Today I have a guest post from Eric and Chris Martinez, brothers who run Dynamic Duo Training, a website that focuses on not just the training and nutrition parts (they’re both possessing nutrition certification, CSCS designation and bachelors degrees), but also the behavioural aspects that help create positive change. 

 

 

We have a confession to make…when we first started our fitness journey all we wanted was the end result and that was to have chiseled abs, a super hero-comic book looking muscular chest, a back bigger than the state of Texas, and of course the massive guns (arms) for the ladies.

We never thought about building good behavioral habits, laying down the bricks for a strong foundation, creating systems, gaining knowledge for longevity within fitness, and most importantly enjoying the actual process, not just the product.

You see, getting your dream physique is just an end result from a good exercise and nutrition program.

But without building good behavioral habits and laying down the bricks for a strong foundation… then there is no system created for a long term and sustainable fitness journey.

Let’s dive into how to build good behavioral habits.

 

The Habit Loop

 

To form a habit there are 3 steps (1):

Step 1: There is a CUE, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use

Step 2: Then there is a ROUTINE, which can be physical, mental, or emotional

Step 3: Finally there is a REWARD, which helps your brain figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future

 

Over time, this habit loop- Cue, routine, and reward becomes more automatic. The cue and the reward becomes intertwined until a powerful sense of anticipation and craving emerges.

Now if we take exercise and nutrition as an example, the reason its so hard to build good habits is because once you develop a routine of sitting on the couch rather than exercising or grabbing donuts at your leisure instead of having a healthy-balanced meal, those patterns always remain in your heads.

But if you were to program your brain and teach it new neuroligical routines that overpower those poor behavirol habits (donughts and sitting on the couch) and apply the habit loop…you can force those bad tendencies into the back burner and create new ones.

For example, with exercise:

Step 1: The Cue- Your tired of seeing your body image in the mirror everyday when you shower, but your too tired to workout after a long day of work

Step 2: The Routine- You start bringing your exercise clothes to work with you and go straight to the gym instead of coming home and getting relaxed

Step 3: The Reward: You consistently start attending the gym and exercising for 2-3 months, your body starts changing, and you start to like what you see in the mirror

 

For example, with Nutrition:

Step 1: The Cue- Your tired of feeling and looking like crap from all the eating out, snacking, and junk foods your consuming but you have no desire to grocery shop or cook

Step 2: The Routine- You start by hiring a chef that comes to your house once per week, does all your grocery shopping, and cooks you healthy and delicious meals or perhaps you go the meal prep service route and have healthy-deliscious foods delivered to your home

Step 3: The Reward: You start to have more energy day to day, you feel better at work, you work harder, and your even inspired to start exercising

Always remember…Starting off with good habits is everthing and builds a solid foundation to have success within your fitness journey.

 

Cue and Reward Yourself From Now on

 

In 2002 researchers at New Mexico State University wanted to understand why people habitualy exercise (2). 266 subjects were studies who performed at least 3 days per week of exercise. What they found was that many of them had started running or lifting weights almost on a whim, or because they suddenly had free time or wanted to deal with unexpected stresses in their lives.

However, the reason they continued and why it became a habit was because of a specific reward they started to crave.

In one group, 92 percent of people said they habitually exercised  because it made them feel good. In the other group, 67 percent of people said that exerciseing gave them a sense of accomplishment.

If you put this into a real life example, say you want to workout every morning for 30 minutes, its essential that you choose a simple cue like leaving your gym clothes out so right when you wake up the clothes laid out triggers your brain to get ready and workout.  Then once you have your simple cue, set a reward for yourself, such as eating something non traditional like a piece of chocolate or a small treat just to get your sense of accomplishment.

 

Some other forms of rewards you can do are:

1. Try picking a habit you want to start, like removing processed foods, then rate yourself on a scale from 1-5 (1 being “ a poor job” and 5 being “an amazing job”) at the end of the week. If you got a 4 or 5 then reward yourself, if you got a 1 or 2 then try the habit over again next week, and if you got a 3, then that’s a decision you have to make upon yourself and if you should be rewarded or not. What this would look like is us removing 2-3 processed food items in one week, if we are successful with it for a week straight, we rate oursleves a 5 and then have a small indulgence meal as a reward and then move onto a new habit
2. There are apps now where you can give yourself points or stars after each task that you performed. Simply use a new habit as a task, experiment with it for a week and then rate your self daily or weekly with the app and depending on the total points or stars you get in a week or month, reward yourself with something. Some really good apps below are:

3. In the context of exercise and nutrition, give yourself a monthly total of 20 points, you assess or someone else assesses you on a 10 point scale in these 2 categories, you don’t have to maintain a certain ranking in one category, you just have to maintain a certain total. So lets say it’s a 15 point total out of 20 that you need to attain for the month, so maybe  you have a really good month at the gym and get all your workouts in and that gives you 10 full points for your exercise category, but your nutriton was off due to traveling or just very busy with work and you give yourself a 5 for that category, well that turns out to be a total of 15 points! Now you need to reward yourself.  So this is a very  simple and non technical way of creating  good habits and something you can play around with

 

Just remember the habit loop and most importantly see what sparks the cue for you and then make sure to reward yourself some way.

 

Are You Ready to Develop Good Behavioral Habits?

We remember when we first started our fitness journey…how lost we were, how frustrated we were, how much money we spent, no results, how overwhelmed we were with information, and most importantly no good behavioral habits were built to sustain a long term fitness journey.

Are you tired of not getting results?

How about not getting the right education within exercise and nutrition?

What about not learning good behavioral habits?

You don’t have to be anymore…We have created a newer, smoother, less frustrating, and more effective way to get started on your fitness journeys within this 4 week course.

 About the Authors

Eric and Chris Martinez run Dynamic Duo Training, who’s goal is to provide world class services with safe, ethical, scientific, and healthy approaches. They pride themselves on their ability to help their clients reach their full potential health wise. They’ve mentored directly under some of the world leaders in nutrition counselling and physique show preparation, and try to develop plans with a combination of actual research-backed evidence of effect plus anecdotal support without bro-science.

Their new 4 week Beginners Exercise & Nutrition Course is ideal for people looking to start changing their nutrition for the better, create positive changes to help those changes stick, and implement a well rounded workout plan designed around your lifestyle to help get the ball rolling. In a population where too few people cook their own meals and are active at all, this info can help a lot of people.

The course is available TODAY ONLY for a discounted savings of 30%, meaning you have to get on the good foot and do the right thing now to take advantage of this sucker while it’s still smoking hot.

Click HERE to see more information & sign up

 

 Resources:

1. The Power of Habit. Charles Duhig. 2012
2. Finlay et al. predicting exercise and health behavioral intensions: attitudes, subjective norms, and other behavioral determinants. 2002