Exercise and Self-Esteem: Benefits Across Age and Ability

Introduction: Exercise and Self-Esteem

Exercise promotes higher self-esteem in individuals of all ages and physical capabilities, as long as the individual enjoys the particular exercise program or perceives definite and measurable benefits from participating in it.

Professional athletes are among the most self-assured individuals in our society. Many studies have shown that these individuals are highly paid, yet the majority of them would continue to work at their sport for free. One of the main reasons for this phenomenon is that these specialists genuinely enjoy what they do and feel they receive an obvious reward for doing it. They are, in a very real sense, paid for exercising.

Exercise provides many benefits, and athletes receive a unique benefit that many laypeople are simply unaware of. Professional athletes gain the benefit of added self-esteem. As research in exercise psychology has long recognized, "Speculation regarding the interactions between physical activity and self-esteem can be traced back to the origins of sport and have been of concern to physical educators throughout the history of the discipline. During the past two decades, however, we have witnessed a resurgence of interest in body-self interactions in sport due largely to advances in exercise psychology" (Guthrie).

Understanding Self-Esteem and Its Importance

Self-esteem is the ability of an individual to meet the demands of life's challenges while maintaining a sense of happiness and avoiding self-doubt and other depression-related effects. Because of this, self-esteem is considered an extremely important component of a healthy psyche by the medical and psychological professions.

With America's marriages continuing to maintain a fifty percent failure rate, television and fast-food culture promoting sedentary lifestyles, and the educational standing of students declining relative to the rest of the world, younger generations face an uphill climb to maintain positive self-worth and healthy self-esteem. It is our collective responsibility to provide ourselves and our communities with the opportunity to maintain secure self-esteem. As Gavin and Spitzer argue, "Environmental features that entice people toward activity offer another buffer against the encroachments of sedentary lifestyles. Good sidewalks, walking trails, community facilities, convenient class schedules, and worksite fitness centers contribute inestimably to society's message to stay active. You play a critical role in informing, inspiring, and instructing those in and around the intersecting worlds of physical activity, sports, and leisure-time recreation. Outreach is the operative word. Move fitness into the community — retirement homes, schools, the workplace. Reach out with both word and action. Talk the talk — of fitness, health, and the good life that one experiences most reliably in a physically fit and active body. Research gives you the tools to communicate, debate, identify the groups most needing your help, and strategize your approach. Use these tools well for the health of the world in which you live" (Gavin and Spitzer).

As the middle-aged population is called upon to produce more with fewer resources — due in part to the retirement of the baby boomer generation reducing the overall workforce — many middle-aged individuals will feel pressured to maintain their incomes with less leisure time, which can result in lower self-esteem. Meanwhile, baby boomers who are unprepared for retirement may experience diminished self-esteem as they confront the gap between their expected and actual circumstances. Self-esteem is essentially how one perceives one's own self-worth and value as a human being. Building self-esteem is an important first step toward happiness and the sense that life has something to offer.

Self-esteem can increase an individual's confidence. When a person has confidence, they are more likely to respect themselves and, in turn, find it easier to respect others — improving relationships and promoting overall health. Low self-esteem, on the other hand, can cause feelings of depression, unhappiness, and a general lack of confidence, making it more likely that the needs and desires of others will take precedence over one's own. Additional symptoms of low self-esteem, such as negative self-talk and self-criticism, direct the subconscious mind toward stumbling during difficult moments.

Exercise as a Healthy Path to Higher Self-Esteem

Many people feel that modern life presents too many threats to self-esteem. The perception that the rich get richer leaves many struggling to make ends meet. As a result, some turn to self-esteem substitutes in an attempt to fill the sense that something is missing. These solutions — drugs, alcohol, sexual perversions, and other forms of self-destructive behavior — are merely attempts to recapture the balance expected for a healthy lifestyle. However, the side effects of these destructive coping strategies are usually worse than the original lack of self-esteem that may have driven the behavior in the first place.

