We often hear that motivation is key to habit change meaning if you really want it, you would be motivated to actually do it. But after finishing Atomic Habits by James Clear, I couldn't agree more to a surprising thing he said which goes -
The truth is, our true motivation is to be lazy and to do what is convenient.It is human nature to follow the law of least effort... People are wired to do what is convenient and easy... Among all possible actions, the one that is realized is the one that brings the most value for the least amount of effort... We are motivated to do what is easy. 😅
So true for me especially when it comes to exercise! 🙈
I only do physical activities which are convenient and easy, and I enjoy doing (translation: swimming, brisk-walking, stretching and 1-minute planks 😂). And I only do anywhere from 15 mins to 1 hour a day so I do not strain my muscles too much. You know why? Because if I over-workout, there is a risk that I may come up with an excuse that my body still needs to recover from the previous day's workout so I have to skip until my body fully recovers (or more like until I feel like doing it again).🙊😂 I know myself too well to know what kind of lame justifications I would make just to skip working out. 🙈😂 When you're self-aware and admit what's wrong with you, it's easier to design fool-proof plans that are harder to break. 😜
I know "easy and convenient" for an exercise may make one sound like an underachiever (ahem...) but guess what? According to Atomic Habits, the more energy required, the least likely it will occur.
For example, if you do 100 pushups a day, in the beginning when you are excited, you could probably do that but after a while, it may feel exhausting, Clear said. But if you were to do just a few pushups a day which require very little effort, it is most likely you’ll do it again. Make your habits easy and convenient so that you will do them even if you don't feel like doing them, Clear advised.
In short, it's better to start with small habits which you can sustain versus immediately doing difficult ones which you'll end up avoiding or giving up because they feel like a chore or challenge. The secret is to always stay below the point where it feels like it’s work or before it feels like it’s a hassle, Clear said. See, my underachiever exercise level makes sense after all. 😂
You still don't believe that we are wired to do what is easy and convenient? Think about your current daily habits - browsing through social media feeds, playing games, watching random videos - most of them are habits that require very little energy or almost no effort. 😎 But in my case, I don't do any of these coz I'd rather do the ultimate easy and convenient habit if I'm already done for the day which is - <drum roll> - sleep! 😂
Do you think the reason why you can’t build and maintain good habits is because you lack the self-discipline? That maybe a myth because according to the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, there is no difference between people who appear to have self-control and those who don’t. He says that people who are most self-disciplined are just better in structuring themselves in this way, they spend less time in tempting situations which doesn’t require self-control. It’s easier to use self-restraint when you don’t have to use it often. Makes sense, right?
So the way to improve ourselves is not by wishing we had more self-control but by creating a more disciplined environment.
To build good habits, we need to make the cues for the habits highly visible and obvious and reset our place so that the environment is friction-less to perform the good habits. For example, if you want to develop an exercise habit, bring out your rubber shoes and whatever you need for your workout the night before.
If you want to eat healthy, have ready-to-eat pre-cut fruits in your fridge so there’s healthy food available any time you want to eat.
If you want to develop a writing habit, have your writing materials ready on your desk everyday.
If you want to regularly go to the gym, find a gym that is close to your home or office. Distance would create friction since traveling requires extra effort.
Or whatever good habit you want to build, join a group where your desired behavior is the normal behavior. After all, according to the Atomic Habits, we tend to imitate the habits of 3 social groups namely the close (friends), the many (the tribes) and the powerful (those with status and prestige).
In the same way, if we want to stop bad habits, we need to increase friction so we don’t end up doing them or simply avoid tempting situations. For example, if you want to lessen time watching tv, unplug it after every use and remove the batteries of the remote control, so it takes a lot of effort before you can use the tv.
If you want to lessen time spent on social media, log out every time you use it or change passwords frequently that chances are, you won’t remember the last password and have to reset the password every time you use social media. Or to add another level of friction, uninstall the app after every use and reinstall it every time you need to use it.
If you are trying to lose weight, stop hanging out with friends who love to eat out. Just do other activities with them that doesn’t involve eating or you can meet them for coffee or tea instead.
