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New Year is just around the corner and, obviously, that means that a bunch of people are about to be setting and chasing a whole range of different resolutions.
Many of those resolutions are concerned with body image. Some people vow that they’re going to do their research on surgical topics such as by watching breast lift surgery video after video and then booking an appointment with a plastic surgeon. Others swear they’ll lose some weight. Or buy a near wardrobe. Or finally wear that dress.
Easily one of the most common of all News Years Resolutions, though, is the resolution to start a fitness routine. And many people do indeed start such a routine every year. But starting isn’t exactly the same as following a routine that sticks beyond February, and that makes you feel good about yourself.
Here are a few tips for starting that kind of routine and making it stick.
Start with a daily routine that’s “too small to fail”
Many habit experts have underlined the benefits of starting a habit a level that is simply “too small to fail”. In practice, this pretty much means that you shouldn’t try and perform your full “routine” from the outset, but should scale it down, and then increase the amount of work you do over time.
For a fitness routine, this could mean doing one situp in the morning, then two the next day, and so on.
Keep in mind, the key at this stage isn’t to give yourself a heavy workout. Rather, it’s to begin turning exercise into the kind of sustainable habit that really sticks. And to instill that habit, you should reduce resistance as much as possible.
Reward yourself (in a sensible way) for completing each daily exercise routine
Habit expert James Clear points out, in his book, “Atomic Habits”, that when you’re trying to instill a new habit, it’s important to reward yourself immediately for completion of the habit. This is because the part of the mind that conditions new habits is strongly motivated by immediate rewards.
Sure, you know that regular jogging will make you fit and happy down the line. But it might suck in the here and now. So after each workout, reward yourself with something that you enjoy.
That being said, your rewards should match your goals in a sensible way. It’d be silly to reward yourself for a completed workout by gorging yourself on pizza and doughnuts.
Anchor your new fitness routine to pre-existing habits
It easier to develop a new habit when you link it to a pre-existing habit, especially one you perform easily, each day. For example, you could decide that you’ll do your morning workout immediately after eating breakfast.
Since breakfast is something you likely do each day, the end of breakfast is likely to be a good trigger for the start of your exercise habit.
Likewise, you could also set yourself habits such as cycling to work each morning — since you’ll be travelling to work each morning, for at least several days a week.
