5 Science-Backed Cheat Codes to Stay Consistent With Your Workouts

0:00You are now listening to The Model Health Show with Shawn Stevenson. For more, visit themodelhealthshow.com.

0:09Shawn Stevenson:Let's be honest for a moment. Most people don't struggle with knowing what to do. Most people struggle with doing it consistently. And here's the thing most people don't realize. Consistency isn't a knowledge problem. It's a design problem. So today I'm going to share five science-backed cheat codes that make working out consistently feel easier, more automatic, and honestly, something your brain actually wants to do. One of the biggest mistakes that we make is thinking that consistency comes from willpower. But the research is very clear. The most consistent people do not rely on willpower. They rely on systems.

0:50Shawn Stevenson:And this brings us to cheat code number one, which is to leverage your social environment. Let's start with one of the most powerful and most overlooked drivers of consistency, the people around you. A fascinating systematic review conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed something shocking. Based on multiple studies, the researchers discovered that social support doesn't just help people to be more consistent with exercise. It increases the amount of physical activity people do by almost 50%. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many variations in what social support can look like and the impact that it has on our exercise consistency.

1:37Shawn Stevenson:For instance, another remarkable study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical fitness, tracked the exercise habits of people who worked out with their spouse compared to people who worked out without their spouse. Over the course of the one-year study, the researchers shockingly found that people who worked out without their spouse dropped out of their exercise plan 43 % of the time, while people who worked out with their spouse dropped out only 6 % of the time. In other words, people who worked out with their partner in this study were six times more likely to stick with it.

2:17Shawn Stevenson:That's astronomical. Now, that's not to say that a ton of people who exercise without their significant other aren't sticking to their workout plans. What this study is indicating is that there might be a substantial advantage for people who find it difficult to be consistent to lean into social support. by working out with their partner. But again, it's not only working out with your significant other. That can create a huge advantage with exercise consistency. A mind-blowing study cited in the journal Health Behavior Research found that group exercise training can boost exercise compliance and consistency up to 97 % over the course of their 11-week study.

3:05Shawn Stevenson:People signing up and showing up, 97 % of the time is otherworldly. There's truly no external factor that's more powerful than this, but there are specific things in the group dynamic that they employed in the study, which we will be revealing shortly. But first, let's look back to the previous study and address some practical tips for working out with your spouse or significant other. Now, I know about the power of this subject firsthand. I actually met my wife, Anne, in the gym at the university that we both were attending. I was working there at the university gym as a personal trainer, and she was coming in and utilizing the facilities.

3:51And I was just locked in at this time in my life in being of service, in perfecting my craft, in helping people to transform not just their bodies, but their lives because it had been so impactful for me. And so, but I would notice the people coming in the gym, like who was consistent. And of course I noticed this young lady coming in and just being very, very consistent and showing up. And she was just going to town on that treadmill, really hitting her stride. She's Kenyan, so she's got that stride on her. And I was just like chalking it up to, oh wow, she's really dedicated. And I honestly left it at that.

4:29I wasn't plotting or scheming or even like looking at her like that but as legend has it has now been revealed recently you know just in the last couple of years I had no idea she was plotting on me she had told a couple of her friends she would come to the gym with her friends shout out to Steph and apparently she said this line to Steph I want him to train me all right this is these are not my words. This is what she said. I didn't know she was checking me out. And so long story short, one day I'm doing my own workout and I'm utilizing the universal gym, but maybe, you know, five, 10 feet away and is using the most awkward machine in the gym, which is that adductor machine with the legs, you know, just sprawled open and she dropped her headphones and me just being a kind person, I went over, picked up her headphones and handed them to her.

5:31And she said, thank you. But the way that she said it, I noticed a hint of an accent, which apparently that really made an impact because a lot of people didn't pick up her accent. But working at this university, I work with people from all over the world. So I would pick up on these subtle things. And so apparently she was impressed. We kind of got to talking and the rest is history. All right. The rest is history. But I'm setting all this up to say that my perception of her and what our relationship was going to be was built on this foundation of this fitness environment that we met in. And so once we started dating and a couple months went by and I'd inquire about her coming to work out with me or like doing some fitness related stuff together, she would basically turn me down.

