The Zen of Finding Your Fitness · The Zen of Finding Your Fitness ... and when you’re done act...

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The Zen of Finding Your Fitness The Top 10 Preview Compiled by Jason Jacobs, Finding My Fitness.com

Transcript of The Zen of Finding Your Fitness · The Zen of Finding Your Fitness ... and when you’re done act...

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The Zen of Finding Your Fitness The Top 10 Preview

Compiled by Jason Jacobs,Finding My Fitness.com

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Have you tried to lose weight before? Maybe just get a bit more healthy and fit? Are you tired of the yo-yo and ready to make permanent changes? I’ve been there, and I’ve looked for answers. I’m still working on my fitness, but I’ve found a lot of help along the way. These are 10 of the most useful, helpful, motivational posts I’ve found on the internet, all collected here with permission. It’s only part of a much bigger collection (there’s a link to it below). Read them and write down the ideas that come to your mind, and when you’re done act on them. Enjoy!-jason

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What you are now reading are 10 of the best posts on health and fitness published on the Internet. Leo Babauta of Zen Habits has given permission to use his work, and I’ve compiled these posts into the anthology you now hold. In it, you’ll find some of the greatest tips I’ve found to help find my own fitness, and I am certain you’ll find many tips to use yourself. I don’t agree with Leo 100% of the time (for example, Leo likes whole grains, but my Paleo/Slow-Carb preferences are to eliminate them), but that doesn’t take away from the principles you’ll learn here. Along with each article is the link to the original article on ZenHabits.net. If you enjoy what you read, I recommend subscribing to Leo’s blog and following him on Twitter or Google+. Some of these are guest posts by other bloggers. They have bylines on them and I ask that you visit their sites as well. If you aren’t familiar with Finding My Fitness, I’d love to have you come visit. You can follow me on Twitter (@fmfblogger), and you’re always welcome at FindingMyFitness.com Thank you for reading! To your health and fitness,Jason Jacobs

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Forward Middle and high school were hard. I remember one time in 8th grade. We were in gym class, and we were supposed to go outside to run around the track. I’m sure I was close to 180 lbs. People used to call me Turtle. As we walked to the track, one of my classmates tripped me. Before I could get up, another one did a cannonball onto my back. They laughed at me and said “Come on, Turtle - get up!” I can’t remember anything else about that day, but the shame and humiliation will never leave me. I’d lived with that shame and humiliation my entire life. Because I didn’t know any better back then, I thought I was alone. But I wasn’t alone.You’ve spent your life getting sick. Maybe not sick in the flu or pneumonia sense, but sick in the sense that your body can’t do what it was designed to do. As you’ve gotten older (and sicker) your body has stopped working the way it used to. Stairs are harder to climb. Your couch might be more difficult to get out of. You’re not what you used to be. Maybe you’ve just plain never been able to do things everyone else can. You may not even know what it’s like to feel thin. I suppose my primary illness is obesity, but that’s certainly not the only determiner of health and wellness. Weight is a symptom, not a disease itself. Yes, an overweight person can be healthier than a person of “normal” weight (I almost put average, but the “average” weight these days is still overweight; an average American male weighs around 190 lbs, and an American woman is averaging 164 lbs#). With cardiovascular disease and diabetes running rampant in today’s world, we need to find a remedy. There’s more focus than ever on weight loss in the U.S. today, and yet a full two thirds of Americans are overweight (and one third are obese) (source- CDC). That’s the highest level in history. I’ve decided to take control of my own life. I don’t know what it feels like to be thin. I didn’t know what it feels like to run a mile without feeling pain. I didn’t know what it’s like to actually enjoy exercise. But I do now.

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And I’m eager to help you do the same. Motivation to look back toOne of the things that helps me the most is to have motivation to fall back to. I’m usually motivated for a few weeks on my own will, but after that I need some pushing. I always find some inspirational read or video does the trick when I need a pick-me-up. I also enjoy reading Leo Babauta’s blog, Zen Habits. Leo was a pretty unhealthy person - overweight, smoker, sort of lazy (he said it, not me). Then one day he decided to make a change. There are many posts on his blog that talk about his journey from unhealthy to healthy, from unfit to fit. I scoured his blog for posts that helped me and compiled them all in this document to help you. I’ve taken tips from each one of these posts and incorporated them in my own quest for health and fitness. I’m sure you’ll find nuggets of truth here. As you read, I want you to take notes. Jot the ideas down as they come to you, and begin to make a plan for yourself. Sit back and enjoy these writings, and when you’re done go do what they motivate you to do.

Find your fitness.

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Get Back On Track The Simple Fitness Rules

The Anti-Fast Food Diet Top 15 Diet Hacks How to Make Exercise a Daily Habit 16 Tips To Triple Your Workout Effectiveness Discipline Is An Illusion; Motivate Yourself Instead Reward Yourself Without Spending A Lot The Habits That Crush Us Purpose Your Day: Most Important Task (MIT)

Yesterday came and went, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Today, you will rock. Today, you are the master of your fitness. - Leo

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Get Back On Track People trying to get healthy and fit all around the country are feeling guilty today after indulging way too much on Thanksgiving — and if you’re outside the U.S., you’ve had this experience on holidays of your own. You had a great feast, but you feel like you overdid it. And you feel guilty, and you feel like crap. Toss all those feelings out. And get off your butt and back on track. I indulge myself nearly every holiday, and feel guilty too — for about a minute. Then I realize that guilt does nothing to get me fitter. I realize the only thing that will get me fitter is eating healthy today — yesterday doesn’t matter — and being active and working out today. Here’s why yesterday doesn’t matter: one day of overeating makes almost no difference over the long term. And the long term is what really matters, isn’t it? Are we trying to be healthy and fit on one day, or for a lifetime? Over a lifetime, one day means nothing, but what you do on the vast majority of days is what counts. And so stop the guilt-fest, stop the worrying, and start eating right. Today. Start working out … today. If you’ve been doing great, that one day was just a day of fun, and you deserve it. Get back on track, and you’ll be great. If you haven’t been doing great, and you overdid it, you should now have more than enough fuel to start exercising today. Go for a walk, and enjoy the outdoors. Play a sport with family. Do some push-ups, squats and lunges instead of sitting around all day. It doesn’t matter what you do, but start moving. Yesterday came and went, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Today, you will rock. Today, you are the master of your fitness. Originally posted: 11.25.2011http://zenhabits.net/guiltfree/

