I’m a sports- and health coach, and I’ve seen people try almost everything when it comes to getting fit and performing at their best. So I decided to share a few of my go-to fitness practices that have helped me achieve my fitness goals.
Experts believe that to get the results you want, you need to practice one strategic habit at a time. If you want to lose weight, get healthy, build muscle, or just feel better, focus on one thing at a time. In the book, “The Power of Habit,” author Charles Duhigg writes that you can change your life by learning how to change your habits.
I’ve been practicing the habit of running every day for about six weeks now. I’ve gotten a little better, but still can’t remember when I last ran. I know most people need to start somewhere, so I thought I’d share my experience with you.
Have you ever been overwhelmed and missed out on completing a goal or task? Maybe you attempted to accomplish too much at once or had too much information to sift through.
If that’s the case, I’d want to share with you a strong concept that may help you succeed (not just a smidgeon).
If you follow the guidelines outlined here, your odds of success will increase from less than 35 percent to more than 80 percent. That’s the difference between “this may work” and “this is definitely going to happen.”
Coaching Based on Habits
The concept I’d want to discuss today is one that we use throughout Coaching, a 12-month personal nutrition and fitness coaching program in which we guide clients through the process of improving their appearance, health, and performance.
It’s called habit-based coaching, and it reflects our dedication to a simple, yet crucial concept:
Concentrating on fewer things allows you to do more.
This isn’t a brand-new idea. This technique is used by many top experts and achievers to live fitter, healthier, more productive, and more meaningful lives.
In reality, Leo Babauta, author of the New York Times best-selling book The Power of Less, is an excellent example. Over the course of two years, Leo:
- Give up smoking.
- 40 pound weight loss
- I went from not jogging at all to running marathons.
- I switched to a vegetarian diet.
- He was able to triple his earnings.
- I’ve written a novel as well as a nonfiction book.
- He was able to pay off his loan.
Oh, and what about those kids who are used to excuse inaction? There are no longer excuses. Leo is the father of six children.
Less is More (from The Power of Less)
Leo explains his approach of success in The Power of Less, which we utilize here at as well.
This is what it all boils down to. One thing ALWAYS reigns in a world full of distracting “technology,” “novelties,” “cutting edge resources,” and “gadgets”: the application of fundamental habits.
Create New Habits (Chapter 5)
“The only way to create long-lasting habits is to use the Power of Less: concentrate on one behavior at a time, one month at a time, so you can devote all of your attention to that one habit.
- Choose one habit each month and stick to it. You are free to pick any behavior that you believe will have the greatest effect on your life.
- Make a list of your ideas. You’ll need to specify what your daily objective will be, when you’ll achieve it, what your “trigger” will be, and who you’ll report to…
- Your objective should be made public. Inform as many individuals as possible that you are attempting to establish a new habit. I recommend using an internet forum, but you could also send it to colleagues, relatives, and friends, or otherwise inform a big group.
- Keep track of your progress on a daily basis. Tell the same set of individuals if you achieved your objective each day.”
Here are “the rules,” according to Babauta:
“There are just a few guidelines to follow in order to complete this challenge successfully. It will be difficult not to develop a new habit by the end of the 30 days if you follow these guidelines.
- Only work on one habit at a time. Practice not violate this rule, since you will be far less likely to succeed if you try to do several habits at once. Trust me, I’ve tried both methods many times, and in my experience, establishing several habits at once results in 100 percent failure, whereas forming one habit at a time results in 50-80% success — depending on whether you follow the rest of these guidelines.
- Make a simple aim for yourself. At least for the time being, don’t decide to undertake anything really difficult. You may pick something more difficult later, after you’ve mastered habit adjustments. However, for the time being, do something you know you can accomplish every day. In fact, choose something simpler than you think you’ll be able to accomplish on a daily basis. If you believe you can exercise for 30 minutes a day, cut it down to 10 minutes – keeping it as simple as possible is one of the best methods to guarantee success.
- Choose something that can be measured. You should be able to state categorically whether or not you were successful today. Set a timer or something similar if you want to workout (20 minutes of exercise daily, for example). Have a measurement for any objective you’re pursuing.
- Consistency is key. If at all feasible, you should alter your habit at the same time every day. If you’re planning to exercise, set a timer for 7 a.m. (or 6 p.m.) every day. This increases the likelihood of it becoming a habit.
- Report on a daily basis. You may check in every two or three days, but reporting everyday will increase your chances of success. This has been shown many times in the Challenges.
- Maintain an optimistic outlook! Expect setbacks now and again, but don’t dwell on them. In this battle, there will be no embarrassment.”
One Healthy Eating Habit at a Time
We detail everything athletes and leisure exercisers need to know about nutrition in The System, Volume 4 to achieve the physique they desire.
However, there is one little snag here. Your chances of success plummet if you attempt to implement ALL of the knowledge in PN V4 at once. So, what are your options?
Coaching courses, on the other hand, provide vital hints. The trick, as stated in The Power of Less, is to focus on just one habit at a time. For instance, you might begin by:
- Every day, eat breakfast
- Increasing your daily fruit and vegetable consumption to 5 servings
- Taking a daily dose of 1 gram of fish oil
- Each meal and snack should include lean protein.
- Choosing the right carbs for each meal
You get my drift.
There are probably hundreds of easy behaviors you can do right now based on your particular limiting constraints. The trick is to focus on just one habit at a time.
According to research, when individuals attempt to alter a single behavior at a time, they have a greater than 80% chance of keeping the habit for a year or longer. When individuals attempt to change two habits at once, they have a 35% probability of succeeding. When they attempt three or more behaviors, their success rate drops to fewer than 5%.
Is it any wonder, therefore, that when individuals attempt to drastically alter their lifestyle in a short period of time, the adjustments fail miserably? Obviously not. But, let’s face it, let’s be honest. The majority of us aren’t renowned for our patience. And the majority of the individuals who come to us want to be in shape as soon as possible.
Hundreds of Thousands of Case Studies
We utilize this habit-based coaching approach in Coaching, as I stated before. As a result, we now have over 30,000 case studies that show how successful this concept is in practice.
Surprisingly, many continue to attempt to refute it. In their impatience, they want a plethora of information right now. They want to know all there is to know about any strategy. And they want these solutions implemented right now.
Perhaps you’re in the same boat. But I have to be really honest here. That is not the case. Because that isn’t how YOU do things.
The best way to succeed is to keep things simple and focus on one fundamental behavior at a time. For a week or two, you practice the habit. After that, you carry it out for another week or two. Then it becomes second nature. Then, and only then, can you go on to a new concept.
Of course, you don’t have to be a Coaching customer to benefit from these concepts.
You may use PN V4 to identify the behaviors that are most essential to your objectives and put them in place as described here. Patiently. One by one, one by one, one by one, one by one, one by one So, for the most part, this is the greatest place to start when it comes to bettering your eating habits, your health, and your life.
personal – it’s all about you.
We’re all about “fitness success secrets” here at ListentoMind. And by success, I mean the kind of success that lasts for years and decades, instead of the short-lived, “drop 10 pounds in 2 weeks” kind of success.. Read more about precision nutrition 5 minute action and let us know what you think.
