Building Self-esteem, One Workout at a Time

Around the world, at least one in five adults is physically inactive, but many are eager to lead more active lives. Fitness professionals like you can help all the people you work with get started by reminding them that improved self-esteem is a benefit of regular exercise that can change both the way the world sees them and how they see themselves.

Combating Low Self-Esteem

Whether you’re advising health club members or reaching out to the people who work at your facility, it’s important to remember that low self-esteem is incredibly common. In fact, almost all individuals diagnosed with mental illness have low self-esteem, especially those with depression. While these individuals experience a positive impact from a single workout, it’s critical they realize how much they have to gain from starting a regular exercise routine. For instance, a recent study recruited sedentary individuals who had low self-esteem and clinical depression. After just two weeks of regular exercise, their self-esteem improved. Better still, between two and four weeks, their depression symptoms were significantly reduced. And amazingly, after seven weeks of regular exercise, 67% of them no longer qualified for their depression diagnosis.

Celebrating Movement

So, why does starting a new exercise routine improve how we view ourselves? Early research on exercise motivation suggests that as regular workouts build physical competence, this can spill over into a general feeling of competence. This should be no surprise; exercise enthusiasts take satisfaction and pride from reaching personal bests in challenging lifts and feats of endurance.

To support member accomplishments and amplify their positive effects, your facility can offer a way for members to share their personal wins, whether they’re big or small. It will remind everyone at your facility that consistency matters. And it will inspire new members — who often feel self-conscious or uncoordinated early in their fitness journey — to make regular health club visits a part of their active lifestyle.

Self-Esteem & the Scale

It’s easy to see how an individual’s overall level of physical activity correlates to their self-esteem. It’s also tempting to assume this correlation reflects differences in body weight, because highly active individuals are leaner on average. However, it seems that starting body weight and weight loss do not factor into an individual’s improved self-esteem when it comes to exercise. In fact, studies confirm that a regular exercise routine boosts self-esteem reliably, regardless of body weight or weight changes. These findings highlight that new health club members do not need to lose weight to begin feeling better about themselves.

Every Workout is Worth It

While a regular exercise routine that is part of an active lifestyle is of course best for improving and maintaining self-esteem, even a single workout can help reduce feelings of tension or frustration. For example, a recent study looked at individuals who had a wide range of mental health diagnoses, surveying them before and after a single 45-minute workout on cardio equipment. This single instance of exercise caused depression symptoms to drop by more than half, reduced anxiety and anger, and almost doubled mental enthusiasm and zest for life. And repeated workouts sustain these positive outcomes, quieting our tendency toward harsh inner narratives.

Fostering Self-Esteem in Your Facility

You can help your members notice changes to how they feel after every workout. When members leave your facilities, it can be helpful to ask them how they feel, what went well, and what was their favorite part of the workout. These affirming social interactions support self-esteem. More importantly, they keep members coming back, helping them realize both the physical benefits of exercise and the benefits that are more than skin-deep.