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The Simple Fitness Rules Health and fitness are usually made to seem too complex. If you read a lot of fitness magazines and blogs (as I often do), you’re told a confusing variety of complex advice. It makes your head spin. You’re told that eggs, butter and meat are bad for you. Then another crowd will tell you those same things are actually good. Then you’ll hear running is good for you, and the bodybuilding and primal crowds will scoff at longer-distance running. You’ll hear that lifting weights is the best way to get into shape, and others will laugh at that. You’ll hear a million variations of the best workouts, of when to time your nutrition, of how to periodize your workouts, of how to measure fitness, of what supplements you need to take … ad nauseum. It’s enough to make you want to give up. Fortunately, fitness doesn’t have to be that complex. In fact, you can boil it down to two simple rules:

1. Get your body moving on a regular basis; and2. Eat a moderate amount of real, whole foods (with occasional indulgences).

I believe if you stuck to those two rules, and stuck with them for awhile, you’d get fit. Doing one but not the other will result in an improvement in health for many people (not all), but it would be an incomplete health. Do both most days of the week and you’re on your way to health and fitness. But what about specific macronutrient ratios (fancy way of saying the breakdown of protein, carbs and fats)? What about meal frequency and timing? What about workout frequency, splits, timing, reps, and more? You could add all these types of rules and many more, but the truth is, all the complexities are usually a way of masking some simple truths: if you want to lose fat or weight, you have to have a calorie deficit, and if you want to build muscle, you’ve got to use exercise to get stronger. The other stuff is mostly guesswork, and while these complicated programs probably work, they usually work because they promote one or more of the principles in this post, not because of their complexities. The two rules above are all you need … however, most of us need a little more detail, so here’s a more complete set of simple fitness rules. As always, remember that 1) I’m not an expert — this is just stuff that’s worked for me; 2) this is for healthy adults — people with health problems should seek the advice of professionals.

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1. Get moving. Try to do some kind of physical activity most days of the week (4 or more days if possible). If you have an aversion to exercise, don’t think of it as exercise. Just think of it as a way to get your body moving in some fun way. It can be dance, yardwork, hiking, a nature walk, a swim, basketball, rugby, cycling, even housework if you do it vigorously enough. And it doesn’t have to be the same thing each day. I recommend, just for the sake of simplicity, that you do find a regular time slot you could do your daily activity, most days of the week. I prefer mornings but others enjoy lunchtime or after work. 2. Enjoy yourself. Whatever activity you choose, it has to be fun. If you don’t like it, move on to something else. Focus on the fun part, not the hard part. Or learn, as I have, to enjoy the hard stuff! Again, make it fun, or you won’t keep it up for very long. To make sure it’s not too hard, start easy. Focus on just getting moving and enjoying the activity. Start small, and build up with baby steps. 3. Slowly add intensity. Once you’ve been doing an activity for a little while, and you’re in decent shape, it’s good to add some intensity. But slowly — if you add intensity too quickly you’ll risk injury or burnout. So let’s say you’ve been doing some walking for a couple months — you should be ready to add a little jogging or fast-paced walking, in small little intervals. If you’ve been running, try some faster-paced intervals (take it easy at first) or hill workouts. If you’ve been strength training, be sure to add weights (safely) or decrease rest time or add more reps or sets. If you’re playing a sport, really speed things up, or focus on explosive movements. Intensity is a great way to get yourself in shape and have an effective workout in only 20-30 minutes. Here’s a great way to do bodyweight exercises with intensity: do a circuit of bodyweight exercises (such as push-ups, pull-ups, squats, burpees, Hindu push-ups, lunges or others) and do as many circuits as you can in 10 or 15 minutes. Next workout, see if you can do more circuits. It’s great! 4. Minimal equipment. There are a million different exercise gadgets out there, from ab machines to elliptical trainers to a whole slew of weight machines at the gym. My rule is: keep it simple. You can do amazing things with bodyweight exercises — in fact, if you are a relative beginner, you should start with bodyweight exercises for at least 6 months before progressing to weights. You don’t need cardio machines — just go outside and walk, run, bike, do hills, climb stairs, sprint. Even if you do weights, a barbell or dumbbells are all you need — stay away from the machines that work your body at angles it’s not meant to use (although cable machines aren’t bad). Even better, get outside and do sprints, push-ups, jump over things, pick up big rocks and throw them, do pullups from a tree, climb up rocks, swim, do a crabwalk or monkeywalk, take a sledgehammer or pick and slam it into the ground, flip tractor tires, and generally get a great workout with very little equipment. 5. Just a few exercises. Bodybuilding routines will have you doing 3-4 different exercises per body part. That’s too complicated for most people. Keep it simple in the weight room: squats, deadlifts, presses, chin-ups or pull-ups, rows. You can do a lot with just those lifts. Of

