Health and happiness require daily doses of physical resistance and adversity. Until recently, that didn’t pose much of a problem. Exercise was once a non-negotiable fact of life. You moved—a lot—simply to survive.

Now, we live in the age of comfort gone deadly. Obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and more diseases of convenience and abundance have reached epidemic levels. But these issues aren’t limited to physical ailments. We cannot separate mind from body, and our sedentary existences are promoting a rise in depression, anxiety, and a host of mental disorders.

Health is essential. You are not capable of being the person you want to be for others when you don’t respect your own health. That’s why they tell you to put the oxygen mask on yourself first.

But how? You’ve tried, and inevitably life catches up with you; the kids get sick, or the AC breaks, and there goes your gym budget. How do you make a change that sticks?

Step 1: Decide

First, you must decide that this is important to you. Exercise is the most impactful habit to enhance every other area of your life. It gives you the energy and mental clarity to get more out of every hour of your day.

It helps you feel confident, optimistic, and proud of what you’ve done. It improves the way you look, but more importantly how you feel. It makes you a positive role model for your family and friends. Your relationships, your work, and your emotional state all improve.

This is not just my opinion. The Mayo Clinic asserts that exercise relieves depression and anxiety symptoms, and there are dozens of studies showing that exercise prevents depression.

Believe me now? Good. Let’s address your environment and the limiting thoughts that are in your way.

Have you convinced yourself that being a mother requires absolute sacrifice, even to the point of always feeling beat down? Are you entrenched in patterns that will shorten your time alive with your family? Are you afraid to look weird in the beginning stages of awkward exercise? Do you feel no support from friends and family?

All of these are tough challenges that you can and will address. Communicate, clarify why this is important, and again, decide to follow through.

Decide that you will do it, not that you will try. The power lies within you to make exercise and movement a daily habit. Regardless of what is on your plate, you can fit this in. I will explain how, but it starts with a commitment to owning your own success or failure. You are ultimately responsible for the outcome.

Step 2: You Don’t Have to Have a Gym

Going to the gym is a chore in itself. You have to make sure you look good, even while you sweat because people are around. You have to ensure that the family is accounted for and in no danger while you are away.

Then you have to drive there, check in, make small talk with all the people you know, lock your valuables, and then finally get to the workout. Add to it that you are typically doing this before or after work, which means you either have to wake up that much earlier or go out of your way after work.

How much is extra time added on to exercise simply by the process of gym-going? At least 30 minutes. You could have finished a decent workout in that time!

On top of that, the gym can be intimidating. If you’re new, you feel awkward and overwhelmed. There are so many exercise options. Everyone seems to know what they’re doing, and you don’t want to look dumb.

You settle on the most boring, simple device possible, and trudge up never-ending steps while watching the news. What a bizarre, almost masochistic device. You have all the excitement of walking up stairs, without the accomplishment of ever getting somewhere.

This confluence of obstacles makes exercise a tough habit for many to maintain.

But you have more options. I have created a home-based training program, called The Will and The Way At Home Workouts, that allows you to save all that wasted time. It frees you to train anywhere and anytime. You don’t have to know what to do on your own, as the videos and plan will teach you the way.

Step 3: Make Habits Your Best Friend

The famed Stanford marshmallow test showed that delayed gratification and willpower are the greatest indicators of success and fulfillment in life.

Willpower is a muscle that grows with training, which means that it will be lowest at the beginning of this lifestyle change. This is good news because our emotional energy will be highest at first.

What we must do is take inventory of our environment and routines to insert new habits, which will lower the barriers to daily exercise by making them part of your pattern.

To make this easier, we must make the desired action a habit. Habits have been studied and are simple to create. The mechanism to do it consists of a cue, a routine, and a reward.

Set a consistent cue, like waking up. Create a path that enables momentum, like setting three alarm clocks in multiple locations to force you out of bed. Have the last alarm set by your exercise clothes. Immediately follow the exercise with a reward. Overnight oats are delicious! Crush a jar right after your workout.

Maybe, like me, you prefer a big omelet. Whatever your reward is, make sure you get it. Your brain will crave earning the reward! For more help making habits and change, be sure to read my work on this.

To ensure these habits stick, I have a mantra: 99% is a wimp! There is no wiggle room. You will wake up to movement every day. If you wake up late, do an immediate four-minute Tabata circuit. You will fit in the four minutes.

Step 4: Stay On It

Even when habits are set, they can be easier to break than maintain. No, you didn’t earn a week off. No, you won’t feel more up to it tomorrow. Protect your habits at all costs. They become you.

Take Saturday and Sundays as off days if you have to. What must remain is your routine of exercise every day, Monday to Friday. The plan is written so that you are rejuvenated by movement some days, rather than taxed. You will not burn out.

Your workout does not have to be in the morning, although I find that works best because of the consistency and the control we have over it. Some will prefer immediately after getting home from work, or at the beginning of the lunch break, or right after their daily staff meeting.

Regardless of the time of day, the methods of setting a habit are the same.

You could even take a workout and split it over the course of a day. A busy mom with an infant might not ever have more than 15 minutes straight, but she can find 10 minutes during her baby’s nap each day and another 10 when her husband first gets home from work, and another five right after the kids go down at night.

When you look for consistent patterns in your day where you can steal 5-10 minutes, the possibilities become endless. Imagine if you set an alarm for every hour at work, and then used that time to do a four-minute circuit.

Six circuits a day would fit easily, boost energy and productivity consistently, and lead to fitness changes that permeate every area of your life.

There are 168 hours in a week. We are trying to find 1-3 hours that we can spread out over the week. 10 minutes twice a day, or four 5-minute blocks can be the route to sustainable health. It’s short, sweet, fun, and most of all, worth it.

You know your patterns. You will make this happen if it is a big enough priority.

What is important is consistency and the mindset that you will exercise every work day. There is no getting around doing at least five minutes. Something is always better than nothing; it keeps the habit alive! Starting is always the hardest part. Get it in. We must preserve the habit above all else.

Shameless plug: you can workout with me on Push, Pull and Thrive or The Will and The Way.

If nothing else, I am willing to be there for you on every step of your journey and someday, someday soon, I hope you won’t need me, or anyone else, because fitness will be second nature to you and an integrated part of your life.

The post 4 Steps to Making Fitness Stick For Life appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Built with sustainable, safe, and supportive closed cell construction, this mat delivers for workouts including weight, kettlebells, power yoga, and more.

The Manduka X Yoga Mat

This new mat incorporates the tested philosophy and technology of the signature Manduka Black Mat PRO, our top choice for young professionals and students. The X Yoga Mat has a different feel and non-slip performance than its predecessor. This particular non-slip surface creates a safe and durable base for athletic training with a variety of hybrid style workouts.

The X Yoga Mat is ideal for multi-purpose use, for weighted workouts, bodyweight workouts, HIIT, yoga, and kettlebells. Its size and weight are comfortable enough to carry to gym or yoga studio without a backache. The mat is surprisingly lightweight when compared to the Black Mat Pro, which is a very heavy mat to lug around town. The X Yoga Mat is super easy to roll after a sweaty workout session. The closed cell texture of the mat and non-slip technology provide a soft cushion for a variety of exercises and movements. This mat does not require any prep before use, simply unroll and get to work.

After Testing, We Approve

We tested the mat in an assortment of workouts including workouts with heavy dumbbells and kettlebells. We performed deadlifts, lunges, snatches, and swings. The mat performs very well under weighted workouts and explosive movements because it provides extra stability, and it does not move or slip when in use. This mat is a great choice for athletes performing workouts that require stability including; lunges, balances, and one limbed unilateral movements. This mat is a perfect choice for barefoot workouts including natural movement, kettlebells, and bodyweight hybrid exercises.

After careful review we ended up preferring this mat to the Pro because of the tough, non-slip, cushioned surface texture. When looking at price and performance this mat is a must have for any fitness professional, enthusiast, yogi, or cross trainer.

Do more with kettlebells:

Rock Solid: Kettlebell Strength Program with Results

The post One Yoga Mat for All Your Training Methods appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Hex style dumbbells are a great choice all around.

