Three Simple Ways to Make Exercise a Habit

A lot of people want to build an exercise habit that sticks. Of course, wanting to make exercise a habit and actually doing it are two different things. Changing your behavior is difficult. Living a new type of lifestyle is hard. This is especially true when you throw in very personal feelings about body image and self-worth. 【小题1】 Here are three simple ways to make exercise a habit.

Develop a ritual to make starting easier.

Habits are behaviors that you repeat over and over again, which means they are also behaviors that you start over and over again. 【小题2】 In many ways, building new habits is simply an exercise in getting started time after time.

【小题3】

The best way to make exercise a habit is to start with an exercise that is so easy that you can do it even when you are running low on willpower and motivation. In the words of an expert, start with something that is so easy you can't say no.

Focus on the habit first and the results later.

【小题4】 Most people start with some type of goal. This is the wrong approach. It's better to focus on the system rather than the goal. What matters most in the beginning is establishing a new normal and building you will stick to; not the results that you get. In other words, in the first 6 months it is more important to not miss workouts than it is to make progress. 【小题5】

Playing sports is a lot of fun, but getting hurt is not. 【小题1】

Wear protective equipment.

The equipment you wear depends on the sport you play. Helmets (头盔) are the most common protective equipment. They protect your head while you’re playing football, baseball, softball, biking, skateboarding, and so on.

Warm up.

【小题2】 Doing some stretching (伸展) can get you prepared to hit the field. By warming up, you get yourself ready to play. Warming up your muscles and practicing a sport help keep you safe, too.

Know the rules of the games.

Traffic lights help prevent crashes between the many cars that drive on the roads together. This works because drivers know the rules and follow them. 【小题3】 When players know the rules of the game, fewer injuries happen. For example, you know that in soccer you can’t come from behind, crash into a player’s legs, and steal the ball.

【小题4】

Some rules don’t have anything to do with scoring points. Some rules are just about protecting other people. For example, a diver would make sure that the pool was clear before diving in. Otherwise, he or she might land on someone else.

【小题5】

This is a really important one. If you love sports, you may get right back in the game, even after an injury. But playing when you’re hurt is a bad idea. It can lead to an even worse injury.

Many runners and gym members feel that music makes exercise more enjoyable. However, they might not know that scientists have found that some kinds of music can improve people's energy by 15 percent. This was discovered by Dr. Costas at Brunel University's School of Sport and Education. He has worked with organizations like Nike and many champion athletes. In the study, thirty people listened to inspiring music by Queen, the Red Hot Chili Pepper and Madonna. They did exercise at the same time.

When they were doing exercise in time with music, they showed higher energy levels. Even when they were doing very hard exercise, they were positive about how they felt. When people are doing exercise, their nerves（神经）send messages saying that their body is getting tired. However, when they are listening to music at the same time, these messages are blocked. Dr. Costas thinks this is because the music causes part of the brain to send different messages to the body that make people feel happy and relaxed.

Dr. Costas’ work shows that different types of music can have different effects on different people. The effect of some music can also depend on how tiring the exercise is. He says that people who have an extroverted personality prefer faster and louder kinds of music compared to people who have a reserved（内敛）personality. This is because, for the music to have an effect, the brains of extroverted people need more stimulation than the brains of reserved people. Reserved people want to feel less worried and they have better results when the music makes them feel relaxed.

Dr. Costas was asked to provide music for the "Run to the Beat" half marathon in the UK, which has also now started in other countries. "I also have a lot of other exciting projects that I am working on," says Dr. Costas. "One of these is to find out whether the speed of the music we listen to has an effect on our heart rate while we exercise."