3041: How to Get Back on the Exercise Train AND A Simple Fitness Plan for Travelers by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits

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[00:01:00] This is Optimal Health Daily. How to get back on the exercise train. And a simple fitness plan for travelers. Both by Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net. And I'm Dr. Neil Malek, your narrator of blogs covering health and fitness. Now today's a little different. I have two shorter posts for you, both coming from Zen Habits. When posts are really short, I like to read two, so today's like a two-for-one special.

[00:01:25] Now I love reading tips about how to stay healthy while traveling, because that seems to be my Achilles heel. Whenever I travel, I seem to come back sick. In fact, I just made vacation plans for a four-day trip and then thought to myself, oh boy, I better plan on taking some extra time off when I get back, because I'll probably come back not so well. I don't know why I'm such a horrible traveler. I just can't sleep in new beds. I get a little anxious. Something's going on.

[00:01:52] So I always love hearing these tips. But before we get to that tip, I've got to first talk about how to get back on the exercise train. So let's get right to the posts and continue optimizing your life. How to get back on the exercise train by Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net. It's a story most of us have lived through at some time or other. We begin an exercise program and it's going well,

[00:02:19] but after a week or two or a month or two or even a year or two, we fall off the program. Then we might get a little down about that and because of the initial friction of entering any program, it's hard to get back into it. I recently fell off my triathlon training for a couple of weeks due to illness and a death in the family, and I found it hard to get back into it. But I reset my resolve, just pressed the reset button, and refocused myself, leaving off all other goals but my training for the month of March.

[00:02:48] So for those of you who've fallen off your exercise program and want to get back in, here are my tips. Tip number one, refocus and commit yourself again. Often we think that because we already were on a program, we can just pick it back up, no problem. But in reality, we need to condition ourselves for a new habit, although it should be easier this time since we've done it before. So we need to start almost at the beginning. That means starting with making a commitment. Write down your goal and tell people about it.

[00:03:18] Put it on your blog. Post it up at your home and at the workplace. If you can't take this step, it's likely that you will falter. Tip number two, focused on just this one goal. If you've got other stuff going on, it's hard to add a new habit while working on others. It's hard, but it's best to be patient and work on one goal at a time if possible. Too many goals at once spread your focus too thin. The key is to focus yourself as much as possible on that one goal

[00:03:47] and maintain that focus for as long as possible. Tip number three, do it for one month. You don't need to start at the beginning of a month. You can start today, but do it for 30 days. Commit to that and once you're past that, it will get much easier. Tip number four, do it at the same time every day. If you tell yourself that you will exercise when you find time, there will be many days when you don't find the time. Set a time of day when you can exercise every day.

[00:04:15] In the morning, lunchtime, after work, those are often the three best times. Then do it at that time every day and it will become a stronger habit. Tip number five, start small. We have a tendency to do too much at first, especially if we're used to a certain level from our old exercise program. But in the beginning, it's best to hold back and just do a little and then progress slowly back to your old level. If you're used to running five miles, then run three.

[00:04:43] If you're used to swimming for an hour, do half an hour. If you're used to lifting 12 reps of 200 pounds, do eight reps of 160 pounds. You get the idea. Start slowly or you will have a harder time sticking with it. Once you're back in the habit, you can increase your workload. Tip number six, learn from your mistakes. There's a reason you stopped your exercise program. Figure out what that was and plan to beat it next time. If not, it will probably happen again.

[00:05:11] And tip number seven, celebrate every little success, especially in the beginning. The first few days are the most crucial. Reward yourself often during this time and celebrate everything you do. The first week is the next most important period. After that, it gets easier. But after about two to three weeks, you'll face a crisis. Refocus yourself during that crisis and you'll get through it. After a month, you'll be golden.

[00:05:40] A simple fitness plan for travelers by Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net I'm on vacation in London right now and will be in Paris this afternoon. A three-week trip that has messed up all of my fitness routines. And yet, I'm still getting fitter every day. Vacations have a horrible way of messing up our routines. We eat a ton of rich food, are too busy to go to the gym, and it's easy to let workouts fall to the wayside. That said, I have no intention of letting travel beat me.

