Apparently, not even money can motivate us to visit the gym regularly

Either you like going to the gym or you don’t. And it appears not even getting paid to exercise helps, if this latest research is anything to go by.

Scientists in the US who conducted the experiment also add that providing modest financial incentive to people who were already more motivated to exercise doesn’t help either.

Following the experiment, new gym members said they intended to visit three times per week but ended up averaging one weekly visit by the end of the six-week study.

“They wanted to exercise regularly, and yet their behaviour did not match their intent, even with a reward,” said Mariana Carrera, of Weatherhead School of Management and co-author of the research.

Participants taking part were promised one of these three rewards to visit the gym – a $30 (£22) Amazon gift card, a prize item such as a blender or something of equivalent value, and a $60 (£45) Amazon gift card.

A control group was also set up to receive a $30 (£22) Amazon gift card – regardless of whether they visited the gym or not – while another group wasn’t given any financial benefits at all.

The researchers say the value of the incentives was based on what gyms in the US were most likely to offer.

Participants who received incentives showed a small increase in gym visits in the sixth week – when they had their last chance to claim the prize – but the researchers calculated that was only 0.14 more visits per week than those promised no reward at all.

Also, the group promised the $60 (£45) gift card also did not visit the gym more often than those given the $30 (£22) gift card or prize.

“Focusing on people when they’re ready to make a change may be misguided,” said Carrera.

“What’s clear was there was no complementarity in lumping these two motivations together.”

Long story short, modest monetary rewards had almost zero impact on the number of gym visits.

The results appear in a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper.