How can I be more consistent with my exercise? (habit formation)

The toothbrush analogy

Think of something you do everyday, let’s take brushing your teeth. Now ask yourself this, do you brush your teeth because you are super motivated to improve your dental health?

The answer is likely no. You probably brush your teeth out of habit.

Put simply, a habit is a behaviour that has been repeated enough to become automatic. Small habits can make a big difference, just like putting small sums of money into your savings over time. A 1% improvement in a habit every week compounds over the long term, but it is often hard to see the positive outcomes in the short term. So habit forming is all about making small, consistent efforts.

A brief word on motivation and willpower...

Motivation is great and it helps us do some impressive things in life, however when it comes to exercise, motivation or willpower isn’t something we want to rely on long term. It is volatile and changes day to day. There will be days when the weather is cold and the warm bed seems like a much better option. What is much more reliable and important for long term success is process. Sticking to a process is key to forming and maintaining a habit. Let’s go through some tips which will help you to keep you exercising in the long run.

Tips for forming great exercise habits

Process Tip #1 - Plan your exercise

• Schedule your exercise in your Program Overview (found in every Be Mobile Online Program) or diary/phone calendar and make sure you write the specific day and time of your exercise.
• Schedule a time to exercise when you know you won’t be distracted and when you have more energy. 

Process Tip #2 - Set up your environment

• Set up your workout space in preparation for your workout. Get your equipment out and make it neat and attractive so you are excited to workout!
• Prepare your clothes the night before or in the morning, so you are already half way through the process of mentally preparing for the workout ahead.

Process Tip #3 - Do something, rather than nothing

• If you are tired and don’t feel like walking your usual 30 minute walking route, just do a five minute walk. This is still beneficial and by the time you are walking, you may feel like doing more. 
• Injury sucks and often makes you feel like you can’t exercise for fear of hurting yourself more. We recommend continuing to exercise and move in ways that are tolerable. For ideas about how to work around pain read our article - 'What can I do if an exercise is painful?'

BONUS TIPS

Keep yourself accountable

• Exercise in a group or with a friend - being accountable to others is great for habit forming. Firstly, exercising with others is often more enjoyable. Secondly, you are expected to be at a certain location at a certain time. No one wants to let their friend down, so organise a weekly walk, join a sporting team or get involved with your local bushwalking club.
• Make a public commitment in the Be Mobile Facebook Community telling everyone your goals OR make a promise to your family about the amount of exercise you WILL do.

Keep it simple

• At Be Mobile, we believe the best exercise is the one that is getting done! We believe in simplicity. So when it comes to exercise, don’t over complicate it. The exercise guidelines are simple:
  • Aim to do 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days. This could be walking, bike riding, golf, gardening, dancing... take your pick!
  • Or, save yourself time by doing vigorous-intensity activity. Each minute of this is worth two minutes of moderate-intensity, so you only need to do 15 minutes each day. Examples include; Be Mobile cardio workouts, aerobics, running, tennis, team sports, zumba… etc.!
  • Perform resistance training twice per week, aiming to work big muscle groups using large movements such as squatting, lifting and pressing - all of which is covered in your online programs. 

And finally...

• A common misconception is that you have to do 30min of exercise per day to get the health benefits. This is false.
• The guidelines may recommend getting 30min per day, but it's well established that the health benefits of physical activity are continuous, beginning with any increment in activity above zero. There is no lower threshold for benefit.
• Maybe you are just starting out after a long break from exercise, or maybe you are recovering from a surgery or injury. You may not be able to achieve 30min per day of exercise right now, and that’s ok. Just perform an amount that is tolerable, and aim to gradually do more.