I have to admit that I have my ups and downs with the exercise habit.
So I know that its not the easiest habit for most people, and mostpeoples experiences consist of starting and stopping and startingagain. Which is fine dont beat yourself up about it. The importantthing is starting again.
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 mainones as I see it
Too difficult. People set out with a lot ofambition and enthusiasm, and start out with a big goal. Im going togo to the gym for an hour a day! or Im going to run 30 minutes everyday! The problem is that the goal is too difficult to sustain for verylong. You can do it for a few days, but you soon run out of energy, andit becomes a drag to do it.
Too many goals. Often we set out to do too much.We want to run, and lift weights, and eat healthy, and quit sweets, andstop drinking soda. Well, those are multiple goals, and you cannotfocus on the exercise habit if youre trying to do all the others atthe same time. Or we might start with one goal, but then get caught upin another goal (to stop procrastinating, for example), and lose ourfocus on the first one.
Not enough motivation. Its not a lack ofdiscipline, its a lack of motivation. The most powerful motivators, inmy experience, are logging your habit and public pressure.
The 4 Simple StepsSo how do we solve those problems? Keep it simple. Here are the 4simple steps to start the exercise habit (and keep it going). I shouldnote 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: Write this down. Post it up. If you dont write it down, its not important. Make it easy. Dont DO NOT set a difficult goal. Setone that is super, super easy. Five minutes of exercise a day. You cando that. Work your way to 10 minutes after a month. Then go to 15 after2 months. You can see what I mean: make it easy to start with, so youcan build your habit, then gradually increase.Specific: By specific, I mean what activity areyou going to do, at what time of day, and where? Dont just sayexercise or Im going to walk. You have to set a time and place.Make it an appointment you cant miss.Trigger: I recommend that you have a triggerright before you do your habit. For example, you might always brushyour teeth right after you shower. The shower is the trigger forbrushing your teeth, and because of that, you never forget to brushyour teeth. Well, what will you do right before you exercise? Is itright after you wake up? Right after your coffee? Right when you gethome? As soon as you take off for lunch? A trigger that you do everysingle day is important.Measurable: By measurable, I mean that you shouldbe 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 amonth. Two months if you can bear it. Dont start up a second goalduring that 30-day period. If you do, you are scrapping this goal.2. Log it daily.
This is the key habit. If you canlog your workout, you will start to see your progress, and it willmotivate you to keep going. And you have to make it a habit to log itright away. Dont put it off, and say youll do it before you go tobed. As soon as youre done working out, log it. No exceptions. Anddont make the log complicated that will only make you resist doingthe log. Just the date, time, and what you did.3. Report to others. I think this is key. You can doit on your blog, on an online forum, with your spouse, or friends orfamily, 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 toreport your daily workout to other people. It could be using an onlinelog, or on a forum, or through email, or the phone, or just by tellingyour co-workers what you did this morning. But be sure that they knowyour goal, and that you are going to report to them, and be sure thatthey are expecting it every day.4. Add motivation as needed. The first three stepsmight be enough for you to get the habit going. But if not, dont justgive 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. You can add one additional motivator, and then see ifit works. If you miss two more consecutive workouts at any time, addanother motivator. And so on, until the exercise habit sticks.
