best way to form a habit?

W

winter2b

Cathlete
I have tried in the past - somewhat successfully - to get myself into an exercise routine. I felt better - loved the feeling of accomplishment from having worked out regularly - loved the feeling of how my body was changing...loved my hubby calling me his "buff bride", etc. Problem being that it was so easy to get OUT of that habit...I think about working out all the time, but just haven't been able to get my rear in gear. This morning for example - I slept in a little knowing that I have to work until 11 tonight...then when I got up I started working on my Pampered Chef stuff (trying to drum up business) and before I knew it, it was 11:40 and I hadn't eaten breakfast yet!

I know that I just need to MAKE myself do it and then remember how good it felt to do it...right? I have such a hard time making my workouts my priority with school, work, hubby and Pampered Chef... How do you do this? Was exercise always a part of your daily routine? Have you found any thing in particular to help make this a priority in your life with everything else going on? I know many of you are VERY busy ladies (and gents)...how do you do it all? Summer is coming very quickly...I NEED to do this!!!

Thanks ladies!

Amy
 
Amy, I don't do it ALL, believe me. I just DO IT. It -- whatever needs to get done, exercise being way up in that list of priorities. I also used to get out of the habit a lot. It wasn't until I had to go to PT and my doctor told me that she wanted me to get off the prescription painkillers and other meds she gave me that I was forced to just DO IT. My back gave out after nine months of carrying my colic son around almost 24/7, and x-rays revealed that I have osteoarthritis in my spine and some degeneration around the areas where I have scoliosis. Rude wake-up call.

Most days I exercise in the afternoon because that is the time of the day when I'm most alert, but I've been known to wake up early in the morning or stay up past midnight just to get a workout in. I do what I can with the time that I have. It was hard getting started, but once I was able increase my weights, I was encouraged. And hooked. Getting on this forum also helps my motivation a lot. Lord knows there are days when all I want is to curl up in bed.;-)

Pinky
 
Have you ever thought about writing yourself a rotation and following it. If you follow it for the first week, reward yourself with something small, and the second week, something else small, and finally if you complete the rotation splurge on something a little more expensive(I'm talking $20 or so). I've heard that it takes 21 consecutive times to make something a habit, so even if you have to work late, maybe you should have one specific time to wake up, one specific time to eat breakfast and one specific time to workout. Make those more important than anything else at least until they are almost second nature so that you don't give yourself an excuse to miss a workout. Hopefully this helps. You can do it!
It's a continuing process.....
 
I had a hard time getting into it after my last baby. I just MADE myself do it! I got up when everyone was still asleep so there would be no interruptions (or excuses) and went for it! After a while, it just became routine and my day didn't feel complete without working out! You can do it! You already know what you need to do, so go for it!
 
I only starting exercising regularly about 2 years ago. What worked for me was starting with a very modest goal, like walking 5 miles a week. I made myself stick to the goal: no excuses. Then I slowly started increasing my goals. I now do Cathe for 1 to 1.5 hours, 5x per week (usually}( )! I hope this helps!
 
Well with me, I just made myself get out of my funk. A series of events unfolded for me to help me out of my funk. First of all, I remember sitting on the couch with my usual bag of cheetos and a box of chocolate krispy kreme donuts on the counter waiting for me as I watched Oprah. Charlize Theron was on Oprah that day discussing her movie role in Monster. She looked incredible while on Oprah, but discussed how she had to gain so much weight to look the part in a short time. They showed her in her undies while she was in the movie Monster and Charlize explained that she ate nothing but....well, what I usually eat. She had dimple delight along the backs of her legs and rolls here and there. She looked gross for the part. That did it for me! I knew if I kept going that I could look like that, and she got that way so quickly too for the movie. Who was I kidding? That could seriously be me....don't ever say never! I was already accumulating back fat and fat along the backs of my arms. When hubby would hug me, he would always point it out about my back or my arms and I got tired of hearing that too all the time. Just made me feel bad all the time. Then I watched the Average Joe where those hunky, seriously hardcore buff guys got off the boat. Showed what they were eating at times and showed them working out. Most were snobs, but I was impressed. That motivated me alot, but Charlize is the one that really had me thinking.
I just made myself workout into I got into a habit of it. You just have to push yourself out of your funkness. It is like going to the dentist in the beginning, if you don't like the dentist. You know you have to go. You know you have to be fit!

