Force the habit

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/11/2020 (1810 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I don’t know about you, but I always find myself in a bit of a rut this time of year.

Waking up in pitch darkness. Allergies kicking in. Cold cars and wind that burns your face. Maybe you’re feeling the same?

But, because my habits are so ingrained, I don’t deviate from my fitness routine regardless how I’m feeling when that alarms goes off. Here’s why.

Every morning at 6:30 a.m., the alarm on my phone dings. And every morning, my brain tries to convince me to stay in bed.

“You didn’t sleep great,” it says. “You’ll be fine if you just hit snooze once.”

After a few seconds of this negotiation, my brain gives up, and I manage to throw off the comfortable comforter, toss on the sweatpants I laid out the night before (yes, this work from home deal has its perks), and stumble downstairs.

No, I don’t meditate, interpretive dance or journal. I’m in a race against the clock before the girls wake up, working on my biggest priority task written down the night before. I feed the cat (ugh) and turn on the Keurig for my morning brew, and then the laptop goes on.

Then, every other day at 12:05 p.m., the process repeats itself. First, Google Calendar reminds me of my scheduled workout. I look down at my workout clothes, which I’ve laid out on the chair next to my computer, and that little voice in my head pipes up again.

“You’re sore from the last workout still,” it says. “Plus, you have client programs to update. There’s no time to exercise. Push it to tomorrow.”

As you figured out, my brain doesn’t win this one either. This inner battle, the work you do alone despite the compelling argument your brain makes, is what gives you the life and health you desire. There’s no secret here. The big secret is to just keep doing the work, every day. As the saying goes, if you want to have what others don’t, you have to do what others won’t.

I’m here to help you force the habit until you start believing in yourself and the little voice in your head gets drowned out by the new one who wants the best for you. As once these little decisions start being made with minimal negotiation, you’ve won.

Some days you’ll feel like you’re walking through mud. That’s OK. Trudge forward. Other days you’ll feel and see measurable signs of progress. Those pants fit again. You have your family and friends jealously asking you what the heck you’ve been up to. Celebrate those days. But the work can’t stop there.

Consistent action leads to small victories. Small victories lead to daily momentum and motivation. Motivation leads to consistent action and multiple small victories. And multiple small victories always add up to winning bigger battles. You’ve got this — I believe in you. But don’t mix up the order and wait for motivation to strike and stay fired up — it won’t.

“I want to get toned. What’s the best way to do it?”

This is, hands down, one of the most common questions clients ask upon signing up.

And every time someone asks that, I respond with one simple question:

“What does ‘toned’ mean for you?”

For the most part, the responses are usually “I want to get rid of the bat wing arms and tone and tighten my glutes and midsection.”

The response from men might be a little different, but usually they visualize a leaner midsection and bigger arms.

As a coach, I know this means you want to look like you lift weights because that’s what it takes to achieve those goals. But hidden under these words is a fear you’ll get too bulky.

And instead of lifting weights, many diet at a really low calorie count and spend hour upon hour doing cardio. Or they go to classes where they lift light weights at a fast pace and work up a sweat.

All of these things help with weight loss, don’t get me wrong, but ‘toning’ is driven by progressively getting stronger on foundational exercises such as squats, rows and presses. That means challenging yourself with more weight and/or reps over time.

At the end of the day, everyone should do what they enjoy when it comes to exercise. Move your body in a way that brings you joy. Because some movement is always better than no movement.

But, at the same time, if I’m going to answer that question truthfully, I have to be blunt and honest and say you’ll probably need to lift some weights and fuel your body with quality food.

Rarely is one’s ideal physique achievable through weight loss alone. It usually requires five to 10 pounds of well-placed lean muscle, too.

If you want that goal physique — the one you imagine you want in your mind that looks toned and healthy — you’re not going accomplish it through cardio alone.

You can accomplish this at home with a few pairs of dumbbells, so don’t think it only gets done in a commercial gym with fancy equipment.

But the take-home message is to train consistently doing the core exercises that have worked for decades, while, over time, improving your execution, adding weight or reps, and doing that for months on end.

Of course, we try to do it in a fun way with the folks I work with via virtual classes and just enough variety so they’ll stick to it. A decent workout completed is better than a perfect one skipped, of course.

But before trying another new and cutting-edge approach, consider the goal you’re after. Make sure you match it up with the plan most likely to get you there.

Mitch Calvert is a Winnipeg-based fitness coach for men and women like his former self. Heavy-set in his 20s, he lost 60 pounds and now helps clients find their spark and lose the weight for life. With eight weeks to go until Christmas, his next intake of the Busy Parent Drop 2 Sizes Challenge opens next week. If you want to make the most of the last eight weeks before the holidays, email him at mitch@mitchcalvert.com or visit www.mitchcalvert.com for details.