Health Hacker: Adam MacDougall’s expert health and fitness tips
Your health and fitness New Year’s resolutions are probably already forgotten but there are ways to stay motivated and improve your wellbeing. Today, Adam MacDougall launches his Health Hacker series, offering easy-to-follow tips on how to reach your fitness goals.
The new year is officially in full swing and that can only mean one thing — all those resolutions we dutifully made as the clock struck midnight on January 1 are now nothing but a quickly fading memory.
It’s sad but true. While about 90 per cent of Australians make a New Year’s resolution, just eight per cent of us actually stick to them for an entire year. And what’s more, about 80 per cent of us will have already abandoned our new goals by February.
So if you’re reading this and those promises you made to yourself have already been tossed out the window, don’t worry; you’re not alone.
The truth is that making these huge and radical changes never works long term.
How many times have you heard somebody say they’re “on” a diet? The reason we say that is because we know we’ll soon be off it again, because while surviving on a glass of water and a handful of grapes per day will definitely help you to lose weight, it’s simply unsustainable.
A recent study found that, when we attempt a strict diet, 40 per cent of us have given up by the end of the first week.
Another 20 per cent have failed by the end of the first month, and another 20 per cent will have abandoned it by the three-month mark. Those are not good odds.
And that’s the whole point of my new Health Hacker series; I want to massively improve your chances of successfully changing your habits.
Consider it a simple DIY project on yourself.
Over the next few months, I’ll be revealing the simple shortcuts to a healthier, happier you that are easy to follow and even easier to stick to, which is why these hacks won’t require you to live like a monk.
You don’t need to throw away the alcohol and eat nothing but quinoa. You don’t even need to spend any money.
Is it possible to ever get a really, truly good night’s sleep? Is meditation just for people who live in Byron Bay who smell like incense, or can the rest of us get something from it, too? Is it possible to hack your way to happiness? The answers are yes, yes, and absolutely.
So stick with me and I’ll show you how.
FAST FACTS
...FOR STAYING MOTIVATED
Find your “why”
We usually set off on health and fitness journeys because we feel we have to, not because we actually want to. And that’s a shortcut to failure.
We never make any important life decisions (changing jobs, moving house) without a reason, and this is no different. Find your “why” and you’ll find your new goals much easier to reach.
Setting SMART goals
The SMART system (it stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) is about setting achievable goals, and giving yourself a strict time frame to complete them. Promising yourself you’ll go from a couch potato to an Olympian in six weeks is never going to happen. But setting a goal of losing three kilograms over 12 weeks is something you are far more likely to achieve.
Share the love
It’s easy to stay in bed and skip the gym when nobody will ever find out about it, but if you have told your friends and family you’ll be shaping-up this summer, you’re far more likely to push through that barrier. It’s called social expectation, and some studies have found your chances of success increasing by up to 65 per cent when you share your goals with others.
Break it down
Aiming for one, massive goal might seem like the best approach, but it’s actually dooming you to failure. The motivation molecule dopamine, which is what inspires us to keep getting stuff done, is released when you accomplish something. So break up your big goal into smaller ones.
Buddy up
No matter what you want to achieve this year, finding someone to go on that journey with you will massively improve your chances of success. Motivation is contagious, and so having someone to pump you up when you’re just not feeling it will help you to power to your goals with ease.
Q&A
Hi Adam. Whenever I go to the gym (which isn’t all that often …) I see people training for what seems like hours and hours. How do people find the time? Do I need to spend hours in the gym every day to see results?
Answer: It’s actually a common misconception that you need to move into a gym (or even go to the gym at all) to improve your fitness.
A recent university study found that spending as little as 10 minutes exercising each day (three 20-second sprints on a bicycle, as well as a two-minute warm-up, a three-minute cool-down, and two minutes of easy recovery cycling between sprints) was as effective as 45 minutes of constant exercise.
GET FIT AND HEALTHY WITH ADAM MACDOUGALL
Lose the beer gut without losing all the beers at themanshake.com.au
Adam MacDougall is the creator of The Man Shake. A new, healthy, weight loss shake that is low in sugar, full of protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals that you can have on the run and leaves you feeling full.
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