4 Simple Steps to Start the Exercise Habit

 

 

Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.

I have to admit that I have my ups and downs with the exercise habit.

So I know that it’s not the easiest habit for most people, and most people’s experiences consist of starting and stopping and starting again. Which is fine — don’t beat yourself up about it. The important thing is starting again.

I’ve written before about how to build the exercise habit (and even have a guest post on it), but today I thought I’d revisit the topic for those who still have trouble.

The Main Problems
So why do most people have trouble making exercise a regular habit? Well, there are probably a number of factors, but here are the main ones as I see it:

1. Too difficult. People set out with a lot of ambition and enthusiasm, and start out with a big goal. “I’m going to go to the gym for an hour a day!” or “I’m going to run 30 minutes every day!” The problem is that the goal is too difficult to sustain for very long. You can do it for a few days, but you soon run out of energy, and it becomes a drag to do it.


2. Too many goals. Often we set out to do too much. We want to run, and lift weights, and eat healthy, and quit sweets, and stop drinking soda. Well, those are multiple goals, and you cannot focus on the exercise habit if you’re trying to do all the others at the same time. Or we might start with one goal, but then get caught up in another goal (to stop procrastinating, for example), and lose our focus on the first one.


3. Not enough motivation. It’s not a lack of discipline, it’s a lack of motivation. The most powerful motivators, in my experience, are logging your habit and public pressure. There are many others that help as well.

The 4 Simple Steps
So how do we solve those problems? Keep it simple. Here are the 4 simple steps to start the exercise habit (and keep it going). I should note that you can use these 4 steps to start any habit.

1. Set one easy, specific, measurable goal. There are several keys to setting this crucial goal:
   
   
   
   • Written: Write this down. Post it up. If you don’t write it down, it’s not important.
   
   
   • Easy: Don’t — DO NOT — set a difficult goal. Set one that is super, super easy. Five minutes of exercise a day. You can do that. Work your way to 10 minutes after a month. Then go to 15 after 2 months. You can see what I mean: make it easy to start with, so you can build your habit, then gradually increase.
   
   
   • Specific: By specific, I mean what activity are you going to do, at what time of day, and where? Don’t just say “exercise” or “I’m going to walk”. You have to set a time and place. Make it an appointment you can’t miss.
   
   
   • Trigger: I recommend that you have a “trigger” right before you do your habit. For example, you might always brush your teeth right after you shower. The shower is the trigger for brushing your teeth, and because of that, you never forget to brush your teeth. Well, what will you do right before you exercise? Is it right after you wake up? Right after your coffee? Right when you get home? As soon as you take off for lunch? A trigger that you do every single day is important.
   
   
   • Measurable: By measurable, I mean that you should be able to say, definitely, whether you hit or miss your goal today. Examples: run for 10 minutes. Walk 1/2 a mile. Do 3 sets of 5 pushups. Each of those has a number that you can shoot for.
   
   
   • One goal: Stick to this one goal for at least a month. Two months if you can bear it. Don’t start up a second goal during that 30-day period. If you do, you are scrapping this goal.
   
   
   
   


2. Log it daily. This is the key habit. If you can log your workout, you will start to see your progress, and it will motivate you to keep going. And you have to make it a habit to log it right away. Don’t put it off, and say you’ll do it before you go to bed. As soon as you’re done working out, log it. No exceptions. And don’t make the log complicated — that will only make you resist doing the log. Just the date, time, and what you did.


3. Report to others. I think this is key. You can do it on your blog, on an online forum, with your spouse, or friends or family, or a workout partner, or a coach, or a group, or a class. However you set it up, make it part of the process that you have to report your daily workout to other people. It could be using an online log, or on a forum, or through email, or the phone, or just by telling your co-workers what you did this morning. But be sure that they know your goal, and that you are going to report to them, and be sure that they are expecting it every day.


