The 5 steps to start exercising (and get in the habit) without failing

Regular exercise is a habit known to promote optimal health. Maybe you hate it or maybe you love it. But, it is the most valuable habit you can have in your life.

If you already exercise consistently, you definitely know what I mean. But if you have not yet managed to be very active in your daily routine, in this article I have 5 infallible steps for you to start with the habit of exercising and make it a true permanent habit (guaranteed).

Plus, discover why exercise can be a recipe for more than just losing weight. Make up your mind to do something good for yourself and keep reading.

“Generally, people who exercise start eating better and being more productive. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less often and say they feel less stressed. Exercise is a key habit that triggers widespread change. "

-Charles Duhlig

 

Let's face it: It's not that difficult to start an exercise routine. After all, most of us have tried more than once.

The problem, of course, comes with doing it constantly, that is, making it a habit.

Very often, your initial enthusiasm evaporates and your energy gradually decreases; you get distracted by other things that happen in your life, or maybe you can't see results quickly enough and suddenly boom! you throw in the towel.

I don't want to lie to you, exercise can be awkward at first. And that's the main reason why we have such a hard time getting started. Even if you already have your exercise routine established, some days you may feel that resistance against exercise.

The good news is that all your effort is well rewarded. Exercise affects many areas of your life (without realizing it). You just have to focus on building the habit of exercising and the benefits will fall from the sky.

Think about it: 4 workouts of 1 hour per week represent only 2.4% of all our time. In perspective, that is very little investment in exchange for so many benefits.

Also, the great advantage is that you don't necessarily have to do one-hour workouts. The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends a minimum of 30 minutes a day of physical activity.

And to start having the habit of exercising you can start with much less of this time.

If looking good and being healthier does not convince you, read on.

Exercise strengthens your muscles and your mind.

In addition to building a strong body and looking better than ever. The benefits of exercise will reach every corner of your life (even where you least imagine it).

Let me explain how this important point was discovered.

In the mid-2000s, two Australian researchers conducted a series of experiments to see if willpower can be strengthened over time. Yes, something like a muscle.

In their first study, published in 2006, participants followed an exercise program 3 times a week. This program lasted 2 months.

As expected, after just 2 months the participants strengthened their muscles and cardiovascular system. Most managed to reach their ideal weight and increased their muscle mass.

But what happened to his will power?

To test their willpower, all participants had to figure out a mind game in addition to doing their exercise routine. But before the game started, they were asked to answer certain questions that drained their mental energy.

People usually score well in this brain game, but when practiced right after solving mental energy-consuming puzzles and problems, it's normal to make more mistakes and give up this game faster.

Think about it: After making a lot of decisions at work, it's normal for you to have a harder time deciding simply things like what to eat at the end of the day.

But, let's go back to this wonderful study. Surprisingly after a while of exercising, the participants improved their performance in this mental game  (even with depleted mental energy ).

Somehow, it seemed that the exercise improved their consistency, their confidence in the ability to solve the game, and them gave up less.

This fact led the researchers to the conclusion that exercise can increase your willpower.

That is, the more you exercise, the stronger your muscles, but also the stronger your mind. In other words, you train your willpower  (making it increasingly resistant).

But that is not all.

Then things get really interesting.

Participants experienced a complete transformation in their daily routine.

To demonstrate this, these participants were asked to inform the researchers about some aspects of their daily routine such as: the amount of alcohol consumed, number of cigarettes per day, junk food, hours of television, hours of sleep, personal finances, changes in the emotional state, personal relationships, etc.

Something amazing happened:

In all of these categories, there was a healthy improvement.

People went from smoking 14 cigarettes a day to about 3, their consumption of fruits and vegetables increased, and their sleep pattern improved. Housework, personal finances, and decision-making also improved, and so on ...

The habit of starting to exercise led them to have great improvements in other areas of their lives in a totally unexpected way and without any additional effort.

While the group that did not follow the exercise program had no improvement at all.

The benefits of exercising are not only noticed physically, but also mentally, which is extrapolated in every corner of your life (even those areas that you did not have contemplated). 

So, starting to exercise becomes the most practical and effective way to improve your whole life absolutely.

Psst Psst… If you are still not convinced here you will find more benefits of exercising.

But if you are already very motivated to start (or resume it) keep reading.

How can I start exercising?

Surely you know that exercise is the rock habit for us to start building positive improvements in your life.

The problem is the same as we mentioned a few paragraphs ago ...

I want to encourage you to take the first effective step to start exercising and teach you how to be consistent in life.

Here are 5 steps to start exercising and building a habit in your life.

1. Define what it is to exercise for you

The word "exercise" is not very defined although it seems the opposite, because exercising can be many things at the same time and can be adapted according to your personal preferences. For example, exercising can be: play soccer, dance, run, walk, go to the gym, swim, and a long list of options of all flavors and colors.

Maybe you already tried spinning or Zumba class and hated it, or maybe you hurt yourself on your first day of weights. But, that does not mean that all forms of exercise are the same. There are thousands of ways to move your body.

So the main thing is that you define what you want to do exactly, the more specific you can define it, the better!

For example, instead of just saying "I go for a walk", be more specific and that your purpose is "I go for a walk for 15 minutes in the morning in the park on the corner"

Don't just ask yourself, what exercise am I going to do? Also ask yourself: Where will I do this exercise? How? For how long? At what time of the day do I need to do it?

and above all, is what I am proposing realistic? ... which leads us to the next step

2. Start with an easy exercise

 

When you are about to start with the habit of exercising, the first thing to consider is to start with what you can and be realistic.