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course, you’ll want to mix it up eventually with some variations, but no need for 10 different ab exercises or things that focus on your rear deltoids or use swiss balls. If you’re doing bodyweight exercises, I love things like push-ups, burpees, squats, lunges, pull-ups, dips, planks. Pick a few and do some circuits with little rest. 6. Eat real foods. One of the most important rules on this list, because if you don’t eat right (most of the time), it doesn’t matter how much exercise you do — you’ll get fat and unhealthy. Aim for real, whole foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. That means stay away from processed, refined, fatty, sugary foods. Veggies, fruits, lean meats, dairy, nuts, beans, whole grains, eggs, seeds. Prepare them yourself if possible — convenience foods often have added ingredients, as well as extra salt, fat, sugar and preservatives. If you follow this diet — with the plant foods making the bulk of the diet — it’s hard to go wrong. 7. Eat less. Most people eat too much, and eventually it shows up as fat. To lose that fat, we need to eat less — it’s really that simple. Of course, if you eat the real foods mentioned above, you’ll probably consume fewer calories, but even so, it’s smart to reduce how much you eat overall, at least until you reach a healthy level of body fat (and even then, you shouldn’t let it all go). One way to do that is by eating slowly and mindfully until you’re just satiated (not stuffed). Another way is to eat smaller meals and watch the portions. A third way, which I’ve been experimenting with lately, is intermittent fasting (see Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat ebook for a great explanation of the science behind fasting). However you do it, be sure to consume the real food in moderate amounts, and reduce your calorie intake if you’re looking to lose fat. 8. Give it time. This is what gets many people — they expect to see results immediately, within the first month or so, because the magazines they read make it seem so instantaneous. But real fitness rarely happens this way — it’s a process and a lifestyle change. I started out in really bad shape, really overweight, and all I did in the beginning was to quit smoking and start running. A year later, I ran a marathon and was a vegetarian — but I was still kinda fat. A year after that, I was still exercising regularly, and had made a lot of progress, but I still had a ways to go. Now, 3.5 years later, I’m in great shape — slimmer and more muscular and much healthier — but I still have a little stubborn belly fat I’m working on. I’ll get there, but I have accepted the fact that it takes time. You didn’t gain the fat overnight, and you won’t lose it that way either. Learn to enjoy the process, enjoy the activities, enjoy the healthy, real food, and you’ll get healthy and fit almost as an afterthought to this new, amazing lifestyle. Originally posted: 06.16.2009http://zenhabits.net/the-simple-fitness-rules/

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The Anti-Fast Food Diet “There is a meditation exercise in which you place a raisin in your mouth. You do not eat the raisin. You meditate and allow it to sit in your mouth unmolested. The raisin plumps up and becomes a juicy fruitness in your mouth, tempting you to bite it. This is a powerful example of how eating is different when you are truly aware of each morsel.” - Thich Nhat Hanh When my family and I visited Tokyo earlier this year, it was a bit sad to see the rise of fast food in Japan. It’s a beautiful country with a rich history of a traditional lifestyle, incredible food, and good health. They’ve perfected the art of food preparation, using the freshest ingredients to create small portions of beautiful dishes. And while there still aren’t many fat Japanese people, especially compared to the U.S., I’d bet that will change with the insidious growth of fast food restaurants on many a street corner. McDonald’s is prevalent, of course, but so are many other Western food chains and an increasing number of Japanese fast food outlets. It’s been awhile since I’ve written about the Slow Food movement, but I really believe it’s the answer to many of our problems: health and obesity, the hectic and stressful pace of modern life, and the lack of happiness in a complex and often burdensome world. This is the Anti-Fast Food Diet — a way to not only lose weight and get healthier, but to change your life to one of simplicity, moderation, and joy. Abandon fast food, and all the values it brings: mass consumption, mass production, the exploitation of workers, the destruction of the environment, the destruction of small local businesses, the corporatization of our culture. Instead, embrace Slow Food. Here’s how.

1. Stop rushing to eat. Set aside more time for eating, for shopping and preparation, for enjoying life. Stop rushing to fast food places because it’s convenient — because it’s not so convenient to be hospitalized. Instead, make time, and take things a bit slower.

2. Prepare your own meals. I know, who has the time? You do. Make the time, and cook simple meals without a lot of ingredients or preparation time. It takes 10 minutes to whip together a healthy and tasty lunch or dinner. And it can be a lot of fun (get the family or your partner involved). Preparing your own meals is healthier, frugal, and you

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know you’re eating good food.

3. Eat real food, not processed. Buy fresh ingredients such as fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, beans, and the like. Use ingredients you can recognize, not things filled with chemicals. Don’t use prepared food if you can avoid it — microwaveable or boxed foods are not the best. Avoid processed food at all costs.

4. Eat slowly and mindfully. Too many people stuff food down their gullets these days. It’s not healthy, and you’ve just consumed food without enjoying it. Instead, take the time to chew your food, to taste it, to be present as you eat.

5. Enjoy the food. Fully savor each bite. Appreciate the miracle of the food you’re eating, and be grateful you have that bite at all.

6. Take time to breathe, and smile. Before you begin to eat, smile, and take a deep breath, reminding yourself to be present and enjoy the food. Between bites, instead of rushing to the next bite, breath, relax, enjoy. Savor the moment.

7. When drinking tea, just drink tea. When eating, just eat. Be fully present. Don’t read a book or surf the net or drive or work or anything else but eat and drink.

8. Good conversation. OK, the exception to the above rule: eating with friends and family. Fast food has destroyed the good meal and conversation, because we’re rushing as we eat and don’t have time for a good talk. Bring it back.

9. When you do eat at a restaurant, make it a good one. Avoid the fast food places, but also the chain restaurants (Chili’s, TGI Fridays, Lone Star, Olive Garden, etc). Go to locally owned restaurants where they use real ingredients and really make good food. These may be more expensive, but you’re not supporting a corporation and your food will be better, and even if it means eating out less that’s OK — quality is more important than quantity.

