Habit 3: Do Something Active Every Day

One of the most common questions that we get about exercise in the Sleekgeek Community is “What’s the best form of exercise?”

The answer depends on who is asking – and it also matters a lot less than most people think.

You see, people have built great bodies and gotten impressive results with a variety of different methods.

Weightlifting, running, CrossFit, martial arts, soccer, swimming, surfing, dancing, yoga…

So rather focus LESS on what’s the best way to get in shape and focus MORE on the two things that all of those successful people have in common:

1. They work hard, consistently.
   
2. They do it over a long period of time.

There are no short cuts.

If your goal is to be in great shape then you need to find the method that works best for you.

This means that you usually need to enjoy what you do, at least most of the time anyways.

Do what fit people do:

There’s a saying, “Success leaves clues“.

Something that the most successful healthy and fit people all have in common is they see themselves as healthy and fit people who do healthy and active things on a daily basis.

This is part of their identity.

Sure, it is true that some people enjoy being active more than others….

But, it’s also true that:

1. The more you CHOOSE to be active, the more active you ARE.
   
2. The more active you ARE, the fitter you BECOME.
   
3. The fitter you BECOME, the EASIER it is to be active.
   
4. The EASIER it is to be active, the more you ENJOY being active.
   
5. The more you ENJOY being active, the more you’ll CHOOSE to be active.

And so it repeats.

Even if you don’t enjoy being active right now, by taking consistent daily action you can become the kind of person who enjoys it over time.

It all starts with choosing to be more active in the first place.

That’s how you start, and then the rest follows.

This is “lifestyle change” in action.

You get to choose:

We recommend that you choose whatever that “something” active is. Even if it’s just going for a walk (like we talked about above).

Again, the key is that it needs to be intentional.

Checking your fitness tracker and going “Oh, look at that, I hit 5,000 steps today. Great, I’ve been active.” DOESN’T count. It’s coincidental.

What DOES count is going “Oh, look at that, I hit 5,000 steps today without even meaning to. Great! Now I can boost that by going for an intentional 20-minute walk after work on top of that.”

See the difference?

The one was looking for an easy way out and the other one was intentionally choosing to be active and taking on more of a challenge.

The one takes advantage of your current circumstance, whereas the other one flexes your willpower muscle, builds habit, and reinforce your identity as a fit and active person.

Your “something” active can be whatever you want.

Going for a walk, lifting weights, doing yoga, playing with your dogs, going for a run, dancing, playing sports, etc.

If you’ve got the time, see how much you can stretch the activity out (30-60 minutes is good to aim for). But if you’re short on time, just do your best (5-10 minutes minimum).

Get Started As Soon As Possible:

As they say, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.“

For this reason, we absolutely love Precision Nutrition’s article titled: I’d love to get started… I’m just waiting for the perfect time.

Many of us wait for the “perfect time” with our health, nutrition, and fitness. But this all-or-nothing thinking — as in, “If I don’t do this perfectly then it’s awful!” — rarely gets us “all.” It usually gets us “nothing.”

Previously we’ve written about The Importance of Daily Movement Habits.

In there, we explained that by making small adjustments to your lifestyle you’re able to easily get started, keep moving forward and continually make progress rather than getting stuck or falling off the wagon.

If you’re looking for a way to get started right away, check out Habit 1: Sitting Less and Habit 2: Walking More for easy, do-able actions that you can take TODAY.