Evoke Your Client’s Intrinsic Motivation

Keeping clients on track in their training programs—or even sticking to your own—is a familiar challenge for fitness professionals. One core element of this dilemma is extrinsic or intrinsic motivation.

“How do I best motivate my clients?” is a regular question in my training seminars. From guiding clients through exercises in the gym to encouraging healthy choices outside of the gym, fit pros struggle with eliciting the motivation for sustained adherence and success.

The key: Motivation imposed from the outside differs greatly from that which is brought from within, and extrinsic (external) motivation is not as effective for long-term behavioral adaptation as intrinsic (internal) motivation drawn out from the client. This describes the central ideas in self-determination theory and the clinical practice of motivational interviewing (Ryan & Deci 2017; Miller & Rollnick 2012).

Understanding intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can propel your work as a trainer. We’ll discuss how you can help your clients discover their intrinsic motivation through “change talk” in motivational interviewing to set them on the path to achieving their health goals.

What Is Self-Determination Theory?

Simply labeling intrinsic as “good” motivation and extrinsic as “bad” is an over-simplification of what self-determination theory (SDT) tells us about motivation and how to use it to help our clients. So, what does SDT tell us? As the name suggests, self-determination theory is a framework for understanding self-motivation and inner psychological needs that impact human behavior. According to SDT, meeting our needs for autonomy, relatedness to others and feelings of competency all feed into our intrinsic motivation to behave in a certain way (Ryan & Deci 2017).

If, for example, you choose the type of exercise you like (satisfying your need for autonomy), enjoy and value the people involved in your exercise activity (satisfying your need for relatedness), and feel that you are making progress (satisfying your need for competency), you have all the ingredients you need to stay motivated for sustained behavior change.

See also: Using Curiosity to Help Clients Get Unstuck

Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation is the type that provides us with external rewards (e.g., praise from parents or money from an employer), whereas intrinsic motivation is the type which relates to the fulfillment of our three inner psychological needs: autonomy, relatedness and competency (Ryan & Deci 2017).

While SDT posits that intrinsic motivation is more effective for long-term behavior change, extrinsic motivation may have its place for short-term goals. Applying the theory successfully requires knowing when to lean on each type of motivation.

For example, if you are running a boot camp and pledging to get clients in shape in 12 weeks, then you are almost certainly heading down an extrinsic route that focuses on external results. This may provide powerful short-term motivational enhancement for your clients.

If, on the other hand, you are focused on clients who want a long-term solution for lowering and maintaining their body weight, then it would make most sense that you are appealing to their intrinsic motivations—the internal reasons that are personal to them and more likely to encourage adherence.

While the first example may effectively employ extrinsic motivation for a short-term goal, the intrinsic motivation in the second example provides the fuel for longer-term success and behavior change.

Of course, we are a complex species and often carry both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for the same behavior. However, self-determined motivation is seen as a better form of motivation—particularly for long-term change—than one that is “controlled” (e.g., contingent on rewards or guilt and shame from others, etc.) since intrinsic motivation is driven by internal processes.

The Power of Autonomy

A recent study strongly suggests autonomy, relatedness and competency are conducive to an individual’s exercise participation, whereas focusing on extrinsic factors like appearance and social recognition are detrimental (Chu & Zhang 2022).

The drive behind this is a fundamental need we have for choice-making and control. In a study categorizing subjects into different motivational groups, students with high intrinsic motivation and low extrinsic motivation showed higher academic performance (Hayenga & Corpus 2010).

Additionally, a large-scale systematic review and meta-analysis of studies found that autonomous-type motivation is positively related to self-esteem and life-satisfaction and negatively associated with depression (Tang, Wang & Guerrien 2020). Other work around intrinsic motivation suggests a strong connection between this type of motivation and positive outcomes in the amount of physical activity adolescents do (Kalajas-Tilga et al. 2020).

See also: Use the Psychology of Motivation to Stop Quitting

Reactance Theory: Where Resistance Comes From

Often, our attempts to help others to achieve change are not evoked but externally “pushed.” The clear danger here is that when information is used in an attempt to create motivation, it often elicits reactance instead (Brehm & Brehm 2013; Miron & Brehm 2006).

Reactance theory explains how we resist when we are told what to do. Reactance is a reaction to having our autonomy curtailed. For example, your client may be thinking of giving up smoking and even making plans to get support. However, the moment they are told about the benefits of quitting, they may immediately think of all the reasons they should continue smoking! This is reactance in action. So, instead of relying on external reasons or information to create motivation for action, eliciting an individual’s own reasons for making a change will help avoid reactance and improve the likelihood of follow-through.

Motivational Interviewing and Change Talk for Intrinsic Motivation

The core goal of motivational interviewing is to bring the motivation out of clients by asking them about the benefits they will gain from the desired action or behavior change.

Now that you understand motivation and reactance, how do you draw intrinsic motivation from a client? Here’s where we employ motivational interviewing (MI),  a collaborative conversation style for strengthening a person’s own motivation and commitment to change (Miller & Rollnick 2012). MI helps clients resolve ambivalence, the seesaw area of our decision-making that encroaches on many aspects of our lives.

Consider a client who tells you she wants to be more physically active. The first question you may ask is: “What would becoming more active do for you?” It’s a good question because it will lead us to what motivates that individual to change. The question will evoke change talk, revealing the client’s desire, ability, and reason or need for change.

For example, “my clothes would fit better” is a reason; “I am at risk for developing a health condition like diabetes, and I must do something about it” is a reason and need; and “I like physical activity because I did it all the time and felt better, so I just need to get back into it” explains their ability to take the action.

The core goal of motivational interviewing is to bring the motivation out of clients by asking them about the benefits they will gain from the desired action or behavior change. It is a beautifully effective way to understand what the client thinks and wants—regardless of how much you share about the benefits of the behavior change.

Beginning by asking about the specific benefits of a behavior change elicits change talk in my clients every time (Simper, Breckon & Kilner 2017). Very often, I follow up with a clarifying question or reflection based on their response, such as

“So, you did it all the time . . .”

“You’re worried about your health moving forward . . .”

“When you say you must do something about it, what do you mean?”

My impetus for asking such questions or making these observations is not because I can’t see why someone might need to be more active; it is because these tools elicit further change talk. The more someone talks about their reasons, needs and abilities to change, the more likely it will happen.

The work of Paul Amrhein and colleagues (2003) helped to make this clear by showing that the strength of drug abusers’ change talk directly predicted the likelihood that they would have reduced drug use at follow-up. Essentially, he showed that getting your clients to express and elaborate on change talk statements is more likely to lead to actual change.

See also: Motivational Interviewing: Talking Their Way to Health

Stay Open to Intrinsic Motivation

It is your curiosity about a client—expressed through MI—that really brings out a client’s intrinsic motivation and change talk. By putting aside our knowledge of why we think behavior change would benefit the client, we can enter the client’s frame of reference with a genuine, curious attitude. Always ask, “Why would you want to make this change?” followed by your careful and genuine attention to the answer. Listen for the reasons, needs and desires you hear for the same goal. Whether it’s to get down and up again when playing with their grandkids, to feel more in control during certain activities, or to be comfortable shopping for clothes again, what intrinsically motivates your client is important. Hearing change talk for that specific client will help you guide them toward effective, healthy behavior change.