“There are some people who eat an orange but don’t really eat it. They eat their sorrow, fear, anger, past, and future.” - Thich Nhat Hanh “When you eat with awareness, you find that there is more space, more beauty. You begin to watch yourself, to see yourself, and you notice how clumsy you are or how accurate you are. … So when you make an effort to eat mindfully…, you find that life is worth much more than you had expected.” - Chogyam Trungpa Originally posted: 10.26.2009http://zenhabits.net/the-anti-fast-food-diet/

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Top 15 Diet Hacks You’ve read and enjoyed the Top 20 Motivation Hacks and Top 10 Productivity Hacks … and now you want hacks to eat healthier and to get a flat tummy. Well, Zen Habits has never been one to hold back on you, so at reader request, here are the best hacks I’ve found for eating healthy. Top Diet 15 Hacks

1. Don’t diet. Diets never work, because they are too restrictive and temporary. Once you’re off the diet, you let go, and all bets are off. Aim for gradual change, something you can sustain for the rest of your life. If you’re about to make a change to your diet, ask yourself: “Is this something I can do forever?” If not, perhaps you should consider a smaller or different change.

2. Change one food at a time. As a corollary to the above hack, just change one thing in your diet, and get used to it. For example, instead of eating sugar cereal, try oatmeal or whole-grain cereal with low sugar. Or instead of eating a burger, try a healthier sandwich. Once you’re used to that change (give it at least 2 weeks, a month is better), change another food. There’s no need to change your entire diet overnight, and in fact that’s not as sustainable.

3. Veggie Day. Go vegetarian one day a week. It’ll reduce the fat you take in (and thus the calories) and also increase the fiber and nutrients you get.

4. Toss the junk. The best way to ensure that you don’t eat a bunch of junk food is to make sure it’s not around. Go through your fridge, your cabinets, and that secret drawer you have at work, and toss all the junk food. Don’t buy any more. Now move on to the next tip.

5. Stock up on good snacks. Instead of junk food, you need snacks that are good for you — fruits and veggies are my favorites, but whole-wheat crackers, nuts, and the like are also good. Have your home stocked with it, take it on the road, and have it available at work.

6. Brown bag it. Take a healthy lunch with you to work, instead of eating at a restaurant. More on that here.

7. Atkins Hack. I don’t recommend the Atkins diet. I’ve tried it. It literally makes you sick — that’s what ketosis is. And it’s not something that is sustainable for very long — ask anyone who’s tried it. But one thing that Atkins did was bring to our consciousness the fact that not all carbs are created equal. Replace white carbs with whole-grain carbs,

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and you’ve made a good change.

8. Flax it up. Often ignored are essential fatty acids, and ground flaxseeds are an excellent source. I toss ground flaxseed in pancakes, cereal, anything I bake, and especially my oatmeal (with some frozen blueberries – yum!).

9. Forsake juice. Juice is good fruit, with all the fiber removed. What’s left is mostly sugar. Eat fruit instead.

10. Water powered. Instead of juice or coffee or soda or tea, drink water. It’s really the best drink there is. I drink water all day long.

11. Say nay-o to mayo. Mayonnaise is filled with fat. So is butter, and cream cheese and eggs and cream … find healthier replacements. I like Veganaise for mayonnaise, “better than cream cheese”, canola-oil margarine, and I basically nix the eggs.

12. Olive you. I think olives are magical. But in any case, they’re great additions to salads and homemade pizza and other dishes, and I use olive oil on just about anything. Replace saturated fats with healthy fats.

13. Nuts to that. Nuts are great sources of good oils and proteins. Add some nuts to your diet for snacks, or on salads. Raw is best — raw almonds are great. Avoid ones that are too high in salt.

14. Berry good. Berries are another magical food, and easy to add to any diet. Blueberries are best, but any berries are great. Eat them plain as a snack, or add them to cereal, yogurt, smoothies. Mmmmm.

15. Baked, not fried. Yeah, you know this one. Basically, less fatty, and still tastes great. Originally posted: 04.28.2007http://zenhabits.net/top-15-diet-hacks/

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How to Make Exercise a Daily Habit Recently my friend and fellow blogger Scott Young did a great post entitled, “New to exercise? Make workouts daily“. It was an excellent post, and perfectly timed as it mirrors my own recent efforts at making exercise a daily habit. The problem with trying to make exercise a habit, and it’s something that we’ve all faced, is that you usually try to exercise 3 or 4 times a week … and that makes creating a new exercise habit difficult. The reason is that the more consistent an action is, the more likely it is to be a habit. Therefore, as Scott points out, and it’s something I fully agree with, exercising every day is more likely to result in a habit — something that becomes almost automatic, and much easier, instead of a constant struggle. I’ve been implementing this idea in my daily life recently, alternating every day between different exercises: running, swimming, biking and strength workouts, as a way of reaching my goal of completing an Olympic-distance triathlon this year. I’m going to continue this habit change into the month of May. I made daily running a habit last year, when I was training for my first marathon, but this year I stopped when I got sick, so I’m re-starting the habit formation. If you’re going to make this a habit, do a 30-day Challenge, and by the end of the challenge your habit should be pretty well ingrained. Here are some practical suggestions I’ve learned along the way to help make exercise a daily habit:

1. Set a time. Decide whether you’re more likely to stick with it in the morning or lunchtime or evening, and stick with that time. I’ve set the time of 5:30 a.m. every day, and I’m trying my best not to vary from that time. If you don’t set a time, you’re more likely to put it off until you have more time or energy, and then put it off until the next day. Soon, it’s not a habit at all.

2. Send yourself a reminder. I use Memo to Me, but there are a number of ways to send yourself an email or text reminder, so you’ll never forget. Then, when you get the reminder, do it right away. Don’t brook any delays.

