The 3 steps to automaticity

December 18, 2018

Staying healthy is what’s it’s all about. Being active is a conduit to achieving health or at least reduce the statistical chances to suffer from conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Not only exercise, such as running, improves your body functions, it’s becoming more and more important to maintain mental health and cognitive functions.

As we learned in "50 min per week goes a long way", there is no need to be a marathon runner to improve your health. Of course, the trick to staying active is to find an activity you enjoy. Too many of us (mainly for logistical reasons) exercise alone. Just go work-out or run with a friend and you’ll see how exponentially fun an active lifestyle becomes.

Here are three steps to get and stay active forever.

Start slow

Especially if your body has been physically inactive, start out sloooooow. Make sure you factor in your Doctor’s recommendations but you already knew that. 😊 Starting with 10 to 15 minutes in the beginning is already a huge step forward. You do not need to run long, or go hard any time soon to reap the benefits. Many beginners make the same mistake; they go soft the first three times and unleash afterwards until they hurt themselves. Tendinitis by the millions were created because of the sudden "feel good status". Don't be a fool. Start slow. You'll have plenty of opportunities to show your talent in the future.

30 minutes goal

You should aim to reach 30 minutes of activity every single day. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, three 10-minute sessions are just as good as a 30 minute session. Here are some ideas:

10 minutes brisk walk before going to work.
walk 10-minute to get a sandwich and back at noon.
10-minute brisk walk around the neighborhood when get home

Bingo! You just did your 30 minutes for today. In no time, you’ll start craving your walks by the way. No need to join a GYM. Unless you have time, driving 15 min daily to go to a gym is a high horary price to pay. Incorporate your workouts in your daily life so decisions to go can be triggered quickly. Run/walk from home seconds after you get home while you are still in motion. Start biking every Saturday morning. Schedule a Wednesday swim session at your local pool. Mix it up! For as long as you repeat your 30 min of activity per day, you’ll soon get to step 3.

Create habits

We always sit on the same chair, eat at the same time, get out of our garage the same way. We are creatures of habits. An Active Lifestyle is achieved when you have tricked your brain into a habit. Neurologists call it automaticity: "the ability to do things without occupying the mind with the low-level details required, allowing it to become an automatic response pattern or habit. It is usually the result of learning, repetition, and practice"

Trick your brain into automaticy by repeating your daily trigger to workout and soon, you'll spend no efforts being healthy.