According to Doug Lisle’s, The Pleasure Trap, the primitive parts of all animal brains are pre-programmed with what is termed as the Motivational Triad. To:

• Seek pleasure
• Avoid Pain
• Conserve Energy

The Triad has evolved over millions of years for some animals and tens of thousands of years for humans. The Primitive (or Reptilian) Brain reacts quickly to stimulus – way faster than our thinking, reasoning brain – and way more powerful. The Fight or Flight response (Avoid Pain) is an example of this evolution. It’s why you can react without even thinking.

In his book The Emotional Brain, Joseph Ledoux makes the case that the pre-programming of our brains goes much further than just the Triad. When the Primitive Brain is in power and reacts to something, it CONVINCES the the reasoning, CONSCIOUS parts of our brain that it was the right thing to do.

The conscious, cognitive, reasoning part of our brain is what keeps us out of the trouble our Primitive Brains could get us into. The Frontal Cortex evaluates situations and decisions to make sense out of them. Jonathon Haidt in The Happiness Hypothesis makes the case that the reasoning brain is like a rider on an elephant. We exercise very little control over our Primitive Brain. Some less than others.

Conscientiousness is one of the Big 5 Personality Traits and people high in Conscientiousness are typically self-disciplined, hard-working and goal driven. They identify an objective and then apply themselves until achieved.

Conscientiousness, next to intellect, is one of the biggest determining factors for success. People that pull it together and stay directed are typically more successful.

People that let their Reptilian Brain run the show – not so much.

If you have both high Conscientiousness along with high Openness, you have won the Personality lottery. People with both drive and creativity, with some intelligence, are the most successful. Think Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. They have the ability and desire to adapt for the most beneficial outcome.

OK. That was a lot. But let’s apply these concepts to Fitness:

The pre-programming in our brains manifests itself in further pre-programming in the way of habits.

Our diet is a series of habits that was developed over many years. It started when we were kids and progressed through our later years. This progression manifests itself into a kind of Default Setting for our diet. When anything goes wrong, our body reboots to the Default.

So in addition to the pre-programmed “Seek Pleasure” of the Motivational Triad, you also have the forces of previous habits working against any changes you want to make.

Let’s say you gain consciousness one day and recognize that you’re obese and are putting nothing but sugary snacks in your mouth all day. You find a diet that is healthy and then launch a life-changing plan to eat better.

Great.

But then you get sick or have a family crisis and your Primitive Brain kicks in.

“I want sugar and the Dairy Bar is open.”

Your Primitive Brain convinces your reasoning brain that you deserve this after all you have been through.

Only your Personality and the force of your new habits will save you.

Applying to Exercise

Exercise, particularly strength building, intense exercise, goes contrary to both “Conserving Energy” AND “Avoiding Pain”.

Is it any wonder only about 10% of the population in the U.S. exercise regularly?

Even of those that exercise regularly, how many are just going through the motions or doing something that’s barely effective?

I can tell you, it’s a lot.

Sure – some exercise is better than none, but going through the motions is not optimal for building a strong cardiovascular system or strong bones and muscles.

One of the more discouraging things I have discovered is that people that have not exercised in their 30’s and 40’s find it extremely ‘unnatural’ to do so in their 50’s and 60’s. The forces of their habits along with the Motivational Triad components working against them make it extremely difficult to push themselves.

Knowing what I know, I cringe when someone tells me they’re going to wait to retire to start getting serious about exercise. Their chances of getting into shape after decades of neglect are not good.

Might as well throw in the towel…

Hardly! Your chances of facing a healthy retirement without eating right and exercising go to zero if that attitude is taken.

Even people that get started with exercise later in life with a “going through the motions” kind of attitude are way better off than the masses.

“But such and such was in great shape and had a heart attack at 62. Such and such smoked into their 90’s.“

These are bullshit arguments made by the Primitive Brain. It will take whatever data it can find, including anecdotal, rare events, to rationalize actions. People that push these ideas have turned off their rational brains.

Being a gym owner, I see first hand what the right diet and exercise does. It transforms people from feeling like a blob to being energized and productive. It reduces or eliminates dependencies on medications for hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol. They immediately feel better when they implement an effective plan. It adds quality to their life AND quantity.

Want anecdotal evidence? My father ate poorly, drank and smoked. He died at 67 of lung cancer and he was obese with a long rap sheet of physical problems. I’m healthier at 62 than he was in his 40’s.

The argument that “when your number is up” is made by people that let their Primitive Brain do their thinking. They want the pleasure of eating high caloric, sugary foods. They want to avoid the pain of exercise. They want to conserve energy by sitting on the couch and watching Netflix.

There’s plenty of hope and help.

Your conscious, cognitive brain can guide the change you need if you let it. Understanding the forces that are working against you and coming up with a plan to counter requires study, planning, execution, evaluation and adjustment.

In manufacturing, we called it PDCA – Plan, Do, Check. Act.

Planning

Get help.

Your team should include your physician, chiropractor, nutritionist, massage therapist, holistic practitioner AND, most importantly, YOUR PERSONAL TRAINER.

Don’t have a Personal Trainer and don’t think you need one? Hire one for an evaluation and have her confirm you don’t need help. You’ll be surprised with what you’re missing.

Execution

With your Personal Trainer at your side, execute the plan.

Check.

Recently, a Trainer mentioned to me that several of her clients didn’t follow the plan set forth – and then had the nerve to complain (read whine) about not getting results.

This is all Primitive Brain stuff. The PB forced the body to act a certain way – like eating the wrong things (Pleasure) or skipping workouts (Avoiding Pain), and then it rationalized the behavior.

The Plan is something to score Execution against. How well are you following the Plan? If you’re not, does the plan need to change or can you do better?

Act – Adjusting the Plan

So you didn’t get an A+ on Execution. That’s MORE than OK. Modify the plan! Make it more workable. Continuously improve.

This is where another set of eyes from your Personal Trainer come in handy.

Success!

Those that are high in Conscientiousness and high in Openness will fare well with PDCA. No surprise there, as people with these traits do well with most that they do.

But what if your personality doesn’t push you forward?

You must hire a Trainer. They can be your Reasoning Brain when the one you were given fails. Trainers are available in most gyms and online. They will encourage you and hold you accountable.

Going it alone gives the Primitive Brain more power. Ever give someone good advice that you yourself don’t follow? That’s the power of the Primitive Brain!

Ron