How to make Exercise a Habit

Firstly what is a habit?

Habit definition

Habits are routine behaviours done on a regular basis. They are recurrent and often unconscious patterns of behaviour and are acquired through frequent repetition. Many of these are unconscious as we don’t even realize we are doing them.

So there are some tips that can make it easier to stick with an exercise habit and to help you to look forward to doing exercise each week.

Be Consistent and Set a time for your workouts

Consistency is critical if you want to make a habit stick. Going just one or two times a week will make it harder to form the habit. Each week decide whether you’re going to exercise in the morning, lunchtime or evening, and stick with that time and do not to vary from that time. If you don’t set a time, you’re more likely to put it off.

Mix it up

Variety is the key. That way, you won't get bored, and you'll enjoy exercising more, so you're more likely to stick with it.

Make exercise a priority.

"It has to be a non-negotiable"

Reward yourself

Making and sticking to behaviour changes is hard and rewards motivated you to stick at your exercise routine. So decide on a goal and a reward and work towards that.

Invest in some new workout gear

If you have something that looks good and you feel good wearing, you will want to put it on and exercise. Go and get some new bright leggings or shoes!

Log your activity/ workouts

It could be how much time you exercise each day, how many steps you walked, how far you ran or cycled, what you weighed, etc. It might be a good idea to invest in a fitness tracker.

Lay out your training clothes before you go to bed.

If you are planning to exercise first thing in the morning, lay out all your workout kit before you go to bed, that way you can wake up and get straight out the door to start your workout.

Find something you enjoy

If exercise is fun, you’ll look forward to doing it. So find an activity that you enjoy doing and go and do it!            

Workout partner and make exercise a social thing

Find someone to hold you accountable, arrange with a friend to go for a swim or a run instead of a drink after work. Exercising alone can sometimes be lonely, so having a workout partner can help encourage and motivate you plus it will make exercising more enjoyable.

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