The key to self-discipline is we have to redesign our life so that the habits that benefit us are the easiest to do and the habits that don’t add value to our life are the most difficult to do.
It's great to know that self-discipline doesn’t require superpowers after all (yay!😅) - but that is only if we don’t subject ourselves to the wrong cues and tempting situations.
You've just worked out. You feel so exhausted. You think you've burned out so many calories coz you've sweat a lot. Then you decide that you deserve a nice meal as a reward and so you eat to your heart's (or stomach's) delight after your workout. Sounds so familiar, right? 😂
Anyway, I recently used the treadmill and I realized something which I've never realized when I brisk-walk at the park coz I don't keep track of my walking stats. The realization is - it's so hard to burn calories!
For one hour, I brisk-walked 5.3 kms with some slight elevation on the treadmill, and you know how many calories I burned? Only about 330 calories!!! 😱 Not even enough to burn the calories of a grande frappucino which is about 420 calories or one order of large fries which is about 510 calories. Not that I eat these foods often but they are the most common food picks for calorie count benchmark purposes.
So the next time you're thinking of eating a high-calorie food or rewarding yourself with a nice meal after having a workout, remember that it's not that easy to burn calories. The calories you burn may be way less than what you consume and if this were true, then you may even end up gaining weight.
Perception: You're working out so hard.
Reality: You might be consuming more calories than what you actually burn.
Also remember that it takes only a few minutes to consume food but it takes an hour (or even more) to burn the corresponding calories. In short, it's easy to eat but it's hard to burn the calories. 😬
Of course, you can burn more calories within an hour (1) by increasing your speed and elevation, or (2) by keeping the same pace but working out for longer hours especially if weight loss is your goal but then again, if you feel super exhausted from the workout, there goes again the temptation to reward yourself with a nice meal afterwards. 😂
In my case, my goal isn't weight loss but just to make sure I don't succumb to a sedentary life that is why I have a weird exercise mindset -
I only do physical activities which I like so I don't feel that exercise is a sacrifice.
I don't push myself to the limits coz if I do, I might use exhaustion or having sore muscles as an excuse to skip exercise for several days.
And I prefer to work out alone so there's no temptation to eat out afterwards. I just eat my usual meal. 😋
I know myself too much that I know what kind of excuses I could possibly make and so I have to eliminate all the potential triggers. 😂
Have you ever gotten a back problem? It's excruciatingly painful, right?
I've so far had 2 episodes in my lifetime and they are both travel-related (due to heavy baggage!😜). The first one I ended up seeing a chiropractor but I'm glad I did coz the chiropractor taught me how to properly get up from the bed (turn to your side near the edge of the bed and with one arm in front of your upper body, push up to stand and let your legs swing towards the floor). He also gave me stretching exercises which greatly improved my back and which I still do everyday.
The second one was last year when I tried to weigh our luggages using a portable scale but I forgot to bend when I lifted them! When I woke up with back pain, I initially thought it was due to the bed so I did some exercises to ease the back pain (wrong move coz this just worsened my condition). The following morning, my upper body felt like it was disconnected from my lower body. Yes, I could walk - but really slow - and it was so painful to get up from a lying down or sitting position. I can't even laugh coz my lower abdominal muscles hurt when I laugh. Riding a car is excruciatingly painful too - every bump, brake or sudden turn cause your insides to hurt. And when I lie at night, I was stuck with one position coz I could no longer move the moment I lie down. 😱😢
What made the situation worse at that time were: (1) I was overseas, in Copenhagen, and (2) in a few days was my return flight to Manila. The flight was about 18 hours. Do I need a wheelchair so I make it to the boarding gates? How will I be able endure the long-haul flight? How will I pull out my heavy luggage from the carousel (coz my friend gets off in Singapore which means I'll be alone in the last leg of the flight)? 😰 So I did a lot of research on what I could possibly do and here are the things that worked for me:
1. To get up from a sitting position, the best technique I found was to move my butt until it's near the edge of the chair, then slowly push up using my hands against the arm rest. (When I stand up though, I look like an elderly - I'm in a hunched position holding my lower back and I walk in that hunched position. But after a few steps, my back finds its position and I'm able to walk with a straight back.)
