Today, I ran 4 miles listening to stand-up comedy. I recently ran a 10k listening to episodes of Seinfeld. A few weeks ago, I was listening to Seth Numrich read me a passage from Stephen King’s latest novel, Fairy Tale, between sets of barbell back squats.
I give myself incentives to exercise. These days, I rarely sit down to watch television if I’m not eating, but I frequently ‘listen’ to television while exercising on purpose to encourage myself to exercise.[1] Listening to books, television, a podcast, or your favorite music is one of the ways you can motivate yourself to exercise.
What is temptation bundling?
When you consciously combine a guilty pleasure with something you know you should do, but struggle to do, you are ‘temptation bundling.’ Temptation bundling is a term coined by Wharton professor, Katy Milkman. Professor Milkman learned that research participants who were given audiobooks that they could only listen to while they were exercising at a gym were more likely to exercise during the course of the study. The study also found that “that temptation bundling particularly benefit[ed] [the] busiest participants.”
Another study Milkman was involved with provided evidence that people could be taught to self-impose temptation bundling. In the earlier study, researchers had held the subject’s iPods hostage so that they could only use them at the gym. In the later study,
subjects were allowed to download a free audiobook onto their personal device and researchers encouraged them to only listen to those audiobooks at the gym. This study found that the test subjects experienced “an increased in the likelihood of a weekly gym visit by 10–14% and average weekly gym visits by 10–12% during and for up to seventeen weeks after a four-week intervention period.”
These studies lend evidence to the idea that, if you can make yourself enjoy exercising more by pairing your exercise with something else you enjoy, you will be more likely to exercise.
How a healthy lawyer can use temptation bundling to exercise more
If you want to exercise more, there are a few steps I’ve found useful.
- Decide what you can use to temptation bundle
You know what motivates you, so ask yourself, ‘what would encourage me to exercise more often and more consistently?’ Would an audiobook or podcast tempt you? Would you enjoy listening to a sitcom in the background? Could you walk quickly on a treadmill while scrolling social media?
Whatever you enjoy, it’s worth considering whether you’d be able to derive enough pleasure from that activity at the gym so that you actually want to go. If you spend a lot of time watching television while lying in bed, you may not be motivated by the idea of watching television while on the elliptical machine. On the other hand, if you could make yourself only watch television while at the gym, you may be highly motivated to get in some cardio.
- Temptation bundling should match your workout
One time I went to a rock-climbing gym on a Friday when they were hosting a ‘beers and bouldering’ night. I showed up to find a keg of beer and people taking shots of tequila. While people appeared to be having a great time, the whole scene was a tort waiting to happen. People were getting drunk, climbing rocks, and there was virtually no supervision. It doesn’t take a lawyer to determine that climbing walls while drinking alcohol is high risk.
Just like how beer and climbing could be dangerous, there are lots of ways that a temptation bundle could make exercise more dangerous, so choose wisely. For example, I find that I can safely listen to an audiobook at the gym, but I will pause it between sets of heavy exercises so that I can completely focus on my form to reduce the risk that I’ll injure myself and have to finish by book from a hospital bed. On the other hand, if you’re riding a stationary bike at a moderate intensity, you may be able to watch television without any significant additional risk.
When temptation bundling may not serve you
If you need some extra motivation, temptation bundling can give you an extra push to get out the door and begin exercising, but there are times when temptation bundling may not serve you.
- You’re trying something new
When I’m learning a new exercise variation or running a new trail, my brain is already highly stimulated and my focus is already strained. I do not need to complicate this exercise with complex audio that will distract me.
- You’re practicing mindfulness
As lawyers, we read, speak, and listen to others talk for dozens of hours each week. Sometimes the best way to reduce the ‘noise’ in our heads is to force ourselves to be present. Going for a run or lifting weights at the gym can be a dedicated time to get into your head – in a good way. Give it a try.
- You’re pushing your limits
The harder I’m exercising, the more I’m focused on what I’m doing. I don’t need external stimulation when I’m pushing the limits of what I can accomplish. I make sure that my workouts are not just an excuse to watch a television show while walking slowly on a treadmill.
How do you temptation bundle?
Do you think you’ll give temptation bundling a try? What temptations will you pair with which exercise? Leave a comment or send a note, and keep working on your LawyerBody.
P.S.
If you’re interested in learning more about habits, check out our post, “Always take the stairs: how to build a habit from scratch.”
[1] Netflix and many other streaming applications can play television on your phone with the screen off and the user can still hear the audio.