6:17Like, I'm good. You know, that kind of thing. So little did I know at the time, she was just coming to the gym to get in shape, to go to Miami with her friends. All right. So basically she gym fished me. All right. I thought this was a match made in fitness heaven, but it wasn't like that for her. She was done. All right. She's young. She fit. She's done. But, you know, I just kind of kept offering up time after time over the years. And, you know, here and there, we would do some stuff together. But it wasn't until she got pregnant with my youngest son, Brayden that a transformation took place in her own psychology.

6:56And she began to really train for this event of having our child. And she carried that practice on with her for years afterwards, leading up to now, to where she is, you know, my closest gym buddy and training partner. And over this time, we've learned so much about each other. And also I've had the opportunity

7:21Shawn Stevenson:to learn so much about human psychology in the context of an intimate relationship related to working out together. All right. Because in the gym, I mean, I work with countless people, countless people, hundreds and hundreds of hundreds of people one-on-one, let alone all the group training that I've done. And I've never had an issue with my tone until I worked out, No, it was a thing working out with my then girlfriend and eventual wife. And so just that proximity creates a new dynamic because for everybody else, I could just kind of coach them on what to do. And for her now, I'm being bossy.

8:11Right. It's just like this whole new domain. I just thought that I was just, you know, instructing you on what to do. but I had to change my approach to things because, and this happens for a lot of men in the context of working out with their significant other as well, you know, coming into the gym, this could be like, now you're turning into this new personality, more militant, you know, more aggressive, but it's a temperament that we might carry with us into this environment in general. And we're not trying to be different per se. And so what this looks like is, and this is the most important part, and this is where the science really revolves.

8:49We actually are different when we go to the gym or when we're doing some physical challenges, because this is stimulating

8:59Shawn Stevenson:the release of stress hormones. Our blood sugar is becoming abnormal. Just the alteration in our mental and emotional stress, as well as we are taking on something challenging, is going to change the biochemistry in our own bodies and also our temperament. And so what this can lead to is maybe we are a little bit more sensitive or maybe we are a little more aggressive, but for many people, they don't know that their temperament is changing or that we're becoming hypersensitive to change. But this does not give us permission if we want this to work, this workout relationship to just be all willy nilly.

9:41It is what it is. We want to come to this with more intelligence. So two quick tips here is number one is to practice patience. If you're

9:51Shawn Stevenson:going to work out together, give each other a little extra grace proactively and don't expect them to always talk to you perfectly while in the heat of a training session. All right, come into it proactively with a little more space, a little more understanding. All right, practice patience. Number two, push the positive buttons. Just like we know how to push the problem buttons with our significant other, we also know how to push the buttons of love and healthy motivation. We know what motivates our partners better than anybody. But sometimes, especially when we ourselves are tired or irritable, we sometimes feel that they are perfectly able to push the positive buttons for themselves.

10:42Why do I have to go out of my way to motivate you when you already know how to motivate yourself? And this is where people run into a lot of conflict, not just in the gym context, but in life in general. Again, we know what motivates our partners. We also know what demotivates them. And so we want to proactively push the positive buttons. This is sometimes going to require us to dig a little bit deeper, but this is one of the things that our relationships are for.

11:10Shawn Stevenson:They are there to remind us of the capacities that we have within us, to challenge us to be the best version of ourselves and to be there to support one another at the end of the day. And so as of this recording, my greatest and most consistent gym buddy is my wife, even though she gym fished me in the beginning. So moving on to tips for working out and supporting each other in a group exercise dynamic, leaning into the study that we covered from health behavior research that resulted in a staggering 97 % consistency in exercising over the course of their 11 week study. Here's what they actually did to make people feel the sense of community, support, and consistency.