2. I massaged the pressure points (where I could feel the pain most) in a single direction (e.g. downward only).
3. I meditated frequently during the day and imagined all the painful parts of my body were healing internally.
4. Prayed a lot! 🙏🙏🙏
I survived the return flight to Manila (without the need for a wheelchair) and strangers helped me with my luggage. Whew! 😌
Within 12 days (since the problem occurred), my back fully recovered. I didn't have to see a doctor or chiropractor. I would normally seek medical help but for this one, I knew the pain was due to pulled muscles, not broken bones.
Since then, I've been more careful when lifting or carrying heavy objects - never forget to bend. I actually don't even want to lift anything heavy now if I could avoid it. Haha.... 😆
I thought bending properly when lifting heavy objects is all I need to remember so I won't hurt my back again. But last week, I accompanied someone to the rehab doctor and I learned other bad habits I unconsciously do which could possibly hurt the back too. Take note, I wasn't even the patient but there I was, probably more attentive than the patient. 😂
Below are the new things I learned from the rehab doctor - with visuals I found online for easier reference.
Here's the proper way to wear socks, sandals with straps, or shoes with shoelaces or zippers -
Proper posture when putting on your shoes (Source)
Here's the proper way to mop or sweep the floor. You could also bend both of your knees.
Proper posture when mopping or sweeping the floor (Source)
I couldn't find a visual for the last common mistake we unconsciously do but it's the correct posture when washing your hands or face on the sink. The correct posture is - you also need to bend your knees to adjust to the level of the sink.
The rehab doctor said that we don't have to wait until we're old or until we start having back problems to start practicing these because these are the correct postures regardless of one's age. Need to start correcting my bad habits asap. 😬
I call my back problem experience last year as my early lola (grandmother) moment. It wasn't a pleasant experience but right after I recovered, I realized I was also lucky because it made me realize a lot of things. For example, it doesn't mean just because someone looks young and healthy, he/she is as strong or fast as you are. When we see people who are walking slowly, maybe they wish to walk faster but they just couldn't because they have physical limitations which we couldn't see. When we see people who don't smile, maybe they wish to smile but they just couldn't because they don't have any reason to smile or they are in so much physical pain.
The experience also gave me an early glimpse of what lies ahead. Someday, our minds may still be active and alert but there will come a time when our bodies won't be able keep up with what our mind wants or wishes to do - no matter what. So whatever you want to do now while you still physically can, it's time to do it now. 😉
During my annual physical exam early this year, there was a note in my ECG result that says “bradycardia” and a reco to see a cardiologist.
When I googled what bradycardia means, it’s the scientific term for slow heart rate. My colleagues were kidding me that maybe the reco meant to see a single cardiologist who would make my heart beat faster. Wahaha…
Anyway, I did go to see a cardiologist. Here’s our conversation:
Doctor: Bradycardia means slow heart rate.
Me: Is there something wrong with my heart? During the ECG, the nurse told me to relax so I relaxed - close to the point of falling asleep. Maybe that’s it? <innocent look>
Doctor: Did you know that Borg had a heart rate of 40?
Me: <blank face... I wonder who Borg is.>
Doctor: Borg is one of the world’s greatest tennis players. His heart rate was only 40. So there’s nothing to worry about your heart rate at 56. It’s normal among athletes. It means your heart is very efficient. Me: Doc, I think that’s the problem because I’m not an athlete.
Wahaha….
So the cardiologist asked me to undergo a 2-D echo test and treadmill stress test. Fortunately, all test results were normal (yay!) and I reached my maximum heart rate.
Do you know how it feels when you reach your maximum heart rate? You can no longer talk because you’re out of breath and your heart is pounding so hard against your chest. I reached this state in stage 4 of the stress test while running on an inclined treadmill and it was really stressful!
