Creating the habit of exercise?
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EvgeniZyntx
Posts: 24,208 Member
Motivation and consistency are struggles I see constantly - and the success of MFP is really the number of days of logging (and hopefully paying attention to calories, etc. that go along with it).
So I have a question: How do you create the habit of exercise?
Personally, I have good periods and others that are weak. I may go for months at a time and follow a steady plan and then poof, I fall off and struggle to return to it.
I'm reading a book - called The Power of Habits that touches on a few points that might make sense. I'm sharing them here as they might feed the conversation. This book suggests that we can build habits by setting up a feedback loop of cue/routine/rewards.
The simple cue might be: gym clothes are ready, a scheduled exercise time, lacing up your sneakers before breakfast...
And whatever your routine might then be, it is followed by a reward: perhaps it is the enjoyment of being outside, the endorphins, or "rush", the sense of accomplishment. But without some sense of success or feeling of good, we won't just stick to things long term. tracking performance, the miles out, steps, getting cheered all seem to help. This type of self-reward seems, according to the research cited, to make the physical activity become a habit.
Apparently, in many ways, we are like monkeys reaching out for that reward.
So what are your cues and rewards?
My cues: sports bag, exercise stuff (oh, the stuff I own from bikes, to climbing gear, to that little fitbit dongle). my daughters - we do things together, friends, mfp...
My rewards: I track miles, lifts and steps. I keep my eyes on the prize of participating in sporting events. I get to eat more. I love feeling better, stronger, etc.
Do you actively try to make the cues and rewards more apparent and relevant?
So I have a question: How do you create the habit of exercise?
Personally, I have good periods and others that are weak. I may go for months at a time and follow a steady plan and then poof, I fall off and struggle to return to it.
I'm reading a book - called The Power of Habits that touches on a few points that might make sense. I'm sharing them here as they might feed the conversation. This book suggests that we can build habits by setting up a feedback loop of cue/routine/rewards.
The simple cue might be: gym clothes are ready, a scheduled exercise time, lacing up your sneakers before breakfast...
And whatever your routine might then be, it is followed by a reward: perhaps it is the enjoyment of being outside, the endorphins, or "rush", the sense of accomplishment. But without some sense of success or feeling of good, we won't just stick to things long term. tracking performance, the miles out, steps, getting cheered all seem to help. This type of self-reward seems, according to the research cited, to make the physical activity become a habit.
Apparently, in many ways, we are like monkeys reaching out for that reward.
So what are your cues and rewards?
My cues: sports bag, exercise stuff (oh, the stuff I own from bikes, to climbing gear, to that little fitbit dongle). my daughters - we do things together, friends, mfp...
My rewards: I track miles, lifts and steps. I keep my eyes on the prize of participating in sporting events. I get to eat more. I love feeling better, stronger, etc.
Do you actively try to make the cues and rewards more apparent and relevant?
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Replies
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How to create the habit of exercise? Cues and rewards?
I don't know about any of that. I just go workout. I'm not trying to oversimplify it....okay, maybe I am. Okay, what I mean to say is that I'm not trying to be a *kitten* about it, but creating habits and rewards and cues are foreign concepts to me. Cuz I just go workout.
I don't think about rewards when I go to work, or when I pick my daughter up from school, or when I shower before going out in public. I just do it. I imagine that eventually repeated behaviors become habits, but forming the habit was an outcome, not a goal. Over time exercise becomes a thing I miss when I don't/can't do it, and a thing I just do when I don't want to do it, but forming that connection to it was a byproduct of....just doing it.0 -
I just do what I enjoy. Easier to stick to something when you actually like doing it.0
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Maybe I'm lucky but I've always actively enjoyed sport, exercise and training. So there is a reward in just doing something I like.
Opportunity to fit training/exercise into my lifestyle is therefore the biggest factor for me. Now the children are grown up (in years anyway..) I get more time to myself. Also having a gym at work means I can take most of my lunchbreaks as gym breaks and so don't have to give up my evenings. The work gym is very much a habit and the cue is simply 2 o'clock is when the gym is quiet.
A lot of the rewards are intangible - a feeling of wellbeing, enjoying feeling fit & strong, being able to play sport with or against my son despite being an age when (apparently) I should consider "being sensible".
I've always been very competitive and self-competitive so rewards also come from tracking improvements from weights lifted, miles cycled, VO2 max scores etc. There's also an element of proving people wrong - 5 years past the expected date of needing knee replacement, avoiding back surgery that was "inevitable" as examples.
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I've gone through periods in the past where the habit simply wasn't there. Once I started competing in powerlifting, it's easy. Once I get my work schedule since it can vary, I just simply decide where in each day my training sessions are going to fit.
Are there days when the last thing I want to do is train? Absolutely! But I like the consequences of missing a training session far less then an extra day of rest. I have performance goals that I am going to hit this year, and making the choice not to train only hurts me in the long run0 -
@davpul That's the thing - you've probably internalized them for a while now because - just going to work out has become such a habit for you. Just is. Congrats.
The thing is, for many people it isn't a habit and modifying existing habits can be done over time, consciously.
The question is that how does that repeat behavior become habit - and can you help drive that in a systemic manner.
