Making Exercise a Habit
That quote (from Jim Rohn) was printed on the back of my gym's members card some months ago, and it's stuck in my mind ever since I first read it.
I'm sure that many of you, like me, have lots of great exercising resolutions for the new year. Maybe you're keen to shape up, get fitter, or lose weight through exercise. You're probably feeling highly motivated: making resolutions often makes us feel determined, convinced this will be the time we succeed. Three times as many people join a gym in January as in December ... and lots of them won't be back again after the start of February.
Use that initial burst of motivation when you start out: join the gym, try out a new exercise class, start jogging in the mornings. But motivation along won't carry you far - you need to make your new resolution into a habit. Here's how:
Fit Exercise Into Your Day
All of us would like more time, but the fact is, we all get twenty four hours every day. Think of some of the good habits you have established (perhaps cooking dinner each night, reading for half an hour before bed, or simply brushing your teeth twice a day). These habits stick because they're part of your daily routine.
To effortlessly fit exercise into your day, try:
- Getting up half an hour early to go for a walk or run
- Having an active commute to work (or college) - cycle or walk if possible
- Exercising during your lunch hour
- Going straight to the gym from work
Make It Regular
It's hard to build a habit that's irregular. If you go to the gym "when you have time", it might end up being Monday, Wednesday and Friday the first week, Monday and Wednesday the second week, then not at all the third week...
Pick two or three days of the week where you can commit to exercising, and don't make excuses to miss a session. Don't try to be too ambitious, either; start with a target which you're confident you can stick to, and add in extra sessions once you have a regular habit established.
Keep Track
If you tend to kid yourself about how much exercise you do ("I cycle to work" when you more often drive), then try keeping track of your sessions in a log book or on your calendar. Record details of how long you worked out for, and what you did.
Seeing the facts and figures written down really helps you when you're at the stage of building up a habit: this is one of the reasons why diet diaries are so effective.
Involve Other People
One of the best ways to make exercise into a habit, rather than something which you only do when you're feeling motivated, is to involve other people. Most of us will break promises that we've made to ourselves, but are loath to let down a friend.
Some good ways to involve other people are:
- Hire a personal trainer for fortnightly or monthly sessions
- Ask a friend to be your "gym buddy" and commit to joining them on a regular basis
- Join a team for your favorite sport (or start up a team at work or with friends)
- Promise to go on a walk with your partner, or promise your kids an afternoon running around in the park
How do you make exercise into a habit that you stick with even when you're not feeling very motivated? Share your tips with us in the comments!
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I think this goes for every aspect of a lifestyle change - it has to become a habit to be effective.
ReplyGet a dog. A dog is never too tired, stressed, or unmotivated to go for a walk. It's never too cold, windy, or rainy for a dog. A good dog will even dance around and whine and in general make you crazy until you take him for a walk just to shut him up.
A dog is the best fitness partner you can have.
ReplyA dog will also eat all the stuff you're not supposed to eat yourself for you!
Replya dog will also die much sooner if it eats all the junk food you skip on.
ReplyBecause exercise is a habit of mine, I get grumpy when I miss a day. Now it's just part of my routine and I get it in.
ReplyI think that one thing most people either don't realize or forget is that exercise is not fun at first. Those of us who have made exercise a habit talk about it in glowing terms -- "I love running". Professional athletes make it look easy -- we see the end results, not the very hard work that they do to get to that point. We're bombarded by the hype of infomercials about instant results without any effort. Then, when we start exercising we find out that it actually takes effort. While I almost instantly liked the results of walking/running, it took a full year of running before I could say that I liked and enjoyed the running itself. Health and fitness are not pursuits with instant gratification.
ReplyThanks ... that encourages me!
Reply2 more tips for creating good exercise habits...
1) Mark your training days ahead of time on a visible calendar (at home or at work).
2) Involve your co-workers. Create a group or schedule time to hit the gym together.
ReplyHere's a good tip:
--Put exercise on your to-do list!
When I'm feeling blah about fitness (even though it is a habit of mine) I just make it an item on my daily agenda. Crossing it off is so satisfying, and there's no way I can forget to do it.
ReplyFor me... there's one more step that comes in between the motivation and habit and that's self-love. When I develop enough of that making good choices really is so much easier.... but when I have to rely on willpower to keep the habit going it fades pretty easily.
ReplyThat is one of my favorite quotes.
I usually stay motivated to hit the gym because I don't want to let down my workout buddy, my hubby by not going.
Replywell said! of course i'm one of these who'll start in january and not show up in february:P
but... i'll try hard this year not to be that person. i made some resolutions and i really have to try hard and make exercising a habit. i'm not a fan of gyms..but i started walking.. maybe later on:)
@Bob Allen No it's not fun at first..i tried 2 years ago an aerobic class cause 2 friends swore it is so much fun..and easy..well.. :P i gave it up after not even a month. maybe it was a mistake.
@Cari self-love.. that's true. should we realize how important ourselves are..we'd tried the best and keep doing it:)
ReplyI cannot believe this post contained nothing about goal setting.
If you don't have any specific goal you are working towards you won't last long.
