Exercise 101- Why it’s not hard

Do you find yourself being in a rut with work, family and feel like you cannot find a way to be physically active trying to juggle everything. Do you blame your lack of motivation or your inability to muster up enough energy?

The good news is, it’s not about motivation or ability, in contrast, you have plenty of this. We expect ourselves to wake up early, do a workout, go to work, come home spend some time with the family, but thanks to COVID we can no longer rely on the stability of a routine in most cases. Several studies have relayed our inability to carry out an effective habit changing to things like motivation and abiliity, as well as the inability to maintain a steady habit changing lifestyle.

Life has become so unpredictable, and being hard on yourself will not help this situation. Well, what is the solution to this, is the Fogg Model, developed by Dr. Fogg, author of Tiny Habits, can be seen below:

The idea behind this model is to represent the effect of a certain amount of motivation and ability to carry out a habit change. If something is hard to do, and you have a high motivation to carry out the task, chances are, that you will carry out the task.

Now, how exactly does this apply to exercise specifically? Well. simply put, if we do not have the motivation to do something and it seems to be too hard to execute, we don’t want to do it. So the key in this regard would be to find an exercise that you will enjoy doing, and something that does not feel like effort. Even completing 10 minute sessions throughout your day, will be effective in reaching your physical activity goals.

Below are some tips and tricks on how to add exercise into your routine, without much effort:

1. Use the stairs, instead of using a lift or escallator.
2. Go for frequent walks, around the house, or office, and take regular breaks, it will help you keep active and maintain focus and productivity.
3. Do 10 minutes of squats or push-ups throughout the day.
4. If you’re someone that doesn’t necessarily enjoying exercising alone, join a class e.g. zumba, pilates, yoga etc. The world is your oyster, and it may motivate you to be held accountable by friends to show up to sessions.
5. Asking your family to join you in exercising could also be a great motivation
6. Go and walk your dog.

For more tips, do not hesitate to contact us for a session with our health coach, and do not forget to keep healthy, whether it be walking for 10 minute sessions or busting it at a cross-fit session, your body and mind will thank you later.

We think that exercise should be intense and hard, and this is simply not the truth. Do what you love and you have a life changing habit rearing to go. You make exercise what you want it to be, and leave the excuses at the door. Time restraints are constantly used as an excuse to miss out on the much needed physical activity to keep us physically strong and mentally alert. If we’re being real wiith ourselves, 10 minutes, 3 times a day is hardly a time constraining activity. Use what you have and make the best of it.

Mental benefits

Exercise is not only an excellent way of keeping your body fit, and healthy, it is also a major contributor of mental health and reductions of stress. When you exercise, your body releases those feel good hormones, endorphins, and this is what makes you feel so amazing after exercise. Especially with Covid-19 still haunting us, we need to realize the importance prioritizing movement.