11:58Shawn Stevenson:Number one, the fitness coaches didn't just put people through workouts. The coaches intentionally facilitated interaction, engagement, and feedback between the participants. They were intentional about building connection. Number two, the participants did challenging workouts together, i.e. they worked hard towards a common goal together. Shared struggle equals faster bonding. Number three, the researchers had participants connect on social media for outside of the class connection as well. This reinforces identity between sessions, creates ongoing accountability, and keeps the group alive outside of the gym.

12:47Shawn Stevenson:Number four, the coaches provided individual recognition and feedback. Now this hits a deep psychological need. the need for us to feel significant, the need for us to feel seen, the need for us to feel like we matter. This increases a psychological sense of belonging and value within the group. This is one of the bedrock reasons behind showing up. Number five, the group had shared goals and common interests. This creates the phenomenon of we're the same kind of people. And this also helps to align with the group identity, feeling part of the whole. Number six, the participants also had frequent touch points and check-ins.

13:42Shawn Stevenson:The participants posted daily heart rate variability stats, for example, and they attended frequent workouts. And this creates repeated interaction loops that ingrains the group identity even deeper. So the results in this study, seeing again, a 97 % compliance and consistency didn't just happen on accident. It's leveraging very deeply ingrained psychological needs, psychological systems that help us to show up more frequently. So leveraging your social environment is one of the most powerful ways to create automatic consistency in your exercise goals. And it can come in many different forms from group exercise to working out with your significant other or friends or family members to working out with a personal trainer.

14:37Shawn Stevenson:There's a lot of science on that as well. And so much more. Again, cheat code number one is to leverage your social environment. And one of the most profound ways to do that is to simply get ourselves around fit people who are doing fitness related things. Get ourselves in the environment of those type of people that we want to take on those character traits. Be proactive in that. And this phenomenon that we say in our popular culture of things rubbing off on us, this isn't a matter of fitness by osmosis or just kind of picking up the fitness vibes that are coming off of somebody else who's about that fitness life.

15:24Shawn Stevenson:Because Jim Rohn famously said that nobody can do your pushups for you, which is absolutely true. If we don't do the work, We don't get the result. And this is one of the foremost places that this holds true when it comes to our physical health. But Jim Rohn also says that, quote, working together, building together, failing and succeeding together, all while pursuing a common purpose is what relationships are made of, unquote. We were never meant to do this on our own. Leverage the power of our social environment. Now, moving on to cheat code number two on this powerhouse list. If your social environment shapes your behavior, your physical environment might be just as powerful.

16:16Shawn Stevenson:Cheat code number two is to design your physical environment. A study cited in the Journal of Physiotherapy determined that when it comes to exercising consistently, barriers like effort, inconvenience, and complexity are primary drivers of noncompliance, not a lack of knowledge. Again, it isn't that we don't know what to do. Consistency isn't about discipline. It's about removing friction. Behavioral interventions that include prompts, reminders, and environmental cues significantly improve adherence to health behaviors, including physical activity. We want to design our physical environment to promote physical activity to the best of our ability.

17:06Shawn Stevenson:Here are seven ways to make your environment more fitness friendly. Number one, put fitness in plain sight. Put some simple fitness tools in the places you frequently Habitate or walk past. Put some dumbbells next to the couch. This is what my friend and mentor, Dr. Michael Beckwith does. And I was shocked, like I just, I'd never thought about that or seen that before. Another idea is to hang some bands or even a TRX on a door hook. You can put your foam roller in plain sight as well. I've got one right next to my couch. You can put a pull up bar in your doorway. A lot of people have found great success with doing that.

17:46For myself personally, I keep my grip strengtheners right on the arm of my couch for easy access while I'm watching television.

17:55Shawn Stevenson:Remember, visible equals usable. Number two, replace passive furniture with more active options. This can be getting yourself and utilizing a standing desk, utilizing a balance ball or a wobble stool. Wobble, wobble, shake it, shake it. And some people get crazy and implement a walking pad under their desk. There's many different ways to replace passive furniture with more active options. This is a way that we can integrate more physical activity. Number three, create frictionless first steps. Make starting ridiculously easy. Get your workout clothes laid out the night before. so you don't have to think about it.

