How to make a habit of going to the gym – 04/28/2023 – Equilibrium

Create a habit in 21 days, consolidate a new routine in just over two months: there is no shortage of books and self-help gurus to calculate deadlines for a disciplined and fulfilling life. A study based on the analysis of millions of data by artificial intelligence, however, indicates that there is no magic number of days for joining an activity, which can vary personally and due to the complexity of the challenge.

The work showed, however, that always going to train on the same days helps to create the habit of going to the gym. For 76% of the regulars, the longer the time interval between one visit and another, the less likely it was that they would continue to train continuously. In 69% of cases, users maintained constant training when they attended the training center always on the same days of the week.

The North American study was published this year by Princeton University in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) and evaluated a massive set of information through artificial intelligence, observing the formation of habits among users of gyms and health professionals.

The work considered records of 60,277 regulars of 560 gyms of the 24h Fitness network.

“The data we analyzed tracks gym attendance for each person from the first day they joined. Our gym attendance dataset spans 14 years, ranging from 2006 to 2019, and includes more than 12 million points, each corresponding to an entry into the academy”, report the authors.

For the second behavior, artificial intelligence evaluated more than 40 million data points about hand washing in hospital settings. The information was from 5,246 health professionals and was collected for about a year. A company that tracks individual healthcare at 30 hospitals provided the data.

“Contrary to popular belief in a ‘magic number’ of days to develop a habit, we found that it typically takes months to form a habit of going to the gym, but weeks to develop a habit of washing hands in the hospital,” the research points out.

In another study, carried out in 2012 by researchers from London (England), authors point out that the creation of a new routine can take from 18 to 254 days to be built. A large variation that ends up making the 66-day average an ineffective generalization.

According to doctor Fábio Salzano, from the IPq (Institute of Psychiatry) at the Hospital das Clínicas at USP (University of São Paulo), incorporating healthy habits is possible, but personality characteristics interfere with the result and can facilitate or hinder this transition.

“Positive reinforcements tend to encourage these changes to occur, but with regard to physical activity, care must be taken so that they do not become exaggerated. A psychologist can encourage self-knowledge and a physical educator can gradually incorporate adequate physical activity” , recommends Salzano.

In the nutritional field, adherence to diets also has peculiarities. A German article from 2022 points out that the habit tends to consolidate significantly over time, especially in people with more stable behavioral performance. Reward and stability are essential to the outcome.

Daniela Cierro, vice president of Asbran (Brazilian Association of Nutrition), estimates that adherence to a new eating habit can be consolidated in 20 to 30 days for some, but others will need 60 to 90 days, as the journey is personal.

“Re-education is for everyone, but not all people are willing to do it. Knowing your individuality, looking for quality food that nourishes your body, eating in adequate amounts for your functioning, trying new ingredients and preparations are important behaviors to have habits healthy,” he points out.

For changes in eating habits, Cierro proposes that other customs be changed beforehand, such as reducing the consumption of foods that do not promote quality of life – however, it is not necessary that the items remain off the menu forever. Planning a food plan, a shopping list and the time needed to cook helps to fill the space that was previously occupied only by the consumption of low-nutrition products.

“When you feel like eating, ask yourself: am I hungry or in the mood? Talk to yourself. The important thing is to go little by little. With constancy, small changes, but effectively”, he points out.

Physical educator Juliana Bissoli says that, in general, changes aimed at a healthy lifestyle should start from the basics: realistic goals to avoid frustration, good nights sleep and adequate water consumption. “Organize, so you create a routine and avoid slips”, she indicates.