Healthy Habits & Technology with BodyBreak

When it comes to your lifestyle habits you probably have some you would like to change and some you would like to start. Creating healthy, active lifestyle habits can be easier than you think with the help from technology in 2016.

Making a New Year’s resolution to adopt a healthier lifestyle is easy enough, but acting upon it and changing your everyday habits takes commitment. Don’t fret … today’s technology is paving an easier way to create healthy, active lifestyle habits that have a positive and lasting impact on how you feel.

The core to activating any healthy habit is finding a ‘trigger’ that sets the routine in motion and leads to the eventual reward. The body familiarizes itself with this system so that the next time the trigger happens, it sets the wheels in motion for the routine to start once again.

TRIGGER

                  → ROUTINE

                                          → REWARD

TRIGGER

There are 5 Triggers that can influence your behaviour:

1. Time
2. Place
3. Emotion
4. Certain People
5. Certain Proceeding Action

Take breakfast for example, as perhaps it triggers you to have a smoothie—which is a great way to start your day. It can provide you with premium energy fuel and the essential vitamins and minerals can help ward off sickness.

To get the most out of your smoothie, try a blender with strong blades and a powerful motor such as the Blendtec Designer 625 or the Vitamix Professional 200, as they can help to break down the food to make it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients. A blender is also a great way to puree soups, chop salsa and even whip up a delicious spread of hummus.

As a post-workout pick-me-up, try amplifying your smoothie with a scoop of protein powder to help build muscle and recover faster.

ROUTINE

When you’re easing into exercise, it’s important to identify a healthy routine you would like to start.

Maybe your ideal routine comes down to wanting to walk for fitness or to simply increase the number of steps you take each day. Generally speaking, if you haven’t been active then you’re more likely walking about 2500 to 5000 steps a day.  Your new goal should be to gradually increase the number of steps taken each day to 10,000.

To do this, keep tabs of your steps taken by using an activity tracker, a form of wearable tech that provides you with a full spectrum of statistics. Activity trackers like the Garmin Vivosmart HR, Fitbit Charge HR or Jawbone UP3 can monitor your steps, heart rate, distance, sleep patterns, calories and more so you can immediately see how you’re doing.

We also really like that these activity monitors act like your personal cheerleader and coach to keep you motivated. They make you feel accountable to your goals, plus you can challenge your family, friends and co-workers to improve their health and fitness as well! This social exercise (or digital support group) helps to keep you on track while having fun.

REWARD

When you reward yourself after doing your healthy habit, you can feel a sense of validation and a stronger sense of self. You feel accepted and the fear of failure is reduced, which in turn makes you more likely to adopt and continue that healthy habit.

These rewards can be as simple as a cup of tea with your walking friend or running buddy after a workout, or maybe even buying a piece of fitness equipment such as sport headphones as a form of personal encouragement. In fact, music has proven as a great motivator during exercise, as it can set the pace and lift your spirits.

Newer sport headphones such as the Jaybird X2 In-Ear Headphones or Beats Powerbeats2 have actually taken active lifestyles into account by implementing improved Bluetooth wireless technology, creating snug and comfortable ear buds and being resistant to sweat and grime.

We are huge fans of using technology to help achieve your health and fitness goals. Start with one healthy habit and more will follow.

Until next time, Keep Fit & Have Fun!