Creating healthy habits
Creating a healthy habit that lasts is not easy but consistently incorporating the behaviour into your lifestyle and daily routine is key. It takes time, practice and patience. In this article we set out helpful tips in creating healthier habits.
Here are six tools to turn into habits to help you look and feel at your best:
Drink a minimum of 3 litres of water per day (for extra hydration after exercise add electrolytes to your water)
Eat protein with every meal - a variety of plant and animal will mean that you get in the extra nutrients
If you’re not on a low calorie diet get small amounts of healthy fats into each meal e.g. avocado, nuts, olives, seeds, cacao, coconut products
Stick with lower GI carbs, ideally after training and before bed this keeps blood sugar balanced and improves brain function
Increase fruit and vegetable intake with each meal and snack replacement, they are generally lower calorie and make your plate look more substantial
Include more NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) activities into your day, such as, taking the stairs instead of the escalator or getting off the bus one stop earlier.
Tash, our co-founder and personal trainer on a run, a habit she has formed and enjoys
Knowing where to begin can be the hard part. We recommend using the SMART technique to set a specific goal (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound). By defining these parameters at the start of your journey it helps ensure that your objective is attainable within a certain time frame.
Consistency is key when it comes to achieving healthy habits. This comes down to building good habits into your lifestyle and daily routine.
Remember, forcing yourself to run if you hate running or eat food you simply don’t enjoy will have a negative impact on your mood and ability to sustain that habit. That is not to say you shouldn’t try new things as they could be beneficial to you but make sure your plan is realistic. Correct education regarding nutrition and what it takes to keep the body healthy will help you make the right choices.
Using an app, notebook, or watch may help you monitor your fitness progress and stay on track with your goals as you will be able to track habits such as steps, sleep, diet. Holding yourself accountable is another method of staying on track (tell friends and family, have a training partner, hire a personal trainer) so when you feel like you can’t you have someone who can put things into perspective and give any needed motivation.
And, if you fall off track for a day, don’t be too hard on yourself, it happens to everybody. Just don’t let it turn into a week of being off track and get back to being consistent with your healthy habits the next day. Take things day by day and keep focusing on what you can do to keep your future self happy and healthy.
staying active through the holidays
Over the holiday period many of us fall out of our regular exercise routine, inevitably we eat more and move less. We recommend finding a balance! Here are seven body weight exercises that you can do wherever you are and in a short amount of time. There is no need to do all seven in one go but pick at least three which target different muscle groups that way you will be working the whole body. Try the different variations of each exercise depending on your current strength and training goals.
Squats
Squats strengthen muscles, tendons, bones, ligaments around the legs. Try mixing it up with clock squats, changing the width of your legs or incorporating a pulse/ pause. This will help maintain lower body strength over the holidays without needing weights or a gym.
Press Ups
The press up is a staple exercise for body weight training, helping build muscle and strength throughout the upper body and the core. By elevating your feet you’ll apply the necessary bodyweight to increase the resistance for your arms to have to push back up.
Burpees
A burpee is a great way of getting your heart rate up and creating calorie expenditure. By adding a jump at the highest point and a press up at the lowest we are creating a greater range in movement and will be exhausting the whole body.
Glute Bridges
The bridge is great for improving hip mobility and strengthening your lower back, two things that any desk-bound worker can really benefit from. You should feel the burn in your glutes and your hamstrings if you’re doing it correctly.
Start with both feet planted on the floor and progress to the single-leg glute bridge, which halves the number of grounded legs to double the difficulty.
Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers are explosive increasing your heart rate and cardiovascular fitness. You’ll engage multiple muscle groups at one time making the exercise an effective way for strengthening arms, back, shoulders, core and legs.
Lunges
Lunges require mobility through the hips, knees, ankle, feet and toes. Doing lunge progressions with proper form can increase mobility in these areas and work the entire lower body. Lunges work one leg at a time, meaning each leg works harder. This also mimics the way our body works throughout most of our day.
By elevating the trailing leg and leaning the torso on your dominant knee you’ll be attempting a Bulgarian split squat which is a great variation of the lunge.
Plank
From your rectus and transverse (deep) abdominal muscles to your erector spinae, you'll build strength throughout your whole core. And yes, your core includes your lower back muscles, too. With correct form and a perfect neutral spine attempt a longer hold or add more dynamic movements, like a shoulder tap or plank rotation, which allow the rest of the body to work harder.
If you find it impossible to find time for exercise then experiment with creative ways to move your body, for example: clean the house with pace, play active games with kids or friends in the garden, volunteer to walk the dog or walk to the shops, refresh the position of the heavy items of furniture around your home or if away from home go for a walk and explore the surrounding area. Remember every little counts!