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Ask HN: Why is it so difficult to achieve a fitness habit?

by pabloarteel on 1/8/15, 3:47 AM with 28 comments

• by FlopV on 1/8/15, 3:56 PM

  Chances are you're showing up to the gym without a clear intention of why you're there and what you're doing there. Do you have a plan to follow? Do you have goals you are working towards and a way to measure you're progress?

  Don't fly blind. Make a plan, execute on that plan. Make short term goals you can achieve to get you towards a bigger achievement. Work towards something, make a plan that can get you there. It's not a habit its a journey to an achievement of some kind (running a mile under 6 minutes, benching 225, completing a race, losing a few inches on your gut).

• by ohnoesmyscv on 1/8/15, 6:28 AM

  Habits are easier to form if the person somehow derives a sense of enjoyment from it, or if there isnt too large of an obstacle, or if it's subconscious. Even if you live next to a gym, going there means making the effort to change to gym clothes, break from your usual routine and take time off - time that you couldve used watching tv for example.

  What would help is if the act of going to gym does not void you of your usual joys. For example, if you were to watch a tv show, watch it at the gym while you're working out. Like hanging out with friends? Bring one to the gym with you.

• by byoung2 on 1/8/15, 4:11 AM

  For me the hardest part was just getting started. I had been putting off going to the gym for years. Every few years I'd sign up for a membership and then never end up going. I'd be too busy, too tired, you name it. Then 6 months ago I just walked into the gym and hired a personal trainer on the spot. I've been working out 3-4 times a week since. Now it feels weird if I miss a day. So far I've lost 35 pounds, 6 inches from my waist, and my bodyfat % is down from 26% to 21%. The hardest part was just walking into the gym that first day.

• by juleska on 1/8/15, 10:10 AM

  First, sorry for my bad english.

  It's because working out is againts the human race, we will "crafted" in a time that se haven't nothing, in a misery age back then and we were built to livre, which means that tour body will work to keep you alive. You will never see a Lion for example running to loose his belly fat, animals just spend energy for 3 things: food, sex and running from a predator, basicaly.

  So, to achieve this habit, you have to have a "military" willing, because your nature will always fight against you.

• by pizza on 1/8/15, 4:32 AM

  Ever been like, "Damn, I'm going through this bag of chips really quickly", made a mental effort to eat a little slower, and still continue to eat at the same rate? If so, it's probably because you held the bag of chips in your hands.

  Now, if you were sitting at a table or something, and perhaps put the bag of chips under the table, you'd have to make a little more effort to get the chips (reach under the table, extend arms and so on) and you'd most likely eat a little slower.

  My theory is that habit-space is hyperbolic (close is close, far is v. far, etc.). So perhaps if you had a fitness habit that was easy to keep up wherever you spend most of your time, it would become easier.

  Am I out of mistaken in presuming that you don't have a way to achieve your habit from within your household? Maybe that could be a way to start.

• by pabloarteel on 1/8/15, 3:48 AM

  When we are deciding whether or not to exercise, we use a present-biased mentality. We don't see big short-term benefits (although there are), and definitely don't see short-term costs of not going. (It's easier to stay in the couch than going to the gym).

• by companyhen on 1/8/15, 5:14 AM

  My co-worker started taking me after work 3-4 days a week and after a couple months it became a habit. Feels weird when I don't go now. Before, I had no clue about a routine, but thanks to him I developed a good one.

  Mon and Th I will do Chest and Shoulders Tue and Fri I will do Back and Legs

  If I only go M-W-F, I'll hit everything each day (called Starting Strength) with Bench (flat and incline), Squats, and Deadlifts.. among a few other things depending on what parts I want to work on.

  r/gainit on reddit was also a helpful place for me, as I am one of those people with a super fast metabolism and have a hard time gaining weight.

• by sgdesign on 1/8/15, 4:26 AM

  It's difficult for you.

  This means there are specific, identifiable factors in your life that make it harder for you to exercise. Maybe you live far from a gym, or you don't have time during the week, or you have back pain that prevents you from exercising.

  My point is that you're not going to do any progress until you make concrete changes based on your own specific situation.

  So I guess my answer would be that it's hard because most people think it's a matter of motivation and self-control, whereas small, practical changes to your environment (for example, buying a bike) are actually much more effective.

• by kyllo on 1/8/15, 4:16 PM

  Exercising is difficult because you're doing it for fitness, not enjoying the act of exercising itself.

  Play a sport instead, that way you get exercise and the time passes much more quickly because it's fun.

• by nicholas73 on 1/9/15, 12:49 AM

  A fitness habit is unnatural. We are not designed to be motivated by exercise, but by goals, fun, necessity. So, to keep up a "workout" routine is something that takes serious discipline. It is the hard way.

  When I was younger and had more time, I had a body you could put a muscle chart on (I did grappling sports). Yet, I'm terrible about actually going to a gym, and I eat whatever I want. I simply did what I had fun doing, was motivated by competing with others, and that was also intellectually interesting to me.

• by mingusdew on 1/8/15, 5:03 AM

  For me its difficult to quit. If I don't do any moderate/intense physical activity for a day, I become unbelievably restless and all I can think about is going on that next run or hitting the gym.

  Basically its just another habit you need to do consistently if you want to be able to stick with it long term.

• by HarryPPotter on 1/8/15, 12:26 PM

  Because lacking such a habit is not a problem. People tend to focus on and solve problem because they are comfortable when spotting the cause of problem and then solving it.

• by zacoder on 1/8/15, 8:31 AM

  Because you lack discipline. You never learned to accept pain and effort now for a valuable gain in the future. You're chasing pleasure and trying to avoid pain. And you're simply living in the present, satisfying every random whim and craving.

  Every good thing in your life comes at a price. You may not see it yet, but there are no freebies. If you want a fitness habit, you need to pay for it with time and effort. There are no magic solutions. You simply need to force yourself to suffer. Embrace the pain. If you're not feeling like you're dying, you're doing it wrong.

  Go do 10 push-ups right now. Get up from your chair and do them. There is nothing really stopping you. Only the excuses you make for yourself.