The Fitness Habit journey.
Getting a Habit to Stick requires an understanding of the bigger picture… I like to use the analogy to a game and the game is getting the exercise habit to stick… lets get clear about the where the research points to about habit formation and some guidelines that will set this game up for you to win.
Objective of the game
Get the exercise habit to stick for 12 straight weeks by working out at least 1x per week for 12 straight weeks.
Rules
Rule #1 – UNDER COMMIT – If your knee jerk reaction is you can train 3x per week for 12 straight weeks… its more likely than not that 2x per week is a better option.
Rule #2 – LOOK AHEAD & SCHEDULE YOUR WORKOUTS – at your next 12 weeks and put your workouts on the calendar. Have a clear start date and end date.
Rule #3 – Self-report habit index – Track your progress by putting an W on your calendar or check mark so you can see clearly the days you worked out.
Rule #4 – TRAIN IN ALL MOODS – accept the fact you will be faced with different moods. You feel Happy, Sad, Angry, Motivated, Unmotivated, sleepy, energized.
Choose your level:
*Remember when you’re choosing your level it’s important to look at your current life’s momentum and routine. Does it make sense to add a new habit right now?
Level 1 – Difficulty – EASY – 1 workout per week for 12 straight weeks
Level 2 – Difficulty – MEDIUM – 2 workouts per week for 12 straight week
Level 3 – Difficulty – HARD – 3 workouts per week for 12 straight weeks
Level 4 – Difficulty – EXTREMELY HARD – 4 workouts per week for 12 straight weeks
What to expect
- Not feeling like doing it.
Research study notes:
In a 2010 study from the European JOurnal of Social Psychology it was established that it takes on average 66 days to create new habit. Check out below for some key takeaways:
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To investigate the process of habit formation in everyday life, 96 volunteers chose an eating, drinking or activity behaviour to carry out daily in the same context (for example ‘after breakfast’) for 12 weeks.
- They completed the self-report habit index (SRHI) each day and recorded whether they carried out the behavior.
- Performing the behaviour more consistently was associated with better model fit.
- The time it took participants to reach 95% of their asymptote of automaticity ranged from 18 to 254 days; indicating considerable variation in how long it takes people to reach their limit of automaticity and highlighting that it can take a very long time.
- Missing one opportunity to perform the behavior did not materially affect the habit formation process.
- With repetition of a behaviour in a consistent context, automaticity increases following an asymptotic curve which can be modelled at the individual level.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.674