There's a condition humorously called "fitness obsession" among those deeply committed to working out. However, many others perceive physical exercise as arduous and unsustainable, let alone experiencing any joy from it.

So, why is it that the majority of people fail to find happiness in fitness training? There are too many negative factors that cause most people to falter early on in their journey towards engaging in sports.

Negative Factor 1: Changing Habits is Difficult

Everyone has their own set of habits, and once a habit is formed, changing it requires going through an adjustment process. In many cases, this process is accompanied by a sense of "pain," varying only in degree.

Whether it's something as significant as relocating to a different place or as minor as switching to a different brand of toothpaste, any change can cause discomfort. This is even more true for physical exercise, an activity that exerts substantial stress on the body.

People tend to prefer sticking to their old habits. Often, even when they know that a new habit would be more beneficial, they still choose not to make the change. In fact, no one would deny the benefits of physical exercise for the body, but the majority of people indeed find it hard to take the first step towards engaging in sports. The difficulty of "changing habits" is the first hurdle that stops many from entering the world of exercise.

Negative Factor 2: Lack of Strong Motivation for Fitness

Humans are social beings, and in most cases, our actions are driven by benefits. The same applies to fitness. As mentioned earlier, although we all know that exercise is good for us, this general awareness is not enough to actively engage in physical training.

The more specific and urgent the exerciser's goal is, the more benefits they experience, and the stronger their motivation to persist in exercising and derive pleasure from it. Therefore, we often find that retirees and those who are weak and want to regain their health are the most enthusiastic about exercise. Their health status is relatively poor compared to other groups, and they are eager to improve it.

Moreover, people with specific and urgent fitness goals also have greater motivation to exercise. I once met a young man who was in a hurry to lose weight within half a year because his fiancée had given him an ultimatum: "If you don't lose weight within half a year, the wedding will be postponed." Similarly, individuals whose obesity has led to illness or a sharp decline in their appearance can also develop a stronger motivation to exercise.

On the contrary, those who decide to exercise on a whim, or who buy a gym membership just because of a discount, often lack a clear motivation to exercise. It is difficult for them to stick to it, and naturally, they cannot experience any joy from exercising.

Negative Factor 3: Intense Physical Reactions are Unbearable

Compared to the first two factors, the intense physical reactions experienced during exercise are an even more direct and unbearable negative factor.

Take the most common activity of long-distance running as an example. After running just two to three hundred meters, various physical reactions begin to set in: rapid breathing that can't keep up with the body's needs, a quickly rising heart rate that feels overwhelming, a burning or scorching sensation in the respiratory tract, weak legs that feel heavy with each step, and soreness in the thigh and calf muscles. In more severe cases, nausea, vomiting, blackouts, and fainting can occur.

Strength training is relatively better, but exercises like weighted squats, as the load and volume of exercise increase, put significant strain on the cardiopulmonary system and muscle endurance. When the intensity of exercise is high, it is not uncommon for exercisers to collapse and sit on the ground.

Physical reactions during exercise are inevitable. When beginners exercise without guidance, these reactions often become more intense, which can directly "discourage" most exercisers.

Negative Factor 4: The Time Gap Between Input and Output is Too Long

Humans are not only driven by benefits, but also by the expectation that the "input and output" should not be too far apart. Otherwise, even with potential benefits, people are likely to give up. This is especially evident in fitness training.

For those who exercise to lose weight, almost everyone hopes to reach their ideal weight immediately after exercising. In reality, the fastest weight loss speed still requires at least two to three months to achieve a relatively ideal state.

Moreover, to consolidate the results of weight loss through exercise, more time is needed to maintain regular exercise and control diet. The time required for strength training to achieve a perfect physique is even longer. It is impossible to develop a movie-star physique in less than three to five years.

This, of course, far exceeds the psychological tolerance of most people. Since the effort put into exercise does not yield immediate results, people tend to give up.

Negative Factor 5: Exercise is Opposite to Human Nature's Desire for Comfort

This point is easy to understand. Naturally, we prefer to sit on the sofa and scroll through our phones after a meal, or simply lie flat on a soft mattress rather than endure the pain of exercise and sweat profusely.

In other words, if you choose to exercise, the first thing you gain is not happiness, but rather you have to face at least five negative factors mentioned above before you can even talk about "how to derive pleasure from exercise." I know that many people have already said, "Forget it, I won't exercise." There's no way around it; the rule of this world is: if you want to reap the benefits, you must make the effort.

Of course, while there are various negative "barriers" on the road, there are also some positive incentives arranged for us. Although they seem far fewer than the negative factors.

Positive Factor 1: Crossing the Threshold of Habit Formation Makes Exercise a Routine, Not a Burden

Things that have not become a habit are a burden to us and are hard to maintain in the long run. So, how long does it take to form an exercise habit? Two to three months can only be considered as a preliminary formation, which is not very stable.

After a year of exercise, it can be considered as basically formed, but still not very stable. In my experience, you need to persist in exercising three to four times a week for more than three years to form a lifelong exercise habit.

Once the exercise habit is formed, physical exercise becomes similar to daily activities such as sleeping, eating, and brushing teeth. You no longer feel it as a burden, and you naturally go to exercise when it's time. After entering this state, the rewards that exercise gives you are also enormous.

You rarely get minor illnesses, are less likely to fall sick, have a good figure, a good complexion, look younger than people of the same age, and the elderly will not be affected by physical problems in daily life, etc. It can be said that the benefits are endless.

Positive Factor 2: Various Physiological Substances Stimulate Physical Pleasure

During fitness training, the two most commonly known substances produced are dopamine and endorphins.

Dopamine makes exercisers feel happy, and endorphins suppress the pain of exercise, thereby reducing the discomfort caused by soreness and other exercise reactions. In addition, regular exercise can also enhance the vitality of serotonin in the body, giving people a feeling of being full of energy and having a clear mind.

People who go to the gym often have this experience: after an hour of intense exercise, taking a hot shower, and walking out of the gym when a gentle breeze blows, they feel like they have been refreshed. This is the pleasure that various positive physiological substances bring to exercisers through the combined effect of physical and mental stress relief.

Make It Easier With Two Evidence-Based Approaches

• "Slow jogging, at a conversational pace, builds endurance with low strain and supports adherence," — Hiroaki Tanaka, exercise physiologist.

• "Brief movement snacks—one-minute vigorous bursts like brisk stair climbs—are linked to better health outcomes and offer a realistic on-ramp," — Emmanuel Stamatakis, exercise scientist.

If you still can't experience the joy of physical exercise, you should strive to overcome the impact of the five negative factors mentioned above and then cross the time threshold of forming an exercise habit, and you will succeed. To gain health and happiness from physical exercise is definitely a long-term and not very easy task, while choosing not to exercise is much easier. It all depends on your own choice!