4 Ways to Tame Our Lizard-Brained Resistance to Exercise

USA - English

• USA - English

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- It's said that we become our habits and in some cases that is not a good thing. Only 23% of US adults get enough exercise per week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

From demanding schedules to lack of obvious benefits, there are so many reasons why people prefer not to exercise," says Carter, "self-discipline is like a muscle that also has to be exercised regularly for it to grow. We often have habits that hold us back, like not exercising or eating food with poor nutritional value," says Dr. Rob Carter III, co-author with his wife, Dr. Kirti Salwe Carter, of The Morning Mind: Use Your Brain to Master Your Day and Supercharge Your Life (http://www.themorningmind.com) (Source: TheMorningMind).

"The first step in overcoming your resistance to engaging in regular physical activity is figuring out what's standing in your way," says Carter. "A great way to start every day is with light exercise and meditation," says Carter, "mornings, in fact, according to some researchers is the best time to start making these kinds of changes in your life."

"Because we have a limited amount of willpower in the morning, it's very important how we use that energy," Carter says, "by focusing on just one habit you would like to change – for example, waking up with a positive outlook – you can concentrate that willpower on the task at hand until it becomes a habit."

Carter has 4 Ways to Tame Our Lizard-Brained Resistance to Exercise and make them stick:
Stack Habits. "If you want to create a new habit of exercising in the morning, and you have a habit of reading the newspaper every morning, tie these activities together by exercising immediately before you read the paper," says Carter. "This allows you too much more rapidly install the new behavior you want, and reading the newspaper becomes your reward."
Hack into Positive Past Experiences. "If you struggle to connect with the emotions you want to create, remember experiences in the past that produced these feelings and then transplant them to the experience you want to create," says Carter. "If you want to affirm enjoying exercise, think back to a time when you felt empowered or satisfied after exercising," says Carter. "Piggyback old positive experiences onto new desired ones to maximize success."
Meditation Helps Hack Into Happiness. "Meditation can also increase feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, known as the happiness hormone," says Carter. "Our Lizard wants to stay in its comfort zone, it wants to feel good, and increased positive neurotransmitters reduce the anxiety and silence the Lizard's fear," says Carter.
Get Maximum Benefit for Every Second of Your Day. "If you sit at a computer all day and lack the motivation to exercise, super slow weight training is an incredibly short routine, that will help feel and look better," says Carter. "This intense workout program can dramatically improve strength," Carter says, "one 20-25 minute workout per week can yield a 30-40% increase in strength in eight to ten weeks."

"When you learn for yourself how simple it is to change habits," Carter says, "you'll want to exercise more, eat better, and make the necessary adjustments to all areas of your life."

About Dr. Rob Carter III and Dr. Kirti Salwe Carter
Dr. Rob Carter III and Dr. Kirti Salwe Carter are co-authors of The Morning Mind: Use Your Brain to Master Your Day and Supercharge Your Life (http://www.themorningmind.com) and reside in Austin, Texas. Dr. Rob Carter is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army, an expert in human performance and physiology, and has academic appointments in emergency medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, in public health and health sciences at Los Angeles Pacific University, and in nutrition at the University of Maryland, University College. He holds a PhD in biomedical sciences and medical physiology and an MPH in chronic disease epidemiology.
Dr. Kirti Carter was born in Pune, India, and received her medical education in India, where she practiced as an intensive-care physician at Breach Candy Hospital before moving to Texas to complete postgraduate training in public health. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Stress (FAIS), has more than 18 years of experience in meditation and breathing techniques, and has been facilitating wellness seminars for the past decade.

SOURCE The Morning Mind