Healthy Habits

Most people are aware of the benefits of fitness and would like to exercise on a regular basis. Some people consistently manage it and some people don’t. Often it’s the busiest people who manage to find the time.

The hours spent exercising are made up for by the efficiencies created by good health. Robust physical and mental wellness tends to lead to better sleep, more effective daily function and fewer life-interrupting health crises. 

The key to exercise success is consistency of habit. A habit involves a three-step loop in the brain – trigger, then routine, then reward. If you regularly attend a class every Monday and Friday you’ll come to expect the sense of feeling prepared for the weekend and re-set after the weekend. You’ll start to feel short-changed the sense of achievement if you miss your class. The brain loves consistency –  fixed patterns are a way to save effort. Regular gym-goers don’t debate whether they should go to the gym any more than they debate whether they should clean their teeth each morning; workouts are just a fact of life. They don’t use up precious emotional energy summoning willpower to get to the gym; they attend on autopilot and use mental capacity for other tasks.

There are many ways you can help convert activities into robust habits. Be practical about the number of times you can realistically put aside your responsibilities to get to the gym. Try to exercise at the time of day that suits your energy levels and temperament. Pay close attention to the triggers that consistently derail your routine and work to create habits that don’t constantly get broken. Some people like to go in the morning so the day can’t get in the way, other people find early morning exercise exhausts them. Many people find it easier to attend the gym straight from work rather than stopping in at home first and risking being caught by the couch.

The best starting point for strong habits is choosing exercise you enjoy. An optimal exercise plan is useless if you can’t force yourself to adhere to it; it’s more difficult to create a habit loop where you can’t seem to get to the reward. It’s natural to enjoy some types of exercise more than others and you might need to choose the path of least difficulty to make a start. There’s usually an initial barrier of discomfort to overcome when you start a new regime. Select the type of exercise you find easiest, put it on the weekly schedule and consider inviting a friend to join you. Or choose a professional accountability buddy and engage a PT for a short burst of sessions to kickstart your routine. 

Routines are easier to transition to habits if they’re convenient. Regular gym-goers tend to own comfortable gym clothing and practical gym accessories. Their gym bag is well stocked, their shoes are fit for the purpose and their drink bottle doesn’t leak. Things you do irregularly continue to be difficult and things you do regularly become easy. Consistent healthy habits make your life simpler and better.

The last few months have posed a lot of obstacles to habit formation. It’s not easy to form routines when you’ve been in and out of lockdown, processing the change to daylight saving and manoeuvering around the carb-fest of Easter. The change of season is a good time to get some positive patterns in place. Choose your healthy habits and nurture them until they become seamlessly automatic. Planning and discipline will get you started and momentum will carry you forwards.


By: , Claire Bellingham of Les Mills Takapuna.
claire.bellingham@icloud.com

Issue 118 April 2021