Exercise, by contrast, is a completely healthy approach to increasing one's self-esteem and provides a vehicle for managing the natural ups and downs of life. Research has demonstrated that removing exercise from one's routine produces measurably negative outcomes. As Gavin and Spitzer report: "After a 14-day baseline measuring period, participants ceased all training (including other strenuous activities) for a 7-day period. They completed questionnaires measuring mood for each of 28 days. Significant increases in anger, depression, negative affect, and tension resulted from the period of training deprivation. The most noteworthy statistic was a 249% increase in total mood disturbance during the deprivation period. No differences were noted between men and women" (Gavin and Spitzer).

Conclusion

Exercise promotes higher self-esteem in individuals of all ages and physical capabilities, as long as the individual enjoys the particular exercise or feels there are definite benefits to participation. Like professional athletes, we can all gain the benefits of a regular exercise program regardless of age or physical limitations. Exercise promotes good health and an elevated sense of self-esteem. A strong self-esteem allows one to face fears, learn from failures, and understand what one truly needs and wants.

It is important that each of us participates in a program we believe will provide benefit and that we genuinely enjoy. Our programs should, in other words, be fun — so that the self-esteem meter rises. As Gavin and Spitzer observe, "For some individuals, regular training becomes a form of emotional self-management. When deprived of their regular exercise dose, these individuals may show dramatic spikes in emotionality. Although advanced martial artists may differ from recreational exercisers, many individuals in fitness centers pursue their sports and activities with deep passion. Ensuring lifelong fitness capabilities implies the need for balance and cross training" (Gavin and Spitzer).

Guthrie — Subjects: 30 women aged 26–62. Independent variable: time studying karate (at least six months). Dependent variable: women's perceived ability to physically defend themselves. Main finding: Exercise promotes increased self-esteem.

Boyd — Subjects: 165 undergraduate students (78 females, 87 males) enrolled in a first aid and safety course at a Midwestern university; subjects indicated the importance of descriptor phrases to their self-image. Independent variable: schema theory as an information-processing approach to constructing reality. Main finding: Exercise promotes increased self-esteem.

Douthitt — Subjects: Typical American school-age children; a wide array of intrapersonal and environmental factors affecting behavior. Independent variable: the decision of whether or not to exercise, best explained by interactional models drawing on influences from several areas. Main finding: Exercise promotes increased self-esteem.

Gavin and Spitzer — Subjects: Individuals of all ages and cultural groups. Independent variables: participation and adherence issues; the psychological benefits of exercise. Main finding: Exercise promotes increased self-esteem.

Russell — Subjects: 557 males — Caucasian (n=407) and African-American (n=150) — across three weight-training frequency categories (non-training, 1–3 days/week, 4+ days/week) and three aerobic exercise frequency categories. Independent variable: high body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem in relation to social physique anxiety (SPA), with self-esteem especially predictive in females. Dependent variable: extending SPA research to males of various racial/ethnic backgrounds in the weight-training domain. Main finding: Exercise promotes increased self-esteem.

Boyd, Michael, and Zenong Yin. "Cognitive-Affective and Behavioral Correlates of Self-Schemata in Sport." Journal of Sport Behavior, 1999.

Douthitt, Vicki L. "Psychological Determinants of Adolescent Exercise Adherence." Adolescence, 22 Sept. 1994.

Gavin, Jim, and Avi Mark Spitzer. "The Psychology of Exercise: Studying Recent Trends in Exercise Psychology Research Gives Clues on How to Promote Participation." IDEA Health & Fitness Source, 01 Nov. 2002.

Guthrie, Sharon R. "Defending the Self — Martial Arts and Women's Self-Esteem [Part 1 of 3]." Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal, 1997.

Russell, William D. "Comparison of Self-Esteem, Body Satisfaction, and Social Physique Anxiety Across Males of Different Exercise Frequency and Racial Background." Journal of Sport Behavior, 2002.