(July 9, 2015) Developing any habit—good or bad—starts with a
routine, and exercise is no exception. The trick is making exercise a habit
that is hard to break. According to a new Iowa State University study, that may
be easier to accomplish by focusing on cues that make going for a run or to the
gym automatic.
Some interventions designed to help people start and
continue exercising may focus on the execution habit, or an exact routine to
follow at the gym, said Alison Phillips, an assistant professor of psychology
at Iowa State. However, Phillips’ research, published in the journal Health
Psychology, found that it’s the instigation habit – or cues that prompt people
to automatically go to the gym – that increases exercise frequency.
“From a health perspective, we want people to engage in
physical activity frequently, and so instigation habit is the type of habit to
promote that to happen,” Phillips said. “Regardless of the type of exercise
you’re going to do on a particular day, if you have an instigation habit,
you’ll start exercising without having to think a lot about it or consider the
pros and cons.”
For example, Phillips says many people exercise after work.
The end of the work day presents their cue to drive to the gym and workout
instead of driving home. For others, the cue may be the alarm clock going off
in the morning signaling that it is time to go for a run or a bike ride. Some
research suggests that it may take a month or longer of repeated behavior
before a cue reliably and automatically triggers a behavior; sticking with the
same time of day might help initially, Phillips said.