CAP Dumbbell Review Details

A set of 20lb hex style cap dumbbells were used for this review. The dumbbells were used in a garage gym setting and in home gym workouts over a period of over nine months. The dumbbells are considered commercial grade. The PVC coated weights have a feel of durability, and are suitable for use in a garage gym or home gym, as much as in a commercial gym. We tested the set over a period of nine months and found overwhelmingly that the CAP dumbbells deliver on quality and affordability. They are, in our opinion, safe, versatile, and built to last. We did notice that the product had a slight smell upon delivery. The odor dissipates quickly when the weights are out of the box and exposed to open air. You may want to keep them stored somewhere ventilated in the beginning. After a little while we had no problem keeping them inside the house, in a bedroom or closet.

A Note on Quality and Usability

The quality of the dumbbells is noticeable. They look like, feel like, and are built for commercial grade gyms, public, or at home. The hex style makes the dumbbells suitable for a great variety of exercises over and above the traditional plate design. Things like dumbbell push ups and man makers are a lot easier with the safe, six-sided, anti-roll, hexagonal design.

The hex design is also easier on the floor. Although the dumbbells are made of solid cast iron, they have a protective plastic (PVC) coating which adds to the general sense of quality. We did not notice any floor damage over repeated use in the nine months we tested the product. The contoured steel handles give you a comfortable grip, even when you are very sweaty. This makes it easier on the user because you may not want to chalk up at home or use gloves.

Our Recommendation

These dumbbells are not cheap, but they are affordable. For this quality of equipment, you should expect to pay more. Per pound, the dumbbells should never cost you more than $2. We have found prices, with free shipping, for a 50lb single dumbbell of around $72. You may find better.

For our particular situation we bought a 20lb pair. We used them almost every day for nine months and, without a doubt, we will continue to use them for as long as they are around.

More on training:

Starting Weightlifting Over 40

The post CAP Coated Hex Dumbbells: Smarter Than You Think appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

There are only four.

The Only Important Variables

The exercise itself, volume, intensity, and density are the only things that can be manipulated in a program. Every possible change you can make falls within one of those four categories. And for long-term progress, knowing how to change them, and when, can make all the difference. But it’s not rocket science once you understand the role each element plays.

So, aside from your given exercise, you have these additional variables:

• Volume is a product of how many sets and reps of a given exercise you do, as well how many times per week you do it (also called frequency).
• Intensity is a reference to how heavy you are training in comparison to what would be your absolute potential in that lift (often called a 1RM, or the load you could lift once and once only).
• Density is how fast you can lift your given volume in a workout – 100 reps done at a given load in thirty minutes is a less dense workout than the same reps and weight done in 28 minutes.

1. Exercise Selection

Back when the only training information you could find was a bodybuilding magazine, a lot of articles talked about muscle confusion. Muscle confusion was this idea that by using a different workout every time you trained you’d make more progress. The only problem with that idea is this little principle called SAID – specific adaptation to imposed demand. SAID says you get good at the things you do repeatedly.

If, for instance, you wanted to get really good at push ups and pull ups, you’re going to get better by making sure to do lots of push ups and pull ups in your training. See what I mean by it’s not rocket science?

“Don’t get fooled by so-called muscle confusion and think that you’ll progress faster by swapping your training around every session.”

What SAID does is make you aware of the need for consistency in training. If the event you’re training for has running, then run. If it’s the RKC, then do the basic six RKC movements. If it’s military recruit training, then you need running and calisthenics. Don’t get fooled by so-called muscle confusion and think that you’ll progress faster by swapping your training around every session.

Instead of “mucle confusion,” think specialized variety. Specialized variety exercises are those that are similar to your goal, but just different enough to force some change. This is actually where people got the idea of muscle confusion, but then they took it a step too far. For instance, if my goal is to get better at push ups, I might integrate ring dips, push ups on rings, push ups with my feet on a box – anything that looks similar but isn’t exactly the same push up variation I’ve been working with.

