Unlocking Exercise Motivation and Habit Formation
The Mind-Body Connection: How to Harness Your Brain
Many patients that I connect with initially report feeling lacking in exercise motivation, which significantly impacts attaining their weight loss and fitness goals.
Exercise is not only about physical strength; but also mental resilience and motivation. Your brain plays a crucial role in forming exercise habits and staying motivated to maintain a consistent fitness routine, therefore it is paramount to employ strategies that leverage the power of your brain to support exercise motivation and habit formation effectively.
- Understand Your Why:
A quote that most patients hear me repeat frequently is, “Change happens when the desire for change becomes greater than the desire to remain the same”. In other words, if our reasons for desiring change are not strong enough in our minds, we are unlikely to take intentional action towards activating those changes.
Before diving headfirst into an exercise routine, it can be helpful to take the time to understand your motivations for wanting these changes. Ask yourself why you want to exercise. Is it to improve your health, boost your energy levels, manage stress, or achieve specific fitness goals? What other positive shifts will this bring into your life? Confidence, to improve muscle tone and body composition, self-esteem, self-acceptance, self-belief, self-care, the ability to feel your best self, to fit in to different clothes, to improve other lifestyle factors? List as many positive and motivating factors you have for wanting to introduce regular exercise in to your life. Knowing your “why” provides clarity, motivation and purpose, which makes it easier to stay committed when challenges arise.
- Set SMART Goals:
SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Define clear and realistic exercise goals that align with your motivations. For example, if your goal is to improve cardiovascular fitness, set a target like brisk walking to achieve 10,000 steps a day, each day for 4 months. Breaking down larger goals into smaller, actionable steps makes them more manageable and increases your sense of accomplishment.
- Visualize Success:
Use the power of visualisation to imagine yourself achieving your exercise goals. Close your eyes and visualise how you will feel, look, and perform when you reach your fitness milestones. Engage all your senses to create a vivid mental image of success. Visualisation can enhance motivation, boost confidence, and reinforce your commitment to regular exercise. Clinical Hypnotherapy harnesses the power of neuroscience and visualisation to strengthen your neurology, establish new habits and mentally rehearse the patterns you wish to introduce in to your life.
- Create a Positive Environment:
In order for the brain to wish to repeat a behaviour, it is helpful to hit that reward centre in the brain to achieve a pleasurable dopamine hit so the brain can get a sense that, “That felt good, let’s do that again”. Take time to explore and plan ways to make exercise more fun and surround yourself with a positive and supportive network and environment that encourages exercise. Embark on this journey with a partner, friend, workout buddy, family member or join a fitness community where you feel motivated and inspired. Choose a workout space that you enjoy, whether it’s a gym, park, pool, or your living room. Make exercise a pleasurable experience by playing your favourite music, wearing comfortable workout clothes that make you feel good, walk near a body of water, walk with your dog, watch TV or listen to an audio book or a podcast as you exercise, talk handsfree to someone who makes you laugh as you exercise, use fitness equipment that you truly enjoy.
- Practice Self-Compassion:
Be kind to yourself throughout your fitness journey. Understand that progress takes time, and setbacks are a natural part of the process. Instead of criticizing yourself for missed workouts or temporary plateaus, practice self-compassion and focus on your efforts and achievements. Treat yourself with the same kindness and encouragement you would offer to a friend facing similar challenges. If you take a step off your desired path, it is important to utilise it as feedback and data to guide you, if you notice a recurring pattern that keeps you tripping you up on activating a certain behaviour, consider what strategies you could implement as a safety net for yourself, for example, if it is raining heavily outside and this impacts your ability to go for a walk, pop on an exercise video that you have readily available and easily accessible that you enjoy that you can follow along with in your living room. Continue to adapt, evolve and bounce back to find ways to stay the path. “Be stubborn about your goals and flexible about your methods”.
- Use Positive Affirmations:
Positive affirmations can reprogram your subconscious mind to support your exercise goals. Create affirmations that resonate with you, such as, “I am strong, capable, and committed to my fitness journey”, or “Every workout brings me closer to my healthiest self.” Repeat these affirmations daily, especially before and during exercise sessions, to boost motivation and confidence.
- Gamify Your Workouts:
Turn exercise into a fun and engaging activity by gamifying your workouts. Set challenges, track your progress, and reward yourself for achieving milestones. Use fitness apps or wearable devices to monitor your steps, calories burned, or workout duration. Challenge yourself to beat your own records and compete with friends or family members in friendly fitness competitions. Find a way to be physically active with a Virtual Reality Headset or a gaming set up where you need to get your body moving to participate, find a dance class, or engage in an 8-week-fitness challenge, find a way to make it fun, challenging, trackable and rewarding.
- Establish Consistent Habits:
Consistency is key to forming exercise habits that last. Set a regular schedule for workouts and treat them as non-negotiable appointments with yourself. Start with manageable time increments and gradually increase intensity and duration as your fitness level improves. Make exercise a priority in your daily routine, just like brushing your teeth or eating meals, make it something that you, “just do” every day, so if for any reason you were unable to exercise during your scheduled time in the morning, intentionally make time to get back to it and exercise in the afternoon, be flexible, but consistent. Consistency is key in forming new habits and creating new patterns that simply become automaticity, so find ways to support you staying on track.
- Focus on Enjoyable Activities:
Find exercises and physical activities that you genuinely enjoy to extend your fitness outcomes. Whether it’s walking by the beach with a friend, going out dancing, cycling in an area you love, yoga, swimming, aqua aerobics, Zumba classes or hiking, choose activities that align with your interests and bring you joy. When you look forward to your workouts, it becomes easier to stay motivated and committed in the long run.
- Celebrate Your Progress:
Celebrate every milestone and achievement along your fitness journey. Whether it’s reaching a weight loss goal, improving endurance, mastering a new exercise technique, or simply showing up consistently – even when you don’t feel like it, acknowledge and celebrate your positive progress. Reward yourself with non-food rewards like a relaxing massage, a new workout outfit, or a day of self-care.
Exercise motivation and habit formation are deeply rooted in the power of your brain. By understanding your motivations, setting SMART goals, visualising success, creating a positive environment, practicing self-compassion, using positive affirmations, gamifying your workouts, establishing consistent habits, focusing on enjoyable activities, and celebrating your progress, you can harness your brain’s potential to support a sustainable and fulfilling exercise routine. Remember, your mind and body work in harmony, so nurture both to achieve optimal fitness and well-being.