Now, as I am reading the book Effortless Healing by Joseph Mercola and David Perlmutter, I was surprised to know that there’s actually a health benefit if you’re able to reach your maximum heart rate when you exercise. In fact, reaching your maximum heart rate should be the goal when exercising.
What happens when you reach your maximum heart rate? According to the book, it triggers the production of the Human growth hormone or HGH which is essential for optimal health.
HGH improves insulin sensitivity, boosts fat loss and increases muscle
growth.
And why do we need to boost the production of this hormone? After the age of 30, HGH levels drop sharply - about 25% per decade.
How do you reach your maximum heart rate? Effortless Healing recommends High-intensity interval-type training or what is called HIIT. HIIT usually takes only 20 minutes or less and if you graph your heart rate during that 20 minutes, you’ll see that it peaks 8 times. And of those 20 minutes, you are only exercising hard for 4 minutes but of course, those 4 minutes are very intense.
I remember downloading HIIT video workouts before but there’s a lot of jumping which I don’t really like so HIIT never made it to my workout videos.
Another option which the book recommends to reach your maximum heart rate is via the sprinting method. Here’s how - from Effortless Healing:
1. Warm up for 3 minutes.
2. Exercise as hard and fast as you can for 30 seconds. You should feel like you couldn’t possibly go on another few seconds.
3. Recover for 90 seconds, still moving, but at a much slower pace.
4. Repeat the high-intensity exercise-and-recovery cycle seven more times. But when you’re first starting out, the book says you may be able to do only 2 or 3 repetitions of the high-intensity intervals. As you get fitter, just keep adding repetitions until you’re doing 8 during the 20-minute session. It may take a few weeks to a few months to work up to 8 reps.
5. Cool down for 2 minutes by slowing the pace of your exercise.
Important note: HIIT should only be done 2 or 3 times a week. Doing it more frequently can be counter-productive, as your body needs recovery.
In between HIIT, the book recommends strength training or weight-bearing exercises to keep your bones strong. How? Use a weight that’s heavy enough to exhaust your muscles in fewer than 12 repetitions, yet light enough that you can do a minimum of 4 repetitions. Also, you should NOT exercise the same muscle groups every day because muscles typically need 2 days of rest to recover, repair, and rebuild.
HIIT seems like a doable option even for busy people since it only takes 20 minutes and it's just a max of 3 times a week. But the big BUT is, it's like doing a stress test 8 times per session! Waaaaa....
Anyway, I haven't attempted doing HIIT yet - just sharing the info for now. :)
When I was a kid, I never learned how to swim. The only thing I learned on my own was how to float on my back. Take note, it's just floating on my back, not backstroke. Wahaha...
The reason? I'm scared of deep water. When I was a kid, I was scared that my floater would suddenly get punctured while in a deep pool. Now as an adult, even when I am wearing a life vest in open water, I am scared that a strap might suddenly snap out. Wahaha...
But I love water and I like going to the beach. So about 3 years ago, I added "learn how to swim" to my bucket list but as usual, I never got around doing it.
Two months ago, I caught up with some ex-colleagues and for whatever reason, we talked about swimming. We decided to meet up one Saturday so they can teach me. I couldn't control my arms and feet, I drank a lot of water from the pool (wahaha...) and water kept entering my ears. But that attempt got me going so I googled for swim coaches and swimming lessons for adults nearby.
Three weeks ago, I finally decided to enroll in a swimming class for adults. During the first session, here's the conversation with my 2 classmates:
Me: Why did you enroll?
Classmate 1: I want to be more efficient with my strokes so I don't get easily tired in triathlons.
Me: <Gulp! He's a triathlete!>
Classmate 2: I want to improve my form and just like him, my goal is not to tire easily.
Me: <Cringe! They both know how to swim! Uh-oh...>
2 Classmates: How about you?
Me: Survival. I just want to learn how to swim. Wahaha...
We had twice a week sessions. The coach would give us drills which we had to repeat until we got the correct movements, then the drill progresses.
In between our classes, I practiced on my own. After class, my classmates and I also stayed behind to further practice.