3. Start small. This is perhaps the most useful suggestion of all. When I start exercising, I always start with lots of energy, enthusiasm and ambition. I think I can do more than I can. However, doing too much in the beginning leads to burnout, which leads to quitting your habit. When you first try to make exercise a daily habit, chances are, your body

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won’t be used to that kind of stress. The key: only do 20 minutes in the beginning, and do it nice and easy. Nothing hard. Even 10-15 minutes is fine at first, if you’re just starting out. The key is to get out there, get your body slowly used to daily exercise, and form that habit.

4. Progress later. Once your body is used to daily exercise, you can slowly start to increase the amount and intensity of your exercise. Wait at least two weeks before starting to increase — that’s the minimum your body needs to adjust. Once it begins to feel way too easy, you can start increasing the length of your workouts, to 30 and then 40 minutes, and eventually up to an hour. Once you do that, you can gradually increase the intensity — running faster or harder, for example. Try not to increase both distance and intensity at the same time.

5. Make it pleasurable. If you associate a habit with pain, you will shy away from it. But if it’s fun, you’ll look forward to doing it. That’s why, in this beginning stage of my new habit, I’ve been focusing on pleasure. I go slowly, enjoying the scenery, the fresh morning air, the beautiful sky as the sun rises, the quiet time of solitude and contemplation. It’s actually something I enjoy doing. An mp3 player with some great music helps.

6. Lay out your gear. The fewer obstacles and less friction there is in forming your new habit, the more likely you are to be successful. If you have to not only wake up early but get a bunch of gear together while half awake, you might just want to go back into bed. But if you lay out your workout clothes and shoes and watch and mp3 player, or whatever you need for your exercise, you’ll be ready to go with no friction at all.

7. Just head out the door. My rule is just to get my running shoes on and get out the door. I don’t worry about how long I have to go or how hard it will be. Just get out and get started. Once I’ve done that, it’s a piece of cake.

8. Mix it up. One thing I like about triathlon training is that daily exercise isn’t boring — instead of running every single day, now I’ve got a variety of sports to do, and that makes it much more interesting. But perhaps just as important is that with each sport, I’m using different muscles, especially with swimming. Sure, some of the same muscles are used, but they’re used differently with different stresses on them. What that means is that I’m not pounding the same muscles, every day. That gives them a chance to recover, because without recovery, you’re just breaking your muscles down over and over.

9. Have a relative rest day. Again, recovery is very important. Which is why you need to give your body a chance to rest. If you’re taking it easy, and only doing 20 minutes, you should be OK without rest days. But it’s still good to have one day of rest, where

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you’re not doing the same exercises as the other six days. You don’t want to skip the day completely, because then you’re not being consistent with your habit. That’s why I do one day of strength training, where I don’t use the same muscles as swimming, biking and running. If you need more rest, you could just do 20 minutes of walking, or even just a session of meditation. The key is to do something every day, preferably something that gets you moving (meditation isn’t the best example, but at least you’d be doing something) and keeps your habit formation going.

10. Don’t skip a day. It’s easy to say, “No problem, I’ve been doing it for five days … I’ll just skip today!” But that will make your habit formation harder. Consistency is key, so try not to skip a single day. If you do, don’t beat yourself up, don’t judge, don’t feel bad — everyone messes up sometimes, and habit formation is a skill that requires practice. Just start your 30-day challenge over again, and try to identify the obstacle that led to your skipping a day and prepare for it this time.

Originally posted: 4.30.2007http://zenhabits.net/how-to-make-exercise-a-daily-habit-with-a-may-challenge/

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16 Tips to Triple Your Workout EffectivenessYou don’t want to spend long hours at the gym, but you want to get stronger, fitter, leaner, and just plain look good. It’s possible that you’re not getting the most out of your workout time. It’s possible to get a super-effective workout in 30 minutes, and only do a few workouts a week, if you maximize your workouts. Disclaimer: First, I’m not a certified trainer. These are tips I’ve read elsewhere that work well for me. Second, you should always get a doctor’s approval of any new workout plan. This plan is especially intense, so if you have a heart condition or other condition that might be affected by heavy exercise, you should definitely refrain from trying it until you’ve gotten checked out by a doctor. And even if you have gotten checked out, or even if you don’t bother doing so, it’s still important to start out an exercise program slowly, until your body has the chance to adjust, or you will face burnout or injury. Don’t dive right into this program — it’s designed for people who have already been working out but want to see better results, quicker, and spend less time doing it. Here’s how to do it.

1. Limit your workouts to 30-40 minutes. Though the tendency of some people who really want to get a lot out of their workouts is to spend a lot of time at the gym, the truth is that after 30 or 40 minutes, the benefit isn’t as great. To go that long, you’d have to lower the intensity of the workout, and that means that you’re spending too much time working out. It’s better to work out at a higher intensity for a shorter amount of time.

2. High-intensity workouts. If you’re just starting out with exercise, it’s best to take it slow. If you’re running or cycling, for example, build up your endurance for at least a month before you get into anything more intense. That means going at a rate where you can easily talk without being out of breath. However, once you have that base of endurance, step up the intensity to step up the effectiveness of the workout.

3. Protein. Many people don’t pay enough attention to getting the protein their muscles need to rebuild. If you don’t, you are going to get very little out of your workout, as both cardio and strength workouts require protein for building muscles. I recommend either whey or soy protein shakes.

4. Water. Be sure to hydrate throughout the day. It takes a couple of hours for your body to absorb the water, so you can’t just drink right before exercise. Make it a habit to

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drink water regularly throughout the day.