2. Intensity

Because kettlebells come in big jumps in size, and a few years ago came in only 8kg jumps, moderating volume and intensity with them is easy. Most guys will have a top weight for most exercises around 32kg. That is, they’ll be able to use the 32kg bells for most exercises, but won’t get a huge number of reps in. The 16kg kettlebells, on the other hand, will be nice and light and guys will feel like they can train with them all day long. Somewhere in the middle of those two extremes are the 24s. The 24s just end up being the Goldilocks bell for most guys, as they can do most things well for a decent number of reps.

“The goal of training is to improve, not test, and by allowing ourselves to have easy sessions with the 16s, we will give the body time to rest, adapt, and improve.”

If we imagine the 16s are 50% of your best, the 24s are 75%, and the 32s are 100%, then we have an easy way to moderate intensity. Given that the average yearly intensity, even for elite strength athletes, is around 72% (+/- 2%) we can do the following:

If you train with 32s today, then train with 16s the next time you train, and 24s the time after. Even if you did the exact same workout, because you’ve changed the intensity, your body will respond differently. The goal of training is to improve, not test, and by allowing ourselves to have easy sessions with the 16s, we will give the body time to rest, adapt, and improve. That’s how supercompensation works.

The take home points with intensity are this:

• Follow every hard workout with an easy one.
• If you’ve got the stones to do hard workouts, then have the stones to be disciplined enough to do the easy days, too.
• If you train more than three times in a week, don’t add extra 100% sessions, add more easy and medium sessions to keep overall intensity around that 72% mark.

3. Volume

We can also make it far simpler to moderate volume than many would have you believe. The important thing to remember is that you won’t be changing volume and intensity at the same time – you only need to change one variable to force adaptation.

Note: For these examples, you would keep the weight the same. Using the above kettlebell examples still, and assuming the 32s are our limit bells, let’s also assume that five sets of five reps in a given exercise is our best effort.

If five sets is our best effort, and we remember that we need to follow our hardest workout with our easiest, then the next workout should be either 2 or 3 sets of 5 or 5 sets of 2 or 3. The reason is that if 25 reps is our best, then we can safely assume that 12 to 15 reps isn’t a huge challenge and will allow us to recover enough to adapt and push harder the next time we get to our hardest workout. In between the hardest and easiest workouts, we’d again have our Goldilocks sessions, which in this case would be something like 5 sets of 4 or 4 sets of 5.

“The important thing to remember is that you won’t be changing volume and intensity at the same time – you only need to change one variable to force adaptation.”

Looking at the rep ranges, if we take 25 reps to be 100%, then the 12 to 15 of the light day is 48-60% and the 20 reps of the medium day is 80%. A week done in this fashion gives you an average intensity of around 78% – a little high, but close enough to allow you to keep progressing long term.

4. Density

Changing density and waving the effort follows the same pattern. Let’s say that you typically use ten minutes as your goal time. Again, if we’re changing density, we’re only looking to change density while keeping the other variables the same. If you typically perform 50 reps in 10 minutes for your hardest session, then the following workout you’d do 25, with the medium workout having 35, for an average intensity of 73%.

No Recovery, No Improvement

What most people find when starting to use a system like this is that some sessions feel ridiculously easy, especially for those who turn every workout into a competition. But it’s those easy workouts that allow you to improve – without recovery there can be no improvement.

“The exercise you’re dong is the last thing you adapt to. So, while specialized variety can be a great way to inject fresh progress into your training, it is the other variables you should address first.”

And because of the SAID principle, you will get better at the things you do. That means that active rest leads to better gains long term compared to full rest, or days off, as you’re adding exposure to the thing you’re trying to improve, but doing it in a way that doesn’t impair further recovery.

The odd thing about all of this is that it is the exercise you should seek to change last, not first. It’s intensity you adapt to first, followed by volume. The exercise you’re dong is the last thing you adapt to. So, while specialized variety can be a great way to inject fresh progress into your training, it is the other variables you should address first.

Programming for yourself isn’t necessarily easy, but it’s not rocket science either. Just remember:

• Allow yourself the easy days so you can adapt.
• Always follow your hardest day with an easy one.
• Spend more time on easy and medium sessions if you want to improve longer term.

More Like This:

• The 7 Laws of Training According to Dr. Fred Hatfield
• The Deload: The Path to Bigger, Faster, and Stronger
• Cross Training Doesn’t Work
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

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