On our 4th session, I was able to swim freestyle for 12.5 meters straight. Why 12.5 meters? That's the middle of the pool - the exact spot before the pool's depth becomes 6 ft, then 8 ft! Haha... When I achieved that feat, even the lifeguard and the attendants cheered and clapped (because sometimes I would chat with them and they knew I started from zero skill). Haha...
The weekend after my 4th session, I kept on practicing on my own and was able to successfully swim across a 25-meter lap pool - not just once but 4 successful attempts. Yay! But that pool is shallow so I was relaxed and there was no fear of deep water.
On our 6th session, my coach said it was time for me to try to swim across the 25meter pool - but as I mentioned earlier, the pool we use for class was half-shallow and half-deep - up to 8 ft deep! Waaa....
My coach asked me to start from the deep end so that if I don't make the entire stretch, hopefully, I'll reach the shallow part. But I was so scared that I held on tightly to a pole for the next 10 minutes and tried to negotiate with my coach to postpone it until the next session. I am sure I looked stupid in the pool. Wahaha...
See, even if I knew my coach was there to save me if I drown and even if I knew there was a lifeguard on stand by, I was still so scared. I couldn't detach myself from the wall! The thought of deep water - in this case, 8ft. - paralyzed me.
Another coach suggested that I try to stand at the bottom of the pool to get a feel at how deep the water is (while still holding on to the pole!). I did that twice and it helped because when you reach the bottom, you do get pushed up to the surface. So I thought - even if I fail and sink, I would get pushed up to the surface and maybe, when i reach the surface, I could hold on to the wall for safety. So with that, I was ready to overcome my fear and I finally let go of the wall.
And guess what? I made it across the full 25 meters. Yay!
It's amazing how I made progress in just 3 weeks. But there's still so much to learn like improving my form, strokes and breathing. And for the record, I am still scared of deep water! But at least, I've already started with baby steps.
Just some tips if you also plan to learn how to swim:
1. It's ideal to enroll in a class or get a coach because they have a technique of teaching progressive drills and before you know it, you're able to swim already. I've read a lot of reviews online and this is how most people describe the experience - regardless of the swim school or coach.
2. You need to practice in between classes because swimming requires muscle memory.
3. It helps to watch video tutorials. One of my ex-colleagues shared that he learned the butterfly stroke just by following a Youtube video tutorial! Wow... In my case, I downloaded the complete set of "Total Immersion's Perpetual Motion Freestyle" (USD19.95 from the TI website) since Total Immersion (TI) is the technique used by my coach. I would watch the short videos every now and then so hopefully the movements get imprinted on my mind.
4. After the session, if you feel there's water in your ear, just tilt your head sideways - the affected ear should be parallel to the ground. If the water does not come out, you can create vacuum by placing your palm flat against the ear, then pressing against it for a few seconds.
5. After swimming, you'll feel super hungry! The first time I spent 2 hours in the pool, I ordered a pizza and pasta! Wahaha.... Just drink water first after swimming because you're actually thirsty. Ok, you're really hungry too (but not as hungry as you think) after quenching your thirst.
6. Just have fun! Instead of being embarrassed that I don't know how to swim, I proudly shared with everyone that I had zero skill so they'll have high tolerance if I look stupid in the pool. Haha...
So if you also don't know how to swim and you've always wished you knew how, stop wishing. Just do it!:) Google for a swim coach or swimming lessons for adults in your area.
It's never too late to learn something new. In fact, I came across one video of a man who learned how to swim TI-style at age 93! :)
The first time I realized I seriously needed to get into shape was in 2008 when we went on a pilgrimage tour to Holy Land. Most of our tour mates were senior citizens, there were even a handful beyond their 80s.
While in Israel, there was a a lot of walking uphill. My friend and I easily panted. Every time we stopped to catch our breath, a group of titas in their 70s walked past by us (ok, even my mom overtook us! Wahaha...). And when we travelled to Egypt and stayed overnight in a settlement at the foot of Mt Sinai, most of the titas and titos woke up at 4am to climb Mt Sinai to watch the sunrise (even though we only arrived there past 12 midnight which means less than 4 hours of sleep). As for me and my friend? We were dead tired snoring in our beds. We only woke up a couple of hours before our bus was scheduled to leave for Cairo. Wahaha...
