Fitness’ recipe for success in 2015: The “Tiny Habit” method – BY JADEN HARMAN, FITNESS COORDINATOR
1/15/2015 2:00:00 PM - Nimkee Fitness

Do you have a New Year’s resolution? Maybe getting lean in ‘15? Did you get lean in ‘14? If you reached or kept your resolutions in 2014, then congratulations, you are a part of a small minority. What about the rest of us who were gung ho about our resolutions?  What happens? You had goals, but weren’t able to sustain the actions long enough to accomplish them. I’m not here to deter you from making resolutions or setting goals for this year. I’m here to possibly give you a different perspective in obtaining them. 

The idea isn’t original with me. Recently, I read an article from the American Council on Exercise’s Pro Source (December edition) written by BJ Fogg. In this article Fogg, a coach in behavior change, shares his method to making changes or reaching goals through what he calls “tiny habits”.  

Fogg encourages us to begin with picking a habit that we WANT to do and make it very EASY to accomplish. Often it takes motivation to start a new habit, but as he states motivation is unreliable, because if the habit is too difficult, our motivation will probably fail us. So the idea is to start with a habit that is simple, and it will take little motivation to accomplish.

The next point Fogg makes is that our emotions create habits. If we accomplish a simple task, then we feel good about it! We should take a second to celebrate in a small way when we accomplish the small habit. This could be a simple word like “victory.” This works well because it makes us feel like we’re succeeding.

He then says the key to success is putting your new habit after something that is already a part of your daily routine. The equation is “after I ________, I will ________”. For example, “after I empty my water glass, I will refill it” or “after I use the restroom, I will do two pushups.” The first part is what Fogg calls your anchor moment, because it will remind you to do your habit next.  You must consider how your habit is going to fit in your life or often your busy schedule.

The overall goal here is to make your habit automatic.  If you make the habit simple, figure out when the habit will take place in your day, and celebrate the little success, then you will do it again and it will become automatically a part of your day. If you don’t do it, it won’t feel like a normal day without it.

So, how can you apply this recipe to fitness? Well, again I think a good takeaway is to start simple. After I leave work, I will walk on the treadmill for five minutes. Walking for five minutes might not be much, but if you commit to a small task; it won’t take much motivation to get you started. 

The Nimkee Fitness Center staff encourages you to start small, first come and see us! We are now scheduling fitness consultation with a personal trainer. These consultation will help us understand where you’re at in your journey to wellness and will help you reach your goals this year.  We will help you put the “Tiny Habit” method into practice and coach you into a successful year!