The case for tailoring exercise to feel better instead

It’s a no-brainer really.

One of the biggest predictors of whether you’ll exercise often is:

How it makes you feel.

Which is funny given this is not how exercise is usually prescribed.

Instead it’s all about what to do to achieve better:

Endurance
Strength
Fat loss

Or whatever the long-term goal is.

But what if we flipped the equation, and focused on tweaking exercise to maximise the “feel better” effect instead?

Heck, we might even stick to exercise for longer—and get those health or fitness benefits anyway.

That’s exactly what a 2024 study sought to find out.

Let’s dive in.

Why not tailor exercise to feel better instead?

Despite what most people think, there’s no correlation between how miserable—and how effective—exercise is.

And we’re learning more about how to maximise good feelings during exercisee—plus how this impacts the longer-term benefits too.

That’s where a 2024 study in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity comes in.

They asked whether coaching people to make exercise feel better:

Helped them exercise more often
And exercise at levels sufficient for health and fitness benefits

They had two groups of adults aged 18-45 do three individualised one-on-one sessions with a trainer (involving mixed aerobic training, resistance training, and stretching).

With one key difference between the groups:

One was coached on how to maximise positive affective experiences—or pleasurable feelings—during exercise, and the other was simply told what exercise to do (the usual approach).

In other words, one group was taught how to make exercise feel better.

This was done in 3 ways:

Assessment of their exercise intensity tolerance and preferences
Encouragement to self-regulate their intensity to maximise positive feelings
Regular assessment of their affective responses to inform changes where required

After these 3 intial sessions, the exercise behaviour of the two groups was tracked over the next 8 weeks.

So the key questions are:

Did improving the exercise experience help people show up more often, and did this impact the other benefits?

The impact of making exercise feel better again

First of all, the intervention worked as planned.

Those who were taught how to modify their exercise to maximise positive experiences:

Reported more pleasure during exercise
Remembered exercise as more pleasurable
And anticipated more pleasure prior to exercise

Both groups achieved similar exercise levels that were likely sufficient for gains in aerobic fitness, strength, or health metrics.

Across the 3 individualised sessions, they had comparable average:

Heart rates in the moderate-intensity range (68% vs. 66% of age-predicted maximal heart rate)
Resistance training volumes (sets x reps x weight) of 7560 kg and 8101 kg (higher for the experimental group)
And fatigue levels measured by the Hooper index (self-rated sleep, fatigue, stress, and soreness) of around 14 out of a possible 28

All of which the experimental group achieved while experiencing more pleasure before, during, and after exercise.

And this is where it gets interesting:

Those in the experimental group attended 77% more sessions over the next 8 weeks, visiting the gym almost twice as often (14.4 sessions on average) as the control group (8.1 sessions):

The bottom line?

Improving the exercise experience translated to better exercise behaviour.

What does this all mean?

These findings suggest tailoring exercise to feel better could help people exercise more often—likely without compromising the longer-term benefits.

Of course we don’t know whether this effect persists beyond 8 weeks.

But other studies found a 1-unit improvement in “Feeling Scale” ratings during exercise—a simple measure of affective responses—translated to an extra:

27 to 29 minutes of physical activity per week
15 to 38 minutes per week 6 months later
And 41 more minutes per week 12 months later

So there’s a good case these benefits might stick around for a while.

The study also didn’t assess changes in health or fitness markers, so we don’t know if the improved exercise adherence impacted these benefits.

But one thing is certain:

Anything that helps someone exercise more often is a good thing—especially when it requires no technology or specific expertise.

No, exercise doesn’t have to feel miserable

These findings are a great proof-of-principle:

If exercise feels better, you’ll probably want to do it more often.

And there’s nothing more important than that.

So consider adjusting your exercise to maximise positive feelings—not forcing yourself through an “ideal” program that might make you feel unpleasant.

If this helps you keep showing up, the results will come in time.

As always, I appreciate you being here.

Until next time,

Jackson

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IMPORTANT:

The information contained herein is of general nature only and does not constitute personal advice. You should not act on any information without considering your personal needs, circumstances, and objectives. Any exercise program may result in injury. We recommend you obtain advice specific to your circumstances from an appropriate health professional before starting any exercise program.