Two Power Principles from Space Force’s Fitness Program
Use #1 to boost your deep motivation and possibly enjoyment of working out.
So the day after writing about wearable fitness trackers, the plot thickened even more.
According to an article by NPR, the newest branch of the military – the Space Force – will be tossing previous fitness standards aside in favor of specialized fitness trackers.
Instead of the typical runs, pushups and sit-up test that other branches (such as the Air Force) engage in, Space Force will do something different.
Instead their fitness trackers will gauge their physical activity all year round. They’ll have their soldiers (called guardians) collect and see the data of their own workouts and their comrades.
So they pick if they’d like to pound the pavement… bust out pullups… or plunge into the ocean for a swim.
“Space Force hopes this approach will turn fitness into more of a carrot than stick” - Chief Master Sergeant James Seballes for Space Force's Training and Readiness Command
Apparently, in the past military fitness has been viewed as either possessing certain abilities or not. But it hasn’t left much room for different activities. And its prepared soldiers for certain things (like distance runs) but hasn’t done much more nutrition or sleep habits.
Because of that they have certain aspects of health but are missing others.
The goal of this paradigm-shifting fitness program:
“Help them take more ownership of their health”
Here are two power principles from the space force method that you can use for your fitness:
#1: Intrinsic Motivation
If this training goes according to plan the soldiers could make the switch from extrinsic motivation (motivated by external rewards or punishments) to intrinsic motivation (motivated by internal rewards)
Intrinsic motivation burns much “hotter” and for longer than extrinsic motivation. And one way to throw kindling on that “fire” is with autonomy.
The idea is the more a person feels in control or in charge, the more likely they are to tap into the inferno of intrinsic motivation. So by the soldiers having choice in what kind of workouts they do… when they do them… and how much they do – the hope is it’ll light up more drive.
#2: Setting Standards
The big question is:
What happens when the standards are set by the individual?
This is a powerful strategy for hitting higher levels of fitness. Get around where people are performing at a higher level. Why? Because it raises your standards. It raises how much you demand of yourself.
At first it’s uncomfortable (and sometimes beyond your capabilities) - but over time your body and psyche adapt and then it becomes normal. And that’s what the military has traditionally done.
I’m certainly not an expert on military fitness training so only time will tell how this high-tech fitness method works.
In the meantime, we can all use the principles that it’s trying to tap into.
Onward,