5. Carbs. Although the low-carb craze might say otherwise, carbs are our body’s main source of fuel. If you do intense workouts, you will need carbs, or you won’t have enough energy. If you do a shake, be sure to include carbs — or a banana is a great source of low fiber/high glycemic carbohydrates that you need for exercise.

6. Shake before and after workout. It’s best to take a protein/carb shake just before your workout and then just after. Taking it before your workout increases the flow of amino acids to your muscles during training, giving them the building blocks they need. After the workout, the shake stimulates muscle growth. Also take a small protein/carb meal 60-90 minutes after a workout — a meal replacement bar would work fine.

7. Slow lifting. Many people contract their muscles slowly and then release more quickly. But if you lift slowly in both directions, you are maximizing each move. Lift and lower to a 5-second count in each direction.

8. Heavier weight. When you’re starting out, it’s best to start with lower weights so you can focus on good form. But once you’ve gotten your form down, it’s best to lift the heaviest weights you can lift while still keeping good form. Don’t sacrifice form for heavy weights — that is ineffective. But heavy weights, with good form, can give you better results in a shorter amount of time. Heavy weights are not just for those who want to bulk up — that’s a common misconception.

9. One set, to failure. Instead of doing 2-3 sets, as many people do, maximize your effectiveness by doing just one, with heavy weights, until you can no longer keep the proper form. Lifting to “failure” doesn’t mean that you should lift the last few times with a wobbly or inefficient form.

10. Compound exercises. Instead of isolating your muscles with exercises such as the bicep curl, you can maximize the time you spend in a workout by doing exercises that work out multiple muscle groups at once. With just a few exercises, you could get a full-body workout. Another benefit is that your muscles are working together as they do in the real world, rather than alone. Some great compound exercises include squats, deadlifts, good mornings, lunges, pushups, bench presses, military presses, rows, pullups, dips, and more.

11. Balance lifting. Instead of having exercises where you’re sitting down or holding on to something or otherwise stabilized, it’s more effective to do them standing up, or on one leg, or on a Swiss exercise ball. These types of exercises force you to balance yourself while lifting, which brings your core muscles into play. This gives you a stronger overall body and allows you to lift more over time.

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12. Pick a cardio exercise you enjoy. It’s no fun to exercise if you hate it. And you won’t

keep it up for very long. Pick something that’s fun — running, walking, swimming, biking, hiking, rowing, stairmaster, etc. After the initial phase when you’re getting used to exercise, you’ll start to have a blast and look forward to it.

13. Mix it up. Don’t stick to the same workout routine for too long, or your body will adjust to the stress level and you won’t be getting an effective workout. For strength training, change your routine every few weeks. For cardio, it’s best to cross train rather than, say, to run every time.

14. Good form. For strength training especially, and swimming, form is very important, but it’s also important for other types of exercise. If you’re strength training, start with lighter weights so you can work on your form. It’s good to have an experienced spotter or trainer who knows good form to help you for the first month or so. Never sacrifice form for heavier weight. For swimming, you’ll need to get a coach to teach you form.

15. Hills. If you run or bike or walk for cardio, you’ll want to incorporate hills (after the first month or two of doing it at an easy pace on flat ground). These will make you stronger and make your limited workout time even more effective. Take them easy at first, but once you’re used to hills, you can get a good pace going. Either use a hilly route or do repeats on one hill.

16. Circuits. One mistake that people make is to do multiple sets of the same exercise without rest between the sets. This doesn’t allow your muscles to recover and it’s a waste of your workout. But instead of doing a set, resting, and then doing your second set, it’s more effective to move on to multiple exercises in a circuit, so that you don’t rest between exercises but do rest each muscle group. This will give you a good cardio workout while you do your strength training.

The ideal workout planIf you take all of these tips into account, the ideal plan would be to alternate 2-3 days of high-intensity strength training with 2-3 days of high-intensity cardio. You could get by with 4 days of exercise if you do them at high intensity. The high-intensity strength training would be 30-40 minutes of circuit training, with no rest or little rest between exercises within a circuit, and a short rest between circuits if you do more than one. The circuit should work out your entire body, using compound exercises such as the squat, deadlift, pullups, good mornings, etc., and either standing or using a Swiss ball so that you are working out your core. You should use heavier weights, one set for each exercise, doing them slowly (5 second up, 5 seconds down), and to exhaustion, making sure to have good form on each exercise.

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You would have a protein/carb shake before and after the workout, and a small meal of protein/carbs within 60-90 minutes of the workout. Water is also important for both types of workouts. The high-intensity cardio would be something you enjoy doing. You would do interval training, at a rate where you couldn’t talk, with short rests in between intervals. On some workouts, you would incorporate hills. Remember, these high-intensity workouts are not for people just starting out. You should build up an endurance base before doing the high-intensity cardio, and start the weights with lighter weights, stressing good form. Originally posted: 06.23.2007http://zenhabits.net/16-tips-to-triple-your-workout-effectiveness/

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Discipline is an illusion; Motivate yourself instead(Jason’s note: I don’t think discipline is an illusion, but this post gives a lot to think about. Personally, I think you become disciplined because of your motivation. While Leo and I disagree on the means, I believe we agree on the end.) Reader Kamal posted a great question in response to my call for topic suggestions:

“I think discipline would be a good topic, as much of what you talk about requires a certain amount of it.

The Army was good for teaching me discipline, but I realized that in the end, it comes from within.

But still, like most things, it is a habit that one can work on over time.

Would love to hear your thoughts and experience on the subject.”