There is no point in setting yourself a very ambitious goal and giving up in no time (or living muscle aches for a full week).

Each attempt and failure weakens your self-esteem and generates more mental resistance to start. So it is best to simply start with something much easier than you consider yourself capable of.

If you have already exercised before and what you need is to resume it, the strategy of starting with very little applies to you too.

If you already have in mind the exercise you will be starting with, analyze it one more time and decide if it is realistic to start with that.

I explain myself better:

Suppose the exercise you would love to start with is "going to Pilates class." I love attending classes, too, but unfortunately for the first step, it's likely to be a very big goal.

Look: you have to organize your whole day to get to class on time, prepare your things in advance, go to class, change clothes, take a class and off ... go home.

Golden rule: the fewer steps you have between you and the time to exercise, the better!

So a more realistic option would be to "do 20 minutes of Pilates at home." Which you could do even in your pajamas and in your living room.

Even easier would be "doing 5 minutes of Pilates at home." Put your first goal as easy as you can, you will have time to increase the intensity and in this way, you will be constant in automatic.

Tip: write that goal in the present tense and be as specific as you can with what you will be doing.

For example:

• " In the afternoon I do strength training for 10 minutes"

If you know the exact time and above all where you will be doing it even better (it still has to be A realistic and accessible place for you).

For example:

• “ At 5:00 pm I do strength training for 10 minutes in the corner park”

You can even be more and more specific, like so:

• " At 5:00 pm I do strength training (3 blocks of 20 repetitions: push-ups and sit-ups), for a total of 10 minutes in the corner park"

If you write it on paper better, then that the sheet will serve as a reminder not to forget. Which brings us to the next step.

3. Choose an activity (which is already a habit) as a reminder 

EYE: It is important not to skip this step.

Surely you are thinking that a reminder will not be necessary, you could never forget to make that short goal that you set for yourself. But you are wrong.

The function of a reminder is not simply to "not forget", it is also a strong motivator. It generates a certain psychological pressure and is key to forming the habit.

Your reminder can be one or many. For example the sheet of paper you just wrote in the previous point, an alarm on your mobile, a note in your calendar, your sneakers at the door, etc.

But the best reminder in the world is an activity that is already a habit in your routine.

Golden Rule: A powerful reminder is a previous activity that is already a habit in your routine.

It is easier for you to achieve your goal successfully if you intend to exercise right after an activity that is already a habit, such as: after brushing your teeth, after morning coffee, after putting the children to bed, after to make the bed, etc.

Once you choose a habit as a reminder, you have to write it down and complete your exercise plan. 

For example: “ After my coffee, I do strength training for 10 minutes in the corner park”

The goal is to have an action plan to follow that tells you what to do on a day-to-day basis, and not just a goal.

A 2002 British study found that when participants formulated a plan for exactly when and where they would exercise, they were more than 90% likely to do so, compared to only 38% of those who had not planned ahead.

Mental note: If you write it you have a 90% probability of achieving it

4. Find a healthy reward 

Actually exercising by itself has to be your reward. Simply for the multiple benefits that you already know how to look good and feel better. In addition, certain substances are naturally produced that generate pleasure and well-being.

However, your brain probably isn't aware of all these benefits at first and is just focused on how uncomfortable it is… so we have to give that lazy brain a little help with a small reward.

Furthermore, to form the habit it is necessary to have an immediate reward.

But be careful! The trick of rewards can be your best ally or your worst enemy, I explain why:

If you can choose a reward for your effort that is aligned with your goals, it will be a motivation to form the habit. You can already imagine what would happen if it were the opposite.

If for example, your reward is to eat a chocolate bar after that exhausting workout. Surely the expected results of the exercise will not be what you are looking for, right?

In many cases, the primary reason for preferring unhealthy foods is due to something known as " reward psychology ." This is much more common in beginners who are not motivated simply by exercising and choose to reward themselves with food that they would not have eaten without exercising.

This stage of "reward psychology " is also temporary. Once we get into the habit of exercise, it becomes its own reward.

A positive reward is one that helps you become more disciplined and think about how good you feel when you have finished a workout.

Here are some examples of  positive and healthy rewards :

• A relaxing warm shower
• Use a soap with an aroma that you like
• Coldwater to hydrate with a touch of lemon
• A stretch with relaxing minutes just for you
• A piece of fresh fruit of the season
• Listen to your favorite song
• Drink coffee calmly

5. Download your chain of goals online and keep a daily record of your progress

All humans are lousy at remembering. We are deceived by our unconscious and generally tend to overestimate the exercise we do and when we do it.

In order not to exaggerate and objectively see the progress you have made, you have to record it. This also becomes a strong motivator, if you achieved more than 10 days in a row you will not want to stop and return to day zero.

For that, I suggest you use the free online goal chain of Habitually

What is the chain of goals?

It is a free extension for your google chrome browser, in which you can easily record your record with the exercise.

Every day you will have to record whether or not you met your exercise goal (the plan you wrote).

The goal is not to break the chain of days by meeting your goal.  If you succeed, exercise will become a habit in your life almost without realizing it.

I am sure that the goal chain will be an excellent tool to be constantly exercising.