As an aside - consider that the word "reward" might be the wrong word but more of a positive feedback - you probably get a positive feedback from picking up your daughter (and a negative if you miss it) and showering. But it becomes something you do - you don't need to think "gee, I'll shower this week."0 -
Exercise never used to be a habit for me - until I found something I loved and a community where I felt welcomed. Maybe that's my cue and reward all at the same time?
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Motivation is fleeting. Habit is what keeps me going. I run because that's what I do and I know at times I like it less but the knowledge of the good runs pushes me on. My cues are just my shoes and an eager Labrador that wants to go running. My rewards are just the Joy of running and the seeing beautiful areas of my county by foot that others rarely do0
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Exercise never used to be a habit for me - until I found something I loved and a community where I felt welcomed. Maybe that's my cue and reward all at the same time?
I certainly feel a community can help drive the behavior - I got back into biking when I found a group of people to do regular rides with. And we had beer after every ride. There was a lot of incentive not to miss the Sunday morning rides.
Is crossfit the community that you are talking about?
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I make it a part of my routine. I'm a creature of habit, and I like repetitive schedules for weekdays... It helps me remember where and when I need to be. So, I make the exercise part of that routine. If I don't exercise, something feels off.0
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As for rewards... It's more the threat of how I will feel if I stop.0
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I don't know if it's a reward but now that I think I'm kinda rewarding myself ....
it's the time I have earned in the day to be for myself 100% , no family, no colleagues, no friends, no work - just me.
When I run, I run solo 9 out of 10 times.
When I'm at gym I do my thing and leave.
P.S. Don't get me wrong I'm social butterfly but outside of this workout time.
EDTA : Very unique post. Your post made me think I had never thought about. Nice.0 -
EvgeniZyntx wrote: »Exercise never used to be a habit for me - until I found something I loved and a community where I felt welcomed. Maybe that's my cue and reward all at the same time?
I certainly feel a community can help drive the behavior - I got back into biking when I found a group of people to do regular rides with. And we had beer after every ride. There was a lot of incentive not to miss the Sunday morning rides.
Is crossfit the community that you are talking about?
Yep, exactly. I started CrossFit when I moved here and I didn't know anyone. Now I have a great group of friends and I work out in the morning so I get to start my day off right with a lot of laughs and support.0 -
The two things that come to mind are making the exercise as convenient as possible and making the exercise as rewarding or enjoyable as possible.
For the enjoyment factor I attempt to foster this in clients by helping them become good at certain movements and getting them on a structured program that gets them stronger and we track that metric so that they can see the improvement taking place (weight on the bar goes up --> client feels empowered --> client wants to keep improving).
I think you're asking the right question. Also in for discussion because this is a great topic that extends beyond exercise compliance as well.0 -
I go because I truly enjoy it. If that weren't the case then I'd need some kind of external motivator.0
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Enjoyment is a reward.
Now here is, what the author argues, that we actually (over time as a learned response) crave the reward. We need to feel that enjoyment, feeling of wellness, alone time or sense of community.
And this drives habit.
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The two things that come to mind are making the exercise as convenient as possible and making the exercise as rewarding or enjoyable as possible.
For the enjoyment factor I attempt to foster this in clients by helping them become good at certain movements and getting them on a structured program that gets them stronger and we track that metric so that they can see the improvement taking place (weight on the bar goes up --> client feels empowered --> client wants to keep improving).
I think you're asking the right question. Also in for discussion because this is a great topic that extends beyond exercise compliance as well.
It does - the underlying question is really about behavior change - if you notice - the people answering this thread are already all partakers of exercise and have a habit. Underneath all the "how did this come about?" is "how can this be actively applied to modify how we behave in other areas?"
For example - here is a simplistic one - I keep chocolate in the cupboard - I love it and can easily eat all of it, but I now practice moderation - I was very much before: open cupboard: see the chocolate (cue) eat the chocolate (routine) mouthgasm (reward). I broke that by simply moving the chocolate to a less travelled cupboard. Other people might be more radical in how they break habit (tossing out food, etc...)
Understanding how habit functions and if it can be manipulated as we want is a an interesting area of discussion.
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Three years ago I lost 45 lbs and was going to the gym 6 days a week. I had a goal and was working towards it. Then life intervened it got harder for me to keep up with it all. Unfortunately for me gym time was cut due to a work IT conversion. I noticed right away when my good habits that I had worked so hard to establish were quickly replaced by long hours and quick meals. I was amazed at how quick the good habits were hard to adhere to. I gained weight felt my energy sputter. I regretted it, beat myself up about it. I personally felt that I failed while I poured all I had into work. Work was successful however, now I am starting over again of the people I see here, if you find the balance to everything that is what makes all the difference. There has to be balance in ones life it's something I constantly work at and for those who have it I salute you, and hope you will throw me a rope! Ha0
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I don't need cues or rewards beyond the immediate improvement to mood I already feel (quite strongly) from exercise. That would be enough in the absence of any change to my physique.
What helps me the most is increasing convenience and removing barriers, specifically and most importantly, reducing distance to the gym. I'll go to pretty much any kind of gym so long as it's no more than an eight minute walk from my home.
When I first started exercising, I used a rule of thumb - "You have to do 30 minutes of some kind of exercise every day." I allowed walking to count. Complying led to more compliance as I saw that I was able to stick to it (so it meant a kind of achievement, an easy win for self-esteem).0 -
Oh - also, stress relief is another reward.0
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