During meals, we chatted with the titas to ask what is their secret to being in great shape and they said ballroom dancing and brisk walking specifically in the hilly sections of their village. Wow.
So inspired by them, during the past several years, I tried a lot of activities to get into shape - hot yoga, regular yoga, badminton, golf driving range, dance classes, gym memberships, fun runs, brisk walking at the park, home gym equipment . . . name it. Haha.... But there's always a pattern - I am highly motivated and intense at the start, then something happens and I lose momentum, then, it fizzles out. Plus there were a lot of excuses -
- I can't do it in the morning since I need to catch on sleep (or need to rush for work).
- I am too tired to work out at the end of the day.
- It's raining.
- No one's available to play <plug in whatever sports> with me.
- I'm lazy to change into gym clothes or lazy to go out (At the height of my laziness, I can't even get myself to go to the gym in the building where I live! Wahaha...) I wasn't able to sustain any single physical activity for long. Regardless of the activity, it usually fizzles out during rainy season and Christmas season. Haha.... Out of desperation, my last attempt was I got a personal trainor since I heard from some friends that trainors would force you to go to they gym even if it were raining hard. Hahaha... This attempt lasted for a year but I decided not to renew because -
- If I didn't have a full hour to spare, I skipped the workout since 1 hour is the minimum time to get your money's worth with a trainor. Thus, there were weeks when I would only work out twice, or worse, once a week which was way below the minimum recommended level of activity of at least 3x a week.
- I dreaded it every time my trainor made the workout more difficult. Why do I have to continue something that I don't enjoy and worse, even pay for it?! Wahaha...
So after processing all my past excuses, shortcomings and realizations, I finally found a fool-proof, sustainable way to work out - 10 to 20 minute fitness videos I do right at home. I've downloaded and saved workout videos on my iPad (my favorites are Fitness Blender workouts) and just play them in the morning. Why does it work for me?
- You can do it anytime. No more excuses that you don’t have time because it can be as short as 10 minutes.
- You can do it on your own...you're not dependent on the availability of friends.
- You don't need any gym equipment. Though if you prefer workouts that require weights, mat and resistance bands, you can too.
- You won't get bored because you have access to a wide variety of video workouts. You can do kickboxing, Zumba or Pilates on some days if you wish to.
- You can wear your pambahay (house) shirt and shorts...then just put on your socks and rubber shoes.
- It's free! No monthly fees to pay. :)
- And since it's just 10 to 20 minutes, you don’t feel as hungry (versus a 1-hour workout), thus, there's no urge to overeat!
But before I was able to make exercise a regular habit, there were 2 useful tips which helped me successfully develop it into a new habit:
1. I read somewhere that if you want to develop a new behavior, the first thing you need to do is not to focus on a performance-based goal (e.g. I want to be healthy or I want to lose xx pounds) but rather, focus on an identity-based goal (e.g. I'm the type of person who doesn't miss a workout). If you start believing that you're that type of person, then, it's easier to change your behavior. Though infrequent, there are still days when I do feel sluggish to work out (especially when it's raining - bed weather!) but then, I remember, I'm the type of person who doesn't miss a workout so I just do it. After all, it could be as short as 10 minutes to prove that I really don't miss a workout. :)
2. I also read somewhere that in order to form a new habit, it helps if you have a physical reminder. So I've placed my rubber shoes (with socks already inside) and my iPad in my line of vision when going to the bathroom so that in the morning, I don't forget what I'm supposed to do. :)
So far, I've been able to sustain this habit for 4 months. I do it daily except on Sundays and when I travel. I do hope I don't break it. And hopefully too, the next time I travel with titas and titos, I will be able to keep up with their pace without panting! Haha.... :)
We often hear that motivation is key to habit change meaning if you really want it, you would be motivated to actually do it. But after finishing Atomic Habits by James Clear, I couldn't agree more to a surprising thing he said which goes -
