Think: "That's my cue to head to the gym" (but you're thinking it subconsciously)
Why: Let us explain. The most frequent exercisers are those who don't really
decide to exercise—they do it automatically, according to a 2015 study in
Health Psychology. Sounds a little
Yeah...right, right?
Work out! Don't think about it! But you can actually make it happen. The automatic exercisers were triggered by cues before each exercise session, ones that became so strongly associated with working out that over time, people stopped having to make the decision, says lead study author Alison Phillips, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State University. You can create your own cues that lead to the same results. Say you decide to start going to the gym on your way home from work—at first it'll be hard and you'll have to use some mental discipline to keep doing it, but eventually the practice becomes automatic, and leaving your desk at 5 o'clock becomes your subconscious signal to go exercise.