I don't care if it's a certain body fat percentage, VO2 max, pounds on the bar.. whatever.
Set a goal and work tirelessly toward it or spin your wheels going nowhere. The people who do most of the wheel spinning are the cardio bunnies who do nothing but cardio and call it a workout.
ReplyAnother tip....I signed up for a strength training and yoga class at my local community college...if it is scheduled, it will happen! :)
Replyyeah what the hell yo. My gym was PACKED full of new-years resolutioners.
On top of that they would disturb you midway in to ask for help. I'm all for giving advice to you straight up but seriously. This was getting crazy.
Oh well.. they'll be gone in a month or so lol.
P.S- That quote rules. It's up on my wall of quotes.
- FJ
ReplyFlawlessFitnessBook.com
This is a great post. I joined a gym back in September and originally I was like, "I'll go when I feel like it."
Since I work 7-3, five days a week I rarely felt like it. I went but not often.
I got my fiance who is a Marine involved and I'm not sure if that is a mistake or not. He motivates me to go even when I don't feel like doing it. He says "Do something you don't want to every day and you'll feel better about yourself."
So far I've been going 5 days out of the week then taking 2 days off. It really makes me feel good. I also found out that it gets boring just listening to music so I've discovered...AUDIO BOOKS! : ) Also taking a trashy gossip magazine helps. I really like the treadmills my gym has with the tvs. I now go when my secret indulgence reality tv shows are playing. It is much easier to run when you're watching tv.
I figure even if I can work out at least 30-45 minutes each day then I'm good. If I really don't feel like working out more than 15 I'll say, Ok, you do this for 15 minutes and you can go. Then when the 15 minutes are up I say Well, you've been here this long you can do it for ten more. This way I think I only have 5 minutes left but really I'm telling myself to work out in increments so my body won't rebel at the length of time.
ReplyAudiobooks and podcasts are definitely something I use to keep me going. Time passes much more quickly when my mind is engaged then when I'm daydreaming and listening to music (not that there's anything wrong with daydreaming and listening to music).
Replywww.superfoodsplan.com does it for me.
antioxidant foods reduce stress and no stress means no comfort eating. That's what really causes people to gain weight, just reaching for foods high in fat and carbs so we get that little dopamine hit to make us feel go. We've all done it and we all know the feel good factor only lasts a second or two.
What's amusing it that weight watchers are looking at a loyalty scheme. How stupid is that. You are not supposed to keep going back, you are supposed to lose weight and keep it off. Either people are not getting the message or weight watchers are not doing a good enough job.
ReplyOne good tip for anyone who does little or no exercise is to walk up and down the stairs as many times as you can during the ad breaks on TV. Don't sit and watch the ads - do something active instead.
ReplyThis is a great tip! Thanks! Need to remind my boyfriend to do this....
ReplyLots of good suggestions in this article. I began getting back into daily exercise with baby steps and did a lot of the tings the author has suggested. I quickly increased by leaps and bounds. It worked, because now, almost 15 years later, I'm still exercising regularly.
ReplyI have been doing the 3 week circuit workout on prothinspo.. it has tons of home exercises that have been keeping me on track for 2009
ReplyNice quote.
I agree with TrainerBoh "Create a group or schedule time to hit the gym together". It was happy and you enjoyed when you have so many company.
Alexis Scott
ReplyIt's nice to see so many positive comments about how to stay motivated on doing work out everyday. I've never been able to stay motivated for too long when it comes to doing exercise. I find an excuse somehow or the other and stop exercising. I have joined gym few times..stayed dedicated for a month at the most and then would stop going. Reading all your stories hopefully will get me going.
ReplyHi Veenu!
Motivation is like a muscle. working it will build it!
ReplyWatching someone else build theirs will not. Beginning with small steps and making a habit of working out is the only way to be successful. Just do it and you will understand. Just don't do it and you will also understand :-(
I like what you said "Just don't do it and will understand"..its funny but true. I've started working on it from now.
ReplyI usually have a cup of coffee in the morning and tea after supper. I'm quitting coffee and will just limit to one tea/day. Will be going for a walk in the mornings starting tomorrow. I'll start taking small steps and get there.
I think going for a walk in the mornings is a very good plan! I don't know your personal situation, but there is some research supporting drinking a small amount of plain coffee before exercise. You can read about it on the Internet and decide whether you want to do it or not.
ReplyGood luck!
Thanks for your advise Dr. J. I read this article about coffee and health. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/health/05brod.html?_r=3&em&oref=slogin.
ReplyI'm sticking with my coffee. Love my coffee :o) It will be minus sugar. :) Only once in the morning. I have started doing exercise early in the morning and go out for a walk in the evening after supper with my family. So far its going great.
I have always enjoyed exercise. My exercise goal is usually a bike ride to some city. In 1990, I biked to San Bruno, in 1992 to San Francisco, in 1994 to Gilroy, in 1996 to Sausalito, in 1997 to Half Moon Bay, in 2001 to San Leandro, Pacifica, and Santa Cruz, and in 2008 to Oakland and Hollister.
Reply