4 Sep 2013
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Now is a perfect time to start a fitness habit that see’s you through Spring into Summer and beyond!
Creating a strong fitness habit is key to living a healthy and balanced lifestyle, like any habit (good or bad) it takes time to create, but once established can become so natural you cannot live without it! Therefore the more good habits you can practice in your life the richer and more fulfilled your life will be.
I once got told it takes 21 days to create a habit, and that is a great realisation for anyone wanting to start exercising. Having worked in a few gyms, I have seen countless numbers of people come in, be given their 30 minute induction and a generic training programme and then left to their own devises. Sure enough, most of them failed to create a strong habit and the initial excitement and motivation waned and their gym membership gathered dust. In fact I think a lot of gyms with contract membership count on this and once people have signed up they never really care if you create an exercise habit, train regularly and become healthy.
That is where joining together with a group of like-minded people can make all the difference. A group in which you strive towards common goals and share your goals with each other, thereby making them real, tangible and become accountable to them. Have you ever noticed that if you are meeting someone somewhere and you said you would be there, and then you go? This is because you’ve made an agreement with that person and you honoured your word.
Training is exactly the same and we use this principle at evolution. You are asked to tell me your intended sessions for the week, making them tangible and then becoming accountable for them. As your trainer, we then work together to make sure the plan becomes reality and before you know it you have created a fitness habit. Plus you have others in the group who you can buddy up with and make arrangements to go to the same sessions. Just saying you will be there to someone else makes all the difference.
Here are our other key tips for creating an exercise habit:
#1 - It takes time. Acknowledge that, be realistic with yourself that it will take time and don't be too hard on yourself if you falter along the way. Just keep on keeping on.
#2- Buddy up. A support system is key, so find someone - a trainer, a friend, a family member and tell them when you are planning to train and ask them to hold you accountable to it.
#3- Value your word. It is the most valuable and free commodity you have, so if you say you will do something, then do it. The more often you do this and honour it, the more powerful your word will become to yourself and others. But until you speak it to someone out loud it only exists in your mind and our minds can often convince us otherwise. ;-)
#4 - Plan ahead. Write your planned training sessions in your diary, make sure you have all the things ready that you will need to train. If your session is an early one, put your kit out the night before so it's right there when you wake up. Set your alarm and don't hit snooze!
#5 - Make it work. Your training needs to fit in with the rest of your life, if it doesn't your mind can invent all number of obstacles to avoid it. Personally, I recommend training first thing in the day. Although getting up can be tough, it reduces the chance of something unexpected cropping up in your day or talking yourself out of training. That's why evolution starts at 6am - you are all done and dusted by 7am, grinning from ear to ear knowing that you've had a great workout before most others have even woken up!
Creating a fitness habit is one of the best gifts you can give to yourself, and you will find that once established all the other goals you have about weight loss, strength, running and general fitness come so much easier. Once those are achieved you will be left with a great habit that will stay with you through life.
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