Tip Of The Month Archive

Tip of the Month -- April 2008

Promoting Intrinsic Motivation

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. 

This is a frequently heard idiom stating that you can give someone the opportunity to do something, but you cannot force him to do it if he does not want to.  There is another driving force behind human behavior – motivation.  Motivation can be defined as the psychological factor that impels a person to act toward a desired goal.  It is the driving force or incentive that gives purpose and direction to human behavior. 

Motivation is typically thought of as being either intrinsic or extrinsic.  For an athlete, intrinsic motivation is derived internally, performing simply for the love of the sport.  Extrinsic motivation is derived from external factors, such as a cheering crowd or being rewarded with a trophy.  The task in and of itself is not enough of a stimulus to generate maximal effort from the athlete.  For the extrinsically motivated athlete, an external means must be present in order for him to put forth a maximal effort while the intrinsically motivated athlete will exert maximal effort simply for the pleasure it brings or because he deems the performance task to be important or of significance.

For the strength and conditioning professional, the goal is to develop motivational strategies that can be incorporated into a strength and conditioning program that essentially “make the athletes want to drink.”  Below are several strategies that can be utilized during workouts to increase levels of intrinsic motivation.

Methods for Increasing Intrinsic Motivation in the Weight Facility

1. Explain the ‘whys’ of the program. 

            Educate athletes about why they are performing certain exercises or drills.  If they are better able to understand the importance behind the exercises prescribed and their intention to improve performance, the athletes will be more likely to buy into what you are teaching and, thus, more intrinsically motivated to put forth greater effort when performing the exercises. 

2. Provide Feedback

            Expressing interest in an athlete’s performance is a great way to motivate him to perform better.  While it is important to inform an athlete of when he makes mistakes, it is also beneficial to let him know when he performs an exercise well.  Remember, sometimes it’s the little things that count: a pat on the back, a few words of encouragement, calling them by their name, a small technical suggestion. 

3. Workout Environment

            A workout environment that centers around personal improvement as opposed to comparing performances among the team will help to increase intrinsic motivation.  A weaker athlete might be less motivated to work hard if he feels his performance is always being compared to those of his stronger teammates.

4. Competence & Confidence

            Creation of a strength and conditioning program that is challenging but that also allows for consistent progress will promote feelings of competence in the weight room.  If an athlete learns to attribute performance outcomes to internal factors and realizes that he is capable of controlling these outcomes, that the results are not determined by luck, he will likely become more intrinsically motivated and exert greater effort. 

5. Goal setting

            Setting short-term, attainable goals can also increase an athlete’s level of intrinsic motivation.  The athlete is motivated to consistently perform better, which will lead to greater adherence to the prescribed program. 

*Developing intrinsic motivation in athletes is important because it can:

1. Direct behavior toward desired goals

2. Lead to increased effort output

3. Increase the initiation of, and persistence in, given exercises

4. Enhance cognitive processing

5. Lead to improved performance.

Conclusion:

            While sources of extrinsic motivation, such as trophies or cheering fans, are effective at generating increased levels of effort from athletes, it becomes detrimental when these motivators are no longer present; for they are unable to, or see no reason for continuing to, exert the same level of intensity.  Evidence has shown that motivated athletes outperform those that are unmotivated in strength and endurance tests.  As a result, coaches must work to develop strategies to develop, maintain, and intensify an intrinsically motivating performance environment while recognizing that not all athletes will be motivated by the same stimuli.  While you cannot force the horse to drink the water, you can help the horse to realize how good the water tastes. 

Cardinal, Bradley J.  Psychological implications: increasing the intrinsic motivation of your athletes in the weight room.  National Strength & Conditioning Association Journal: 9(1):57-59, February 1987.

Hunter, Shelley D. Promoting intrinsic motivation in clients. Strength and Conditioning Journal: 30(1):52-54, February 2008