You may find this hard to believe, and I had a difficult time believing it when I first heard it, but I’ve found that it is true. Despite what logic may tell you, nothing inspires people nearly as much as aerobic pictures to get fit and in shape. I know exactly how skeptical people can be about motivational pictures. Who among us has not seen that picture of a mountain climber on someone’s cubicle wall with a caption of “Persistence” or “Excellence”, or the picture of the small kitten hanging on to a ledge with the cutesy caption “Hang On”. It may be considered bad taste to put up such a poster … unless you are at least middle management, in which case bad taste is expected. But regardless of this, at least with aerobic motivational pictures, it is true. The right picture can really get some people motivated and going.
After all, I should know. I am the manager at the Little Booty Gym downtown, and part of my various duties as a manager includes decorating the walls with the appropriate pictures or posters. I have plenty of time to watch people in their workouts, and I cannot believe the difference that good aerobic pictures make. Before I put up the pictures, many people just seemed to dread their exercises and routines, putting out about as much enthusiasm as one does during a root canal, and therefore not really achieving their goals. But after I put up the aerobic pictures, things have been noticeably different. It is almost as if the aerobic pictures give people a burst of energy with renewed determination. They seemed to display more confidence in what they were doing, with the end result vivid in their minds. I know what sweat looks like, but the gleam of confidence is very different, and these folks now have it. They look at those aerobic pictures and find that they work harder, stand up straighter, and don’t cut corners in their routines. They also seem to go home feeling better about themselves for the effort they put out in their workout.
I have taken down other types of motivational pictures around the gym and replaced them all with aerobic motivational pictures. Even when people are not doing a workout, the pictures of fit, trim, and motivated people doing their aerobic workouts seems to convince people to want to try a little harder and put a little more effort into it. Yes, there are other pictures that may be more interesting or prettier, but I have not yet found a better solution for pictures to provide aerobics motivation to the people who come here for a workout. And like they say, if it works, then stick with it!
Jon Arnold is an author and computer engineer who maintains various web sites to provide tips and information on a variety of topics. More info on this topic can be found at his Aerobics [http://jag-info-resources.com/aerobics/] web site at [http://jag-info-resources.com/aerobics/]
