The reasons for employees exercising are well-know and well-documented: lower absenteeism, people on the payroll with fewer heart problems, a reduction in arthritis, maybe fewer cases of cancer.

        People who exercise on a regular basis, that is, three times a week or more, are simply going to bring a company a better bottom line and probably yield a more focused work force less prone to mistakes.

        Thinking is clearer. Attitudes are brighter.

        Jay Kimiecik, an associate professor in health promotion at Miami University, knew all that when he set out a year or so ago to examine why people don't on their own consistently seek to exercise.

        His recently released book, The Intrinsic Exerciser: Discovering the Joy of Exercise ($14; Houghton Mifflin), sets out to explore why some people don't like to sweat in some mindless activity like non-competitive long-distance swimming and why other people do.

Changing behavior

        It's a book on the psychology and motivation of how to change behavior.

        Specifically, it's about how to get people to realize that exercise in and of itself is a good thing, not a new Puritanism rooted in a steady stream of tofu smoothies, raw carrots and afternoon scrunches and bench presses.

        “It is a huge business issue,” Mr. Kimiecik said. “It's not that exercise is a panacea for all the ills but physically-active people in general perform better. People get sick less often and they simply have more energy.”

        The principles in the book point out that nobody will improve their health unless they want to improve their health. External reasons to work-out — lose weight, look younger, feel better — are almost never long-lasting.

        “That's why there is a 50 percent to 75 percent dropout rate for exercise programs,” he said. “It's why 98 percent of people who go on diets gain the weight back.”

        The best reason to exercise begins to emerge only after an exercise program has some traction.

        The best reason to work out, he found, is also the simplest reason to work out:

        “It feels good,” he said.

        “Anyone who exercises on regular basis will tell you the main reason they do it is because it's enjoyable. They will tell you they do it because before, during and after, they get a kick from it.”

Making it last

        He sets forth four principles for lasting exercise initiatives: vision, mastery, flow and what he calls inergy:

        • Vision — It delivers a goal and image of what somebody wants to become.

        • Mastery — A notion of success that is created when a person begins to compare who they were with who they have become.

        • Flow — This optimal psychological state releases endorphins and creates a buzz that frequently washes over beyond the workout time and into the office.

        • Inergy— The concept that wellness becomes internalized and rejuvenating.

        Still, most people are not exercising, why?

        “Because life is hard,” Mr. Kimiecik said. “And unless you enjoy the movement of exercise, too many things sabotage your day and make it easy not to exercise.

        “Unless you have a driving sense of enjoyment, you're not going to do it.”

       Contact John Eckberg at 768-8386 or jeckberg@enquirer.com.

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