Motivation is a tricky business. What gets one person out of bed and into the gym, or setting their alarm to book an exercise class, will not get the next person moving.
But what if you actually reward people for being active – not just a pat on the back, or a reliance on long-term weight loss or fitness goals to keep people motivated, but an immediate, tangible, material reward?
Different people will of course be motivated by different rewards. Some will respond to monetary incentives (discounts), others to material items (freebies). Some will be motivated more by quick wins – a ‘little and often’ approach – while others will save up reward points for bigger items like three months’ free gym membership or even a free wearable.
The trick is to offer a range of rewards to motivate different personality types.
But provided the right rewards are on offer – and the activity levels needed to earn them are realistic – rewards can be used very effectively in goal-setting.
Offer a desirable reward that’s worth making the extra effort for – and ideally allow members to track progress, so they can see how close they are to securing it – and watch as people instinctively step up the effort to reach a reward that has come within reach, boosting their activity further. The sense of achievement is wonderful – and addictive. Which is good news for all concerned as the new goal is set, the next reward established and the effort redoubled…
Unsurprisingly then, exercise-related reward schemes are growing in popularity, with many combining sophisticated software platforms and clever technology to deliver truly personalised programmes. We look at some of the main players in the market.