
personally compelling and sufficiently positive and relevant to
their daily lives because this is the spark that will light the fire
of their internal motivation and keep it lit. So it is no surprise
that coaching based on behavioral science is among the top 20
trends in fitness for 2017 (51).
The goal of the fitness professional is to help
their clients identify what will make exercise
and daily movement personally compelling and
sufficiently positive and relevant to their daily
lives. Peoples reason for initiating a behavior
change has a domino effect and influences the
quality of motivation that develops. Research
suggests that professionals will be much more
successful helping their clients, patients, and
consumers stay motivated to enjoy and
prioritize exercise when they help them use
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Copyright 2017 American College of Sports Medicine. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
tracking to become mindful of the immediate
positivity that movement brings and internalize
the concrete value it delivers to their sense of
self and daily lives.
Short-term weight loss and abstract health goals set most
people up to fail because they do not make physical activity suf-
ficiently relevant and compelling to beat out peoples other ur-
gent daily goals and roles. Tracking apps alone are likely
vulnerable to many of these weaknesses. Fitness professionals
may find more success by leveraging what we know about hu-
man nature: people like having positive experiences and feeling
ownership over their behavior.
These elements work together synergistically to optimally moti-
vate physical activity participation (42).
These ideas align with key science (42), but they also reflect
accepted principles about consumer behavior inside and out-
side of the fitness industry (37). Marketing guru Seth Godin
says that if you want to motivate people to strive for a future-
oriented goal, you actually need to figure out how to convert
it into how it feels right now (20). Organizations are starting
to use these science-based ideas to build online, activity tracking
combined with Web platforms to enhance engagement and reten-
tion by asking participants to discover their Right Whys (52).
Regardless of whether we are messaging about physical ac-
tivity, using tracking tools, or verbally coaching our clients,
professionals can spark a love of physical activity and cultivate
high-quality motivation and competence in their clients and
July/August 2017

Fitness professionals can help spark and sustain
client motivation by using three core motivation
generators that I call the why, the way, and the do:
The why: harness their values (i.e., identified
motivation appreciating how moving benefits
ones daily life).
The way: give permission to select physical activities
that generate immediate positive experiences (i.e.,
intrinsic motivation what feels good and/or is fun).
The do: build a learning mindset (i.e., perceiving
physical activity as a lifelong journey where
competence for being active and overcoming
barriers to plans can be learned) (49).
patients by addressing these three core scientifically supported
motivation generators and allying them with trackers to support
motivation over the long term.
MOTIVATION GENERATOR 1: THE WHY (MEANING
AND PURPOSE)
Science across areas suggests that the quality of motivation is the
result of an individuals why, his/her primary purpose or mo-
tive for becoming more physically active. Peoples why for be-
ing physically active imbues it with a specific meaning and purpose
in their lives.
Are people more likely to keep doing something that they
know will make todays tasks easier to perform or something that
might give them an extra year of life in 30 years? Research sug-
gests that a why that aims to help people boost immediate
well-being is, in general, more motivating than a why that
aims to achieve a vague future outcome (such as weight loss
or better health). Feeling better immediately from physical
activity makes its specific value and relevancy to daily life very
clear, especially when compared with hope-for benefits that
might never arrive.
When your client or patient arrives with the stated goal of
losing weight or improving their health, you can help guide them
to whys that will be more likely to set them up for long-
term success.
MOTIVATION GENERATOR 2: THE WAY
(IMMEDIATE POSITIVE EXPERIENCES)
Does it feel good? Are they having fun? Our experience from doing
any behavior (do we like it or hate it?) strongly influences
whether we desire to do it again. In general, displeasure increases
from high-intensity movement, especially among people who do
not actually like exercising at high intensities (14). This means
that the way many people are encouraged to approach being
physically active (work hard, break a sweat) may actually turn
them off of exercising! (Not a good formula for long-term reten-
tion or success.)
Yet, nothing is ever true for everyone. Some people do enjoy
high-intensity activities, and they should be encouraged to
Volume 21 | Number 4
Copyright 2017 American College of Sports Medicine. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
continue. But because, as a population, we generally (and unfor-
tunately) have learned to believe that high-intensity exercise is the
only type of movement that counts and is worth doing, it is crucial
that fitness professionals reeducate people about the value of all
levels of intensity and all types of movement.
MOTIVATION GENERATOR 3: THE DO
(LEARNING MINDSET)
Sustained motivation also is a result of successfully foreseeing
and dealing with the inevitable conflicts between activity plans
and life and generally feeling more competent when it comes
to physical activity. This is accomplished with a subtle but pow-
erful shift in mindset: focusing on learning instead of achieving.
Professionals can help their clients stop aiming to achieve per-
fection (a specific amount of weight lost, minutes on the ellipti-
cal, etc.) with their physical activity and start thinking about it
as a continuum of success on which they constantly are learning
and adjusting. Research shows that a more flexible learning
mindset (e.g., I will learn and master the process of fitting con-
sistent physical activity into my week) is considered to be more
motivational than a rigid achievement mindset (e.g., I will be
active every day this week for 30 minutes!) when learning
how to institutionalize a complex new behavior such as physical
activity (29).
To cultivate a learning mindset in your clients or patients, toss
out the need for inflexible goals and perfection. Instead, help cli-
ents understand that they will be most successful if they start with
the end in mind: feeling and living better from regular physical
activity and integrating it into their lives for a lifetime.
Encourage them to start small. (Bigger easily derails when
it comes to sustaining a physically active life.) Set realistic
weekly plans, ones that they can succeed with. Use tracking
to better understand if their established goals are reasonable
or not. With a learning mindset, challenges and barriers are
viewed as opportunities to learn, not as setbacks or failures.
Flexibility is a more optimal self-management strategy than
rigid strategies/plans when it comes to making changes related
to physical activity and diets (50). So encourage your clients and
members to flex their weekly plans and goals as the need arises.
For more details about how to use these motivation-generating
methods in your work, read this case study: http://links.lww.com/
FIT/A59.
ALLY WITH THE APP
Activity tracking and wearables retained their number one rank-
ing on the American College of Sports Medicines Worldwide
Survey of Fitness Trends for 2017; their use in corporate well-
being programs is booming, and they show promise for creating
more efficient and patient-centered health care (5,19,51). They
will become even more pervasive within our lives though contin-
ued technological innovation and societal change.
Yet, we must remember that no new innovative technology,
activity tracker, or other tool has the power to drive lasting
www.acsm-healthfitness.org 15
FITNESS TRACKING + MOTIVATION SCIENCE
motivation to move for most. Monitoring numbers inherently
might be motivating to some, but counting and logging are
not the holy grail of motivation. The novelty of a new tool and
this type of quantified feedback quickly wear off for those not in-
herently enchanted by numbers and graphs. It is peoples rela-
tionship with physical activity, whether it feels like a chore or
a gift, that determines whether they will stay motivated.
Fitness professionals will be much more successful helping
their clients and patients stay motivated to enjoy and prioritize
physical activity when they help them understand that trackers plus
movement can help them (a) become mindful of the immediate positivity that
moving brings and (b) internalize the concrete value consistent physical activ-
ity delivers to their sense of self and daily lives (42,46,49). For individ-
uals and professionals who are excited about the possibilities of
tracking apps and wearables, ally with the app: take a synergistic
approach and combine tracking with the three motivation
generators, the why, the way, and the do.
Acknowledgments
The author thanks the anonymous reviewers for their comments
that greatly improved this article and Tom Futch and Naomi
Lucks for their input.
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