How to Make Working Out a Habit

If you should work out more, you know it. But it’s definitely a challenge to fit exercise in between all of the other to-dos and social engagements on your calendar. Wouldn’t it be easier if working out fit as naturally into your day as say, eating dessert after dinner, buckling your seat belt when you get in the car or brushing your teeth before bed? Here are 6 simple ways to make working out a habit.

We are creatures of habit. Think about all of the decisions, processes and movements, both simple and complex, that your brain and body perform in a single day. How do you get it all done?!

Enter: habits. You don’t engage in habitual tasks the way you engage in rarer occasions. Think about making breakfast. At home you make coffee, grab eggs, light the stove and push the fridge door shut with your elbow almost without thinking about it. Compare that to making breakfast in someone else’s kitchen. Where are the spatulas? Do they even buy the right kind of milk? What the heck is aged cashew cheese?

Sure, we all have some bad habits we’d like to break. But think about all of the good habits that contribute positively to your life.

It’s habit to buckle your seat belt when you get in the car just as it is a habit to shut the door behind you. It’s habit to zip your fly when you put on pants (hopefully). Thank goodness for habits!

Is it easy to make working out a habit? Not necessarily. But you’re capable of it. Here are 6 simple strategies to make working out a habit, and less of a chore.

HOW TO MAKE WORKING OUT A HABIT

There is a science behind how habits work. The development of a habit (or the breaking of one), can be broken down into 4 components: cue, craving, response and reward. Your brain runs through these steps, in the same order, every time. Each of the following strategies relates to one of those components.

Establish a Ritual

The hardest part of working out is , often, getting started. If you can develop a ritual or a routine that makes going to the gym and getting started automatic, developing a consistent habit will be easier.

Establishing a ritual is establishing your cue. The cue triggers your brain to initiate a behavior. The cue signals your brain to anticipate the reward.

Stack your desired habit (exercise) on top of another, pre-established habit or routine.

For example, you could:

• Go to the gym immediately after work. Have your bag packed and in your car, and stop at the gym before you even make it home.
• Workout on your lunch break.
• Go for a walk immediately upon waking up.

Determine Your Why

WHY do you want to work out? WHY do you want to lose weight/get stronger/run a 10k? Losing 10 pounds for a high school reunion is great, but you won’t keep it off unless you have a bigger Why backing it up.

Define the emotional, honest reason that you are after the goals you are after. Do you want to make working out a habit because you want to keep up with your kids? Because you’ve always dreamed of hiking in the Alps and you know you can’t do it without improving your health?

This is the craving component. You don’t crave the feeling of your legs moving you along the pavement, you crave the ability to move easily and freely without pain. The motivation isn’t a love of stretching your calves, but the ability to hike any mountain you see without hesitation. Every craving is associated with a desire to change something more internal and deeply ingrained.

These are the reasons you’ll keep going when you are feeling tired/lazy/under the weather/busy. These are deeply personal, and can’t be defined for you.

Start Small (Really Small)

Start with something so small, so easy to do, that saying no would feel silly.

This is the “do something about it” phase.

I suggest using the 2-Minute Rule. Choose something that can be done in 2 minutes. Don’t worry about completing a 60-minute workout. Focus on completing 2 minutes. It’s hard to say no to that.

The best part? Once you’re at it, it’s much easier to keep going. If you lace up your shoes and go for a 2 minute walk it’s fairly likely you’ll keep going. If you drive to the gym and do 2 minutes of bicep curls, you’re probably not going to walk right back out.

Find Something You Like

Another option is to find something that you actually like love to do! If you don’t like to run, don’t commit to running a 5k.

For example, Zumba is not for me. I wish it was. I just can’t shake it like that. I’m more of a barbell squat kind of girl. So instead of signing up for a Zumba class, which I know would be a great workout but I also know I’d find an excuse not to go to, I schedule a strength training session.

Think about the activities that you love to do. You go out of your way to do them.

There are thousands of ways to workout. Tai Chi, boxing, yoga, pilates, running clubs, hiking clubs…find something that appeals to you in more ways than calorie burn, and stick with it! I’m betting that the better you become at that activity, the easier it will be to make working out your new habit.

Focus on the Process, Not the Journey

Most people start working out with an outcome goal. Lose 20 pounds. Squat 150 pounds. Complete a 5k in under 30 minutes by November. And while these are great goals to set, they aren’t rewarding on a day to day timeline (you don’t lose 20 pounds in a day).

To establish your workout as routine, you have to find the day to day journey and the small progresses rewarding.

Your reward is your end goal. The craving is about the reward. You only respond in the way you do (work out), to get the reward! The reward satisfies a craving and reinforces the idea that your actions beget the reward.

For some people, the simple pleasure of a post-run high, the sense of post-work pride, and the better sleep at night is reward enough. Set yourself up for success by reminding yourself that simply getting to the gym, working on improving your health and moving more is accomplishment in and of itself!

p.s. if you are interested in getting help turning your outcome-based goals into behavioral goals, this worksheet is super beneficial!

Reward Yourself for the Small Wins

Sometimes a reward is simply, a reward. Don’t wait for the mega-wins to pat yourself on the back. I make a point of allowing myself small, non-exercise or food related rewards at the end of the week if I hit my workout and health targets. For example, if I stretch 5 out of 7 days, take 3 runs and shut off my phone by 9 pm every night, I get a pedicure or buy a face mask!