[00:06:09] I can be fit anywhere. I'll share some of my tips here in hopes of helping fellow travelers. Tip number one, walk, walk, and walk. I never rent a car when we travel. Ava and I walk everywhere, taking the occasional subway train. We've covered an amazing amount of ground in London. Walking is the best way to see a city after all. We've walked for hours and hours every day, mixing the meandering, lazy stroll with a hard-paced walk.

[00:06:37] Walking is one of the best exercises ever. Tip number two, body weight is the right weight. I'm a huge fan of body weight exercises, and on the road, they're the best thing. In our little apartment, I wake up and do short bursts of body weight exercises as I get going for the day before we head out to see the sights. I like to mix it up, but some of my favorites are push-ups, squats, lunges, pull-ups, burpees, planks, jump squats, and shadowboxing.

[00:07:07] Tip number three, runs are wonderful. I haven't run much here in London, but when I have, it's beautiful. I love early morning runs when Ava is sleeping and the city is just waking. They don't have to be long. Just a couple of miles of fast-paced tempo running is good, or a casual jog along the river and across gorgeous bridges. Tip number four, eat vegetarian. It's easy to eat badly when you travel. I tend to seek out vegetarian or vegan restaurants,

[00:07:36] and London has been no exception. Of course, vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean healthy, but I find it's usually healthier than the fat-laden fried meats and sugary carbs most people tend to eat while traveling. It's also delicious. We've had some amazing vegetarian meals. Tip number five, eat in moderation. No need to stuff yourself. Eat delicious foods, but in reasonable portions. Eat them slowly, savor them, and then head out to walk off the calories.

[00:08:04] I tend to skip drinks with calories except for red wines. I eat dessert, but just a few bites, and slowly. And tip number six, use the city as a playground. Londoners seem to find it weird when I sprint up a long flight of stairs coming out of the underground, or up the long spiral of stairs to the top of the monument. I did these stairs twice just for fun. Jump on top of things. Sprint when you feel like it. Skip and hop. Ignore the funny looks.

[00:08:31] This simple plan, by the way, works in everyday life as well, whether you're traveling or not. You just listened to the post that's titled, How to Get Back on the Exercise Train, and A Simple Fitness Plan for Travelers, both by Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net. And I'll be right back with my commentary. Oikos presents 15 Seconds of Strength. Here we go. Steve's got a trunk full of groceries and no one to help him. Oh, that's tough, Jim.

[00:09:00] Looks like a five-trip load at least. He grabs the first bag. The second, Bob, it looks like he's trying to do it all one trip. He shimmies the door open, steps over the dog. Oh, and he stumbles. Oh, right into the kitchen without missing a beat. Jim, now that's a man who eats his protein, in fact, Oikos. With 15 grams of complete protein in each cup, Oikos Triple Zero can help build strength for every day. Oikos. Stronger makes everything better. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. I remember when I visited London myself. It's been a while.

[00:09:29] But I just remember complaining a lot. And that's because we walked a heck of a lot. This was when I was back in college and I wasn't really into being active. And so I didn't really see the value of having to walk everywhere. The friends I was visiting were so nice. They took days off of work so that they can walk me around the city. And sure enough, I complained the whole time because I'm not used to this much walking. Why can't we just take the underground? Isn't there a taxi somewhere? Now, don't get me wrong.

[00:09:56] Since those days, I've come a long way and absolutely understand the value of walking. And looking back on the experience, I got to learn about so many things in the culture just by walking around the city. And when I travel, I may not necessarily eat completely vegetarian. But I actually do focus my attention on eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. Now, of course, eating fresh fruits and vegetables isn't possible in every country that you visit. But in westernized countries, it's usually safe to eat those items.

[00:10:24] If not, of course, cooked vegetables are just as good. And when it comes to Leo's first post about getting back on the exercise train, he's got it absolutely right. Start small. Write things down. Whenever you fall off, learn why that happened. Learn from those mistakes. I couldn't have said it better myself. All right, that's it for today. I hope you're having a great week. Thank you as always for listening. Thank you for sharing this episode with someone. And I'll be back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.

[00:10:54] Thank you.