Habits are the invisible architecture of daily life, influencing your health and happiness. Located in the brain's basal ganglia, habits form the routines that, once established, are difficult to break. Understanding this can be a game-changer, especially when it comes to developing healthier exercise behaviors. Whether you're looking to lose weight, get stronger, or just improve your overall well-being, replacing negative habits with positive ones is key.
The Challenge of Bad Habits
Consider a common scenario: reaching for junk food when you're stressed or tired. It's easy, quick, and provides an instant dopamine boost, making you feel momentarily better. This dopamine will peak instantaneously but then start decreasing, encouraging you to want more to experience the dopamine peak again. The satisfaction is short-lived and often at odds with long-term wellness goals like fitness or weight management.
Steps to Building New Exercise Habits
Here's how to start shifting from less helpful habits to ones that enhance your well-being:
- Find Accountability: It's easier to stick to your goals when someone is cheering you on and holding you accountable. This could be a personal trainer, a physiotherapist, a dietitian, or even a workout partner. They can provide the encouragement and structure needed to keep you on track.
- Question Your Excuses: If you wouldn't skip work because you're "not feeling motivated," apply the same standard to your exercise routine. Your health deserves the same commitment.
- Put the Time In: Remember, a habit doesn't rely on motivation. It's automatic. Research suggests it takes about 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. Stick with it, even on days when it feels tougher, and soon it will feel odd not to exercise.
- Create the Environment: If you were trying to exercise in the mornings, create the environment by laying out your workout clothes the night before and going to bed early to make the morning easier. Try replacing negative self-talk such as "I don't exercise" with more encouraging dialogue: "Every day I make an effort to look after my health."
- Discipline Over Motivation: Motivation can ebb and flow, but discipline keeps you going. With consistent effort, what once felt like a chore will become a natural part of your daily routine, helping you to get it done even on low-energy days.
Habits in Practice
Imagine you want to make running a part of your life. Start small by deciding to run a short distance a few days a week. It doesn't have to be long—focus on a distance to build the habit, rather than challenge fitness immediately. Initially, it may feel challenging, but as you continue, the runs will become a part of your daily routine. Once the habit is formed, you can then focus on making the runs more challenging.
Building new exercise habits is about more than getting in shape—it's about creating a lifestyle that fosters long-term health and vitality. By choosing activities that you enjoy and gradually incorporating them into your daily life, you transform exercise from a chore into a rewarding part of your day. Keep at it, and you'll find that choosing activity over inactivity becomes not just a conscious choice but a natural part of your daily rhythm.
