Here’s an example of a habit I am trying to develop:
Habit of running on a regular basis.
Note, this time my goal is not necessarily to walk/jog/run for 21 or 30 days or so. My goal is to improve my stamina.
I run out of breath even if I have to run for 8000 metres, or if I have to climb 200 stairs. So much so that I can not talk and it takes me quite a while to catch my breath.
This was to be a life long habit! As having good stamina helps in a lot of different aspects of life. That’s why it was necessary for me to develop a habit of regularly running first! Once I had developed the habit, then I could go ahead and try to perfect my technique.
Trick is to start slowly! Soo ridiculously slow that you’d feel silly to skip a day. And do each step every single day! Remember the point is to develop a habit first! That can only really be done by consistency!
Week 1 – wear shoes, dress up, get out the door and then come back in
Week 2 – get dressed and go down the stairs and then come back up
Week 3 – walk 15 mins (could be on the treadmill in the gym in my building, or a walk outside)
Week 4 – walk for 20 mins
Week 5 – walk for 25 mins
Week 6 – walk for 30 mins with 5 30 sec jogs thrown in, so could be walk for 10 mins, jog for 30 secs, walk for another 7 mins, jog for another 30 secs, walk for another 5 mins for a total or 43 mins
Week 7 – walk for 40 mins with 10 30 sec jogs thrown in
Week 8 – walk for 15 mins, jog for 30 sec, then repeat until 60 mins are up
Week 9 – walk for 5 mins, jog for 45 mins, repeat until 70 mins are up
I could not complete week 9 properly due to low carb diet I was trying during the same time. I had incredible lack of energy during that period. So much so that I felt faint on many occasions even after 20 minutes of walking, even though I was eating a lot and drinking a lot of water. I was just careful to limit my carbohydrates.
Anyhow, had to stop mid way for a few days because of my diet experiment (more on that later). Following week I started again but I felt I had lost my rhythm.
I still wanted to build stamina though so started researching different ways of improving it.
Came across High intensity interval training (HIIT). This really appealed to me.
Basically, you jog for a few minutes, then go all out sprinting for 30-60 seconds, then light jog again until heart rate comes down, then sprint again and so on.
Week 9: total time 30 mins; with 2 30 sec 8 mph sprints in between (treadmill) – 2 times a week; with 20+ mins of walking on rest of the days
Week 10: total time 30-60mins; with 2 30 sec 9.5 mph sprints in between (treadmill) – 2 times a week; with 20+ mins of walking on rest of the days
Week 11: total time 45+ mins; with 3 15 sec 10.5 mph sprints in between (treadmill) – 2 times a week; with 20+ mins of walking on rest of the days
Instead of following a strict regiment of jogging for 20 mins, then sprinting for 30 secs, I just sprint for 60-90 secs then wait for my heart rate to come below 140 then I sprint again, whether that’s with in 2 mins or 4 mins.
I’m finding that it’s hard to really sprint very fast on a treadmill. I feel like I am going to fall down!
So, next session I’ll try HIIT outside! hope I could make it...