4. Add motivation as needed. The first three steps might be enough for you to get the habit going. But if not, don’t just give up. If you miss two consecutive workouts, you need to look at why, and add a new motivation. Rewards, more public pressure, inspiration, whatever it takes. Read this article for more on this. You can add one additional motivator, and then see if it works. If you miss two more consecutive workouts at any time, add another motivator. And so on, until the exercise habit sticks.

Session #3 Healthy Lifestyle

 

 

To summarize what we have learned so far in this program:

You have identified what your perception of a healthy lifestyle is. You have identified what changes you would like to see happen within your family. You have identified your feelings and attitudes about eating healthy, and exercising more and other factors that support a  healthy lifestyle.

In this session our objective to to uncover any and all areas of daily life that may contribute to an unhealthy lifestyle within your family.

What is an unhealthy lifestyle?

your answer goes here.

 

 

 

 

Millions of Americans suffer from preventable causes of chronic disease and death such as:

Cancer.

Diabetes.

Heart disease.

You may be able to avoid these problems, even if heredity is a factor.

Making good health choices may seem overwhelming. It can be hard to keep up with all the information available to you — and even harder to decide what advice to follow.

An unhealthy lifestyle is choices that you make on a consistent basis that can contribute to illness or diseases. Please don't get me wrong healthy people also get diseases but your chances are greatly reduced by making changes that support good health.

Several key lifestyle choices can affect your risk for developing disease. Every day, you make choices about your health — choices that affect the quality of your life. There are many factors contributing to the degeneration of health among many people today. Pollution and toxins in our world, we are all exposed to thousands of toxins and chemicals every day at work, home, in the air, and in the food that we eat and water we drink. In addition, we are eating more processed foods than ever before in human history and we constantly abuse or bodies with pharmaceuticals We are constantly bombarded by fast food at every corner. And video games have led the majority of teens to spend countless hours in front of the television being sedentary. And, as a result of all of this, there exists a generation that is out-of-shape, overweight and obese.An unhealthy lifestyle means more illness and more expense to treat those illnesses. This means a bigger burden on an already challenged healthcare system. Poor health also means more time lost at work, less quality recreational time, and even shorter lifespans.

 

 Please consider each of the following factors that contribute to an unhealthy lifestyle.

Alcohol. Smoking and drinking are two big habits that can affect your health and the way you feel. Smoking, in particular, is one habit to quit if you haven't already because it greatly increases the risk of heart disease and cancer. Alcohol can be fine in moderation.

Smoking.  The leading preventable cause of death in the United States is smoking.

Drugs.

Healthy body weight. Maintain a healthy body weight will greatly reduce your risk of developing diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.Your physical and emotional well-being are largely determined by the foods you eat, your level of activity, daily habits and general outlook on life.

Lack of exercise.

Lack of healthy foods on a daily basis.

Too much salt.

Too much read meat.

Too many processed foods.

Stress.

Stress in Relationships

Financial stress.

Life is full of stress. Modern life is full of hassles, deadlines, frustrations, and demands. Work can be a stressful place, whether in an office, a factory, or a school. For many people, stress is so commonplace that it has become a way of life. Stress isn't always bad. Some stress is good, it can help you perform under pressure and motivate you to do your best. But too much stress is bad, when you’re constantly running in emergency mode, your mind and body pay the price.
The stress response also helps you rise to meet challenges. Stress is what keeps you on your toes. But beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, and your quality of life.
Long-term exposure to stress can lead to serious health problems. Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in your body. It can raise blood pressure, suppress the immune system, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, contribute to infertility, and speed up the aging process. Long-term stress can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

Lack of sleep

Depression

Toxins

Pollutants

 

 

1. Are there any other factors listed above that you can change in your life? Or members in your family?

 

2. What steps can you take to make those changes?

 

 

3. What support do you need to make the changes?

 

 

4. What obstacles may you face during these changes?

 

 

5. How will making this change effect all family members?

 

The good news is that all of these lifestyle changes are reversible and not at a great cost. Remember that changing your unhealthy lifestyle to a healthy one will lower your risk for cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases.