Making the finish physical

Medals - traditional award for great achievement.

Now my research has started to tail off with the main insights showing how distractions, emotions and competition can all affect exercise. I've started to think about how design can keep the great feeling you get post exercise. Concept ideas have began to look at making the finish more physical than it currently is.
Can design create a tangible goal?
Can design make you feel the finish?

Concept sketches to follow.

Changing the environment.

Moving on from the funtheory project, this climbing wall was installed in a gym in Tokyo called Illioha. Along the same idea they have successfully altered a day to day environment. Changing the climbing grips from ergonomic multi-coloured bulbous shapes to ornamental objects such as deer heads and bird cages gives the climbing wall a completely different appearance. This was aimed to encourage more people to try climbing that had not previously done so.

Post exercise mood enhancement.

If exercise looked more appealing would that persuade us (sub consciously) to do it? Volkswagen ran an interesting project called the fun theory. This video shows an installation of Piano stairs. I think due to staircases always being pretty dull to look at this is a great ay of persuading people to do more because it is out of the ordinary.

New Year Motivators

There are a number of things released just now trying to get us off the sofa and into exercise. New Years resolutions and eating too much over the festive have sparked these off (as they do every year) but how long will they run for and how long will people actually stick to them? I'm going to follow the fitness motivators below to get an insight into this, when and why do people lose interest and how sucessful these programmes are.

GMTV's Danicing Diet
http://www.gm.tv/lifestyle/diet/42941-dancing-queen-diet.html

This Morning's Health Kick 2010
http://www.itv.com/lifestyle/thismorning/healthandwellbeing/

I will also follow The Daily Express and The Sun as they are both running New Year fitness guides.


'FITNESS AND EXERCISE ISN'T SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO BE GOOD AT, IT'S JUST SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO DO.' Richard Callendar, fitness coach.

What can affect our commitment to exercise?

Mistakes that contribute to failure to exercise...

•Focusing on the scale. Weight loss isn't going to happen right away. For some folks, it takes months to see significant changes. When starting a program, it's best to set measurable goals like getting a certain number of workouts in each week or lifting a certain amount of weight.

•Working too hard. Newbies sometimes go at their new workout programs like veteran exercisers. Starting easy and working your way up to more frequent exercise makes your workouts more enjoyable and gives your body time to adjust to exercise.

•Not working hard enough. On the other hand, some people don't take their intensity high enough to promote weight loss results. Learn the right way to Monitor Your Intensity

•Comparing yourself to others. If your friend is losing weight faster than you are, it doesn't mean something's wrong with you. We all lose fat at different rates. Try to keep the focus on the gains you're making, not someone else's.

•Giving up too soon. If you're not seeing results yet, giving up is the last thing you should do. If you've been working out consistently, you may be well on your way to weight loss. Whether you've seen results or not, you ARE getting something out of exercising regularly. Think better sleep, more energy, better quality of life...is any of this sinking in.

Taken from www.exercise.about.com

That's the most convincing reason I've found pro-exercise.

The benefits of anti-ageing in relation to exercise may scientifically have links to one another. Although this may convince many to start regular exercise it will not push past the initial period of pain, lack of confidence or even the time when you just can't be bothered.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8385700.stm