Our routines are out the window… but now is the time to develop healthy new routines and habits that stick with you throughout the rest of lockdown and beyond!
Life as we know it has been severely disrupted by the current situation of COVID-19. As we stay tucked away at home to shield the vulnerable and help the NHS, we’re left staring out of our windows (or at our screens) feeling a bit lost.
Staying at home makes it really easy to pick up unhealthy habits that make us feel lethargic, unmotivated and unproductive, which not only impacts our physical wellbeing but our mental health as well.
Many out there are reeling at the disruption to their routines, especially when it comes to fitness. For those who had their fitness routine and favourite studios sorted, they now have to transition to home workouts to mimic their usual fitness habits. And there are also many out there who may not be accustomed to working out, but now the need to balance this new sedentary lifestyle has increased in importance.
Staying active and healthy is more important than ever during these uncertain times. If there’s any time to begin developing healthy habits, it’s NOW! And we’ve got some ace tips to help you develop a fitness habit for LIFE #MoveAtHome
4 Ways to develop a fitness habit for LIFE
Challenge Yourself!!
Turn your workouts from temporary ‘I’m-bored-in-the-house-and-I’m-in-the-house-bored’ into a lifelong habit that you love!
Whether you’re a fan of the fitness challenges circulating social media during lockdown or not, challenges are an excellent way to begin a fitness habit and hold yourself accountable to staying on track to hit your fitness goals at home. Whether it’s a daily fitness challenge or weekly fitness challenges, take control of developing your fitness habit.
You don’t have to go big - adjust your challenges according to your fitness level. They could range from completing a 5km run to nailing a handstand, or even just ‘improve flexibility’! Have some fun with it (it doesn’t have to be about thousands of press-ups!) and think about what you would love to achieve over the coming weeks. It will give you something to focus on whilst also keeping your body active and healthy.
Be Consistent:
Consistency is king! Staying consistent is one of the biggest factors when it comes to developing a healthy habit, especially in keeping workout motivation. And one of the simplest ways to stay consistent is to trick your brain into developing a fitness habit with some simple steps.
Commit to your workouts and position your workout calendar somewhere prominent. Every day you do a fitness activity that moves you closer to your goal, cross out the day and celebrate!
The Power of Habit explains that there’s a simple neurological loop at the core of every habit and it consists of three parts:
- Cue: When you’re yet to tick off a workout off your calendar, your brain will register that it’s time to schedule something active.
- Routine: Get active and get your fitness in the bag!
- Reward: The physical act of crossing off another day of fitness (and seeing that chain of exercise grow) will make you glow with success, along with your pumping endorphins!
There’s a reason why fitness trackers, such as FitBit, keep a running total of days that you got active. As soon as you start seeing wobbles in your consistency, it spurs you to get moving again and close those gaps.
Add variety into your home workouts:
At-home workouts can get tedious if you just stick to the same YouTube videos or workout sequence day-in, day-out. Boredom kills motivation. Similar to how we got active prior to lockdown, those who do the same activities every week are more likely to lose their motivation to continue.
Once you’ve got your habit calendar set-up, the next step is to add variety to keep your fitness interest. Studies show that people taking part in a new form of exercise reported higher levels of positive feelings. They also expressed greater interest in regular workouts, rather than those who repeated the same old tired routines.
Start searching for the best on-demand workouts of 2020 and try new exercise classes online or live-streaming workouts - it’s a fab way to keep fitness motivation high and keep boredom at bay.
With our live-streaming service, Move At Home, you have the pick of 1000’s of weekly classes! Move At Home connects our local fitness instructors with Move members, so you can book your workout and stay motivated to turn up/turn on your laptop to workout.
From twerking in London to yoga in Bristol - Move At Home brings you the greatest variety of live-streaming home workouts to shake up your workouts, flip fitness on its head and keep things fresh, and most importantly, exciting!
Focus on the ‘feels’
Now more than ever, caring for your mental health is so important. Being isolated at home and not having the usual everyday social interactions can be an intense change of life for many.
Psychologists find that preventing disease, weight-loss and general health improvements were not strong enough reasons to get people to stick to healthy habits and stay motivated to kick goals. Instead, look to the short-term outcomes and immediate rewards, such as improved mood, lowered stress levels and increased energy.
Putting aside time to exert yourself physically can work wonders on your mental state, so be sure to factor activity into your days. Get your blood pumping and work up a sweat or just have some time to focus on yourself through yoga, meditation or gentle stretching. Hold onto those feels when the endorphins kick in! And also be proud of getting your fitness ticked off for the day - it really is a satisfying feeling.
Notice the positive and rewarding experience of a workout so it becomes something you CHOOSE to do. Not something you HAVE to do. And that’s what we’re all striving to achieve: a fitness habit that won’t ever be a chore.
