Four ways to help make physical activity a habit

Discover four new ways you can include more activity into your daily routine.

Research has uncovered a range of ways we can change and adapt our habits, making us more likely to exercise and stay active. Many are simple strategies that can be used to help people exercise more.

Let’s explore four ways that help make getting active more of a habit:

1. Make exercise easy

Exercise should be something that can fit into your existing lifestyle to make it a regular feature. If you have to go to the supermarket each day, then try walking there instead. Do you have 10 minutes to yourself in the morning when you wake up or before you go to bed? Try one of our online classes that can be done at anytime and anywhere with just a smartphone or computer.

2. Make exercise attractive

Love the idea of a relaxed online yoga session but hate the idea of a high intensity online class? Do the activity you are attracted to or make a different activity more attractive. Search to find the right kind of exercise you enjoy, as different environments, music, settings or even a good instructor can make all the difference.

3. Do the exercise your peers do

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Does your mum do an online dance class on Wednesday nights? Get her to share it with you, so you can see just how fun it is. Does your work colleague do a pilates workout during lunchtime? Ask him if you can do the same session so you can see what all the hype is about. Exercising with a companion, near or far, makes you more accountable to ‘sticking’ to the exercise and more likely to continue exercising in the future[1].

4. Schedule your new exercise habit with a meaningful event

Are you passionate about supporting the work of a certain charity? Commit to completing a virtual fundraising walk by registering for the event. Set up a training goal so you are ready to walk the distance and absorb the support from your friends and family when the big day rolls around! Reaching a short-term goal like a virtual fundraising walk can be just the boost you need to reach other longer-term goals!

Remember that incorporating exercise into your everyday routine should not be hard, it should be an enjoyable experience, and something to look forward to. Even if you do it by tweaking your daily timetable, or by doing larger physical activity events (like point four), you will feel better and become healthier as soon as you start. Tweak your habits and become a regular ‘exerciser’ today!

[1] Milkman, K and Duckworth, A (2018) “Using Behavioural Science to build an exercise habit” (online) Scientific American. 1 May 2018. Website: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/using-behavioral-science-to-build-an-exercise-habit/