When you think about the schedule of your day to day life, you’re bound to notice the habits that you’ve formed over the course of your life. You probably eat breakfast around the same time, in the same place, while reading the same newspaper or watching the same program. You probably let the dog out at the same time everyday and go to bed around the same time. You no longer need to remind yourself to brush your teeth before leaving the house because it’s all become a habit.
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If you can make exercise a habit you no longer have to find time in your schedule, or try to find the motivation for getting it done.
The bad news is that creating a new habit is almost as hard as breaking a bad habit. The good news is that’s it not impossible. Creating an exercise habit is the foundation for consistency and a lasting, healthy lifestyle.
Expect it to feel easy at first. Starting a habit requires small, daily acts of regularity. If you commit to exercising for twenty minutes every day, you’re more likely to commit to the habit formation than if you commit to a two hour workout every day. It feels easy. Experts call this the “honeymoon phase” of habit formation.
Be prepared for tougher days. Once the honeymoon phase begins to end, you may be tempted to skip a day or two. To build a habit, though, you have to fight through the urge to result to your old habit of not exercising. Walking into FitClub at the same time every day will help you stay consistent. As tough as this phase is, this is your chance to start to increase the intensity or duration of your workout. Spend an extra five to ten minutes or try a new class. The extra endorphins will help you feel rejuvenated and to remember why you started.
Choose a time of day that you’re least likely to be distracted and it will be easier to avoid unscheduled work meetings, family obligations, or personal obligations that seek to derail your daily creation. Every time you resist the old habit’s nagging insistence that you can skip a day or two you make the new, healthier habit stronger and more likely to stick.
Look forward to the day you went to FitClub without even thinking about it. The ultimate goal is to make your exercise habit so strong that you no longer even need to plan for your workout. You don’t need to plan when you brush your teeth before leaving the house, you just do it. When your workout starts to feel the same way, you’re creating healthy habits that create a healthy lifestyle. It’s during this stage that you begin to see the results that motivated you to start the healthy habit. Staying consistent, though, is ultimately its own reward and should be celebrated as such!
Prepare for regular resets. Ultimately, life happens. Vacations may derail your commitment, you may get sick, or you may legitimately need to take a break. Recognizing that this is just a part of life and reestablishing your commitment to regular, consistent FitClub workouts is all part of the process. Get back on track as soon as you can and recommit to keeping your hard fought for habits.
Do you have an exercise habit? How’d you get started? What motivated you to see it through?