Let me start with the conclusion first: if you think you don’t have discipline, you don’t need it. What you need is to commit to your goal or habit and fully motivate yourself. Read on for more. I think that most of us believe that discipline is something you either have or don’t have — some believe you are born with it, and some, like Kamal, believe it is something you can develop as a habit. But what exactly is it we’re talking about when we say the word “discipline”? If I wake up early every morning to run, do I have discipline? Most people would say that I do. But, as someone who regularly wakes up early, and who runs frequently (not every day), I can testify that I for one do not have discipline. I am anything but disciplined, and never have been. So how do I explain my ability to wake up early, and to run on a regular basis? Simple: I have adequate and varied motivation. I get up every morning, not out of discipline, but because I really want to — and have tricked myself into doing it. I get out the door and go for a run not because I’m super disciplined, but because I really want to. Let’s take the example of someone in the military — the typical example of someone with discipline. Let’s say Sgt. Lamar is a tough Army man. He wakes up very early every day, goes through a strict morning routine, runs and does his pushups and situps, eats a moderate diet and keeps his clothes and living area spotless. He’s the epitome of discipline.

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But I say he has motivation instead. Review the Top 20 Motivation Hacks for some of the reasons why:

● Sgt. Lamar has signed up for the Army and all that that entails. He is a full-time military man, and everyone he knows is aware of this. He has fully committed himself to living a life of discipline, meaning he’s fully committed to all the habits of the Army: waking early, exercise, cleanliness, orderliness, etc. That’s the No. 2 of the Top 20 Hacks.

● He’s in the middle of a mutually supportive competition. There is competition among his fellow officers about who has more discipline (wakes earlier, runs more, etc.) — Hack No. 3.

● Sgt. Lamar has powerful reasons (Hack No. 8) to keep those habits going — to keep up his reputation in the Army, to promote his advancement in the organization, to set an example for those under him.

● There are many more, but let me quickly point out others: there’s a system of accountability, public pressure, others above him who he must report to, rewards for sticking to the habits, the pleasure of accomplishing his goals and habits, workout buddies, visualization of his goals (even if he doesn’t realize it, Sgt. Lamar has a picture of what an Army man should be, and keeps that in his head each day). And then there’s positive thinking (Hack No. 1) — Sgt. Lamar doesn’t allow himself to think negatively, or to tell himself he can’t do it. He has no choice. If he does start thinking negative thoughts, he will soon be former Sgt. Lamar.

If you removed all of these motivations — the public pressure, the rewards, the positive thinking, the powerful reasons, the accountability, the full commitment, the mutually supportive competition — I believe that Sgt. Lamar would have no discipline. Now, some people will think, “But Sgt. Lamar was disciplined even after he was in the Army. He’s still the most disciplined person I know, as a former military man.” That may be true (it’s not true in every case), but I would argue that he has maintained his habits from many of the same motivations — he is still committed, to everyone he knows, to being a disciplined former military man, and he has this public reputation to maintain. He probably also still finds pleasure in being an early riser, in exercising and staying fit, in looking clean and being orderly. I also argue that those who do not have those same motivations are those who are former military men who aren’t disciplined — and we all know just as many of this type as the former. So how can you be “disciplined” about your habits? Get the right motivation (See the Top 20- Motivation Hacks for more). Here are a few tips:

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1. Pick one habit, and fully commit to it. Don’t try to be “disciplined” for a whole lot of things at once. I’ve tried this (many times) and it always fails. I’m re-evaluating my goals for this year for that reason alone. Try one habit at a time, and really focus on it.

2. Come up with a plan for that habit. See how many of the Top 20 Motivation Hacks you can apply to this habit. Write down your goal, and set a measurable and achievable goal, with a deadline. Write down mini-goals along the way, with rewards for each. Write down a plan for monitoring your urges to quit the habit, and for how you will overcome those urges (write it down beforehand!).

3. Maintain your focus on that habit for as long as possible. Try not to get distracted from it by other things. Post up pictures, motivational quotes, your plan, a list of rewards, your list of reasons, etc. Send yourself email reminders. Get others to remind you of your focus. Blog about it. Whatever it takes.

4. Set up your environment so that you maintain your motivation for your habit over time. Look at the example of Sgt. Lamar above. His life is set up so that he can’t fail. Set you life up like that too, with motivation all around you, in many forms. Set it up so that that motivation continues for as long as possible, not just for a couple weeks or a month. Maintain that environment of motivation.

5. Celebrate your success!!! Woo hoo!!!!

Originally posted: 03.05.2007http://zenhabits.net/discipline-is-illusion-motivate/

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Reward Yourself Without Spending a Lot

When you’ve accomplished a goal or mini-goal, you should celebrate and reward yourself (see Motivation Hack #11). However, if you do this often enough, and your rewards cost a lot, you’ll soon go broke. J.D. at Get Rich Slowly recently posted that sometimes it’s OK to splurge, a cool statement coming from someone who promotes frugality. And I agree with him completely, but I thought it would be interesting to post a list of some ideas of cheap or free rewards. Some ideas:

1. buy books from a used bookstore2. make chocolate chip cookies (easy and delicious!)3. dip berries in chocolate4. take a day off, watch dvds5. ask your SO for a massage6. take a bubble bath7. blend a smoothie8. download a couple songs9. spend time with a loved one10. get your favorite take out11. give yourself some quiet time with a book or music12. take a day off from any goal activities13. take a nap14. watch your favorite TV show15. do something you love16. window shopping (can be dangerous!)17. go to the beach18. go to a museum19. have a cup of tea20. have a glass of wine with dinner

Be creative! I’m sure you can think of a lot of other free things that will give you pleasure. You deserve it!