Charlotte~~
 
Follow a ROTATION!!! I am a person that needs a plan to follow! When I first found Cathe I never knew of rotations and all the various workouts that were available. Some may laugh, but, all I knew to do was some aerobics by Denise Austin AND to do the workout over and over is sooooooo boring...I would lose interest. Before long, I found out that women really do strength train and workout hard at home. This is what I wanted!!

So, my opinion would be:

FOLLOW A ROTATION

HAVE A VARIETY OF WORKOUTS TO KEEP IT EXCITING

EXERCISE FIRST THING IN THE MORNING

Just get to it and ENJOY! :)
 
Set rules for yourself and write them down.

**Don't allow yourself to do ANYTHING (not even Pampered Chef) until you have completed your workout.

**Decide how many days a week you will workout in advance. When I first started, I made it 4 days a week. Then, I'd do 4 days in a row so that I wouldn't have to worry about not meeting my goal. Soon, 3 days off was too much and I worked out 5 days a week. Now, I have to force myself to take a day off to rest.

**Once you start seeing results, you have to really hate where you are at right now to say "I'm never going back to that". The reults the start to drive you!

**Know that every time you workout and refuse to allow yourself to talk yourself out of it, you are that much closer to making exercise such a habit, you don't think twice about it.

For most of the woman here, it is not a question of "Will I workout" or even "What workout will I do today", it's a question of "What will I do after I workout today". My DH NEVER asks me if I worked out earlier in the day, however, he always asked "How was your workout today?"
 
As Pinky said, you have to "just do it". Absolutely no excuses! It takes self discipline. You need to know your health is more important than anything because you know what...without your health you won't be able to do all the other things.

In simple terms, it is a state of mind.

In gaining this self discipline, you will also learn to respect yourself more and more because you won't need to berate yourself for not exercising.
:)
 
As Christi pointed out, it does take 3-4 weeks for a habit to form. During the first few weeks, you have to make sure that you set yourself up for success. One successful day will lead to another. Following a rotation is a good idea, since you can do something different everyday, and after the first week you will feel like you accomplished something huge. Also, you have to schedule your workout like you would anything else (work, appointments, sleeping, etc) and you have to make it as big of a priority as everything else in your life.

I've been working out religiously for 18 years. It's as ingrained in my life as eating, sleeping, brushing my teeth, etc. What works for me is I workout first thing in the morning. I get up around 4:15 or 4:30, and once I'm up, I don't even think about skipping my workout! I've dragged my butt out of my bed at 4:15 for no other reason than to workout, so I'm sure as heck not going to blow it off. It is a habit for me. I don't even think about it, I just Do It! I'm going to workout every day...non-negotiable. Trust me, once it becomes a habit and you begin to see and feel the benefits, you will look forward to your workouts and feel yucky when you miss one. Good luck!

Sherry :)
 
Sherry,

There is not much more that can be added that has not been said already. However, I will add that you have really have to want this. If you don't want to have to look back in a few years and say to yourself, "if only I had started this a year or two years ago, I would have reached my goals by now".

You have the power to set the wheels in motion...make it happen!!



FITXME
 
I sometimes go to bed with plans for a short workout and to make up later. Once I start I can, most of the time totally change over to something more intense. Motivation from a fitness site, books,television, and dvds and tapes is the greatest things. Put up pictures in your workout space. You do not have to leave them there , but seeing them may remind you what goals you want to achieve and push you to go ahead and do something. And I forgot magazines where I get a lot of the pics:)
Diane Sue

http://wd.1ww.us
 
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