Originally posted: 03.05.2007http://zenhabits.net/reward-yourself-without-spending-lot/

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The Habits That Crush Us‘Don’t panic.’ ~Douglas Adams Why is it that we cannot break the bad habits that stand in our way, crushing our desires to live a healthy life, be fit, simplify, be happier? How is it that our best intentions are nearly always beaten? We want to be focused and productive, exercise and eat healthy foods, stop smoking and learn to get rid of debt and clutter, but we just can’t. The answer lies in something extremely simple, but something most people aren’t aware of:We don’t know how to cope with stress and boredom in a healthy way. The bad habits we’ve formed are often useful to us, in dealing with stress and boredom. Consider the bad habits that fit this bill:

● Smoking● Internet procrastination● Eating junk food● Drinking● Being rude/angry/depressed● Watching TV or playing video games (if you become addicted & sedentary)● Shopping (getting into debt, building clutter)● Procrastinating on finances, paperwork, clutter (too stressful)● Inactivity (avoiding exercise is a stress avoidance technique)● Biting nails, chewing hair, clenching jaw

This isn’t a complete list, but all of these habits fill a strong need: they are ways to cope with stress and/or boredom. We have formed them as coping mechanisms, and they stick around because we don’t have better ways of coping. So what if instead, we replaced them with healthier ways of coping? We’d get rid of the problems of these bad habits, and start getting the benefits of better habits.

Better Coping HabitsHow can we deal with stress and boredom instead? There’s no one answer, but the habits we form should be ones that lead to healthier results. Some ideas:

● Walk/run/swim/bike● Do pushups, pullups, squats● Yoga/meditation

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● Play with friends/kids● Create, write, play music, read when we’re bored● Learn to enjoy being alone, instead of being bored● Take a daily walk and enjoy nature● Deal with finances, clutter, paperwork immediately, in small steps, so that it doesn’t get

stressful● Take control of a situation: make a list, get started in baby steps, so things don’t get

stressful● Learn to be mindful of your breathing, body tension, stressed-out thoughts● Get some rest● Learn to savor healthy food that you find delicious● Slow down● Take a hot bath● Learn to live in the present

These are some good examples. Each habit above will help cope with or prevent stress or boredom. If you replace the bad habits with these, your life will be less stressful and healthier. You’ll have less debt, less clutter, less fat, less disease.

Changing the HabitsThe old habits of coping didn’t build up overnight, and they won’t go away overnight either. We built them up through years of repetition, and the only way to change them is also years of repetition. But an important start is to realize why we do them — stress and boredom, largely — and realize that there are other ways to deal with these two problems. We need to be aware when stress and boredom start to kick in, and instead of being afraid of them, realize that they are problems easily solved by other habits. Let’s take the fear out of stress and boredom. Let’s learn that we can beat them simply, and prove that with repeated good habits. Once you have that realization, follow the usual Zen Habits steps to changing a habit:

1. Pick one habit at a time.2. Start very small – just a minute or two, if you want it to stick.3. Use social motivation like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or email.4. Be very conscious of your triggers, and do the habit consciously every time the trigger happens.5. Enjoy the new habit. You’ll stick with it longer if you do.

We have been crushed by the habits we’ve formed out of fear of stress and boredom. We can fight back, by learning to breathe, to smile, to go slowly. We can humble these giants that crush us by turning them into mere gnats to be shooed away with a smile. Originally Posted: 01.23.2012http://zenhabits.net/crush/

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Purpose Your Day: Most Important Task (MIT)I’ve mentioned this briefly in my morning routine, but I thought I’d explain a little bit more about MITs – Most Important Tasks. It’s not an original concept, but one that I use on a daily basis and that has helped me out tremendously. It’s very simple: your MIT is the task you most want or need to get done today. In my case, I’ve tweaked it a bit so that I have three MITs — the three things I must accomplish today. Do I get a lot more done than three things? Of course. But the idea is that no matter what else I do today, these are the things I want to be sure of doing. So, the MIT is the first thing I do each day, right after I have a glass of water to wake me up. And here’s the key to the MITs for me: at least one of the MITs should be related to one of my goals. While the other two can be work stuff (and usually are), one must be a goal next-action. This ensures that I am doing something to move my goals forward that day. And that makes all the difference in the world. Each day, I’ve done something to make my dreams come true. It’s built into my morning routine: set a next-action to accomplish for one of my goals. And so it happens each day, automatically. Another key: do your MITs first thing in the morning, either at home or when you first get to work. If you put them off to later, you will get busy and run out of time to do them. Get them out of the way, and the rest of the day is gravy! It’s such a small thing to implement, and yet I’m raving about it like it’s a huge revelation. But it is. Sometimes small things can make big differences. I highly recommend you give it a go. Originally posted: 02.06.2007http://zenhabits.net/purpose-your-day-most-important-task/

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Need more?If you’re hungry for more ideas and motivation, I’ve got a much bigger collection waiting for you. This 10-post collection is just a piece of what I’ve gathered from Leo’s blog. The full collection has over 30 of the best health and fitness related content I’ve come across on the internet. What I love about his stuff is that he doesn’t complicate things. Sure, you can find hacks all over the place. But hacks are only hacks; they’re not sustainable for a lifetime. The posts I’ve collected for you are meant to help you find the motivation and gather the ideas you need to help you realize

you can be healthy,

you can feel good about yourself,

and you can lose weight. Here’s what you’ll find there:

Section 1: The Basics - everything you need to know to get started TODAY Section 2: Food - with so many diets out there, it’s refreshing to find some simple suggestions and practices to get a handle on proper eating. Section 3: Exercise - find out how you can have a fine, strong body without spending money at a gym and never having to miss workouts because of a busy schedule. Section 4: Motivation - this is where I usually need the most help. I’m OK for a few days, but I lose it quick. The content in these posts have literally changed my mindset on staying the path. Bonus content - things like the importance of sleep, stress, and habits. There’s more to proper fitness than just diet and excercise!

When you’re ready for more, just head on over to www.fidningmyfitness.com/morezenfit. It’ll all be there waiting for you!

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