18:45Shawn Stevenson:Make sure that your gym bag is always packed and visible. Have your water bottle and electrolytes already sitting out and easy to grab and go. These are just a few ideas to create frictionless first steps. This helps to reduce decision fatigue in getting ourselves into the environment to do the fitness related things that we want to do. Number four, use visual cues that prime identity. This can look like having a whiteboard or a big calendar with your workouts being written on there or tracked. This is something that we literally have in our bedroom. This is a newer thing. About a month and a half ago, we got up a calendar that we're utilizing for a fitness challenge that I'm doing along with my wife, and it's been super helpful.

19:36and she's looking at those workout days. And then I have AR days, the active recovery days, where we're still getting in the 10K steps. Maybe we're doing a little sauna or whatever the case might be. But man, one day I swapped the days and she thought it was an AR day and she was pissed. She was like, I thought this is an AR, this active recovery day. What are you talking about? It's like, babe, we gotta, we're traveling, gotta catch a flight. We're gonna flip it. All right, she understood. She still stuck to the program. You know, that calendar is very helpful. and by the way when she was pissed it's more like for me it's kind of like a puss in boots scenario like oh okay you're pissed with your little with your little with your little pause oh my god but again we made the adjustment but having that board up like i finally acknowledge for years i'm my personality type is i'm down i'm down for some fitness like oh you want to go to the park oh you want to go hoop or you want to go this you want to go that oh you want to go for a walk?

20:35Oh, you want to go to the gym? I'm down. For my wife, she wants to know. She likes to have her day planned and mentally know what's coming up. And so I was fighting against that when she would, what I felt to be like turning me down to go for a walk together. All right. She just had other plans, you know? And so by having this mapped out in this shared calendar, this visual thing, her adherence and just knowing what to do and her proact, like she's sometimes ahead of me on getting to like the stage of here, let's go, let's get to our workout today. You know, so it's really amazing and leveraging our psychology together.

21:18So again, this could be a calendar or whiteboard.

21:22Shawn Stevenson:This could be a picture of your goal, physique, or energy or something that relates to that for you. Again, having these visual cues. This is number four, visual cues that prime that identity. Also, a simple note. You can have something that's written. Maybe this is on a sticky note, or maybe this is something bigger that has a positive, affirmative message for you that really resonates with your spirit. For example, it could be something like, you are fitter and healthier every day. Just a reminder note for yourself. And remember, your environment doesn't just cue action, it reinforces identity.

22:01Shawn Stevenson:Number five, reduce distance friction in working out. Choose the closest gym possible and or a gym that you regularly drive past on your commute. You can set up a mini home workout zone. This doesn't mean that you have to have a gym or a garage gym. You can have a space that's just a few feet in your apartment that's dedicated to fitness. Here at our studio, we've got a mat laid out and we've got different fitness tools and little therapy balls and things like that to utilize should anybody want to utilize them. There's a little space reserved for that. And so you can create that anywhere, regardless of whether this is a house or an apartment or even at your office.

22:48In some cases, you don't want to go you know, just willy nilly if you're working at, you know, Saks Fifth Avenue, whatever, like this is the fitness zone. But again, just thinking differently and creating

23:00Shawn Stevenson:an area that is dedicated to your fitness, your home workout fitness zone. Another idea with reducing distance friction is to keep exercise or fitness related equipment in multiple rooms. In my office at home, for example, I have a large red light panel that I utilize when I'm at my standing desk, you know, multiple times a week because it's right there and I could just turn that bad boy on and be able to get those benefits while doing something I was going to do already. I've got some slanted blocks to like do some calf stretching and that kind of stuff. As I mentioned, I've got these fitness tools right by my couch, but keeping equipment in multiple rooms is going to help us to reduce the distance friction.

23:53And remember, the more accessible it is, the more likely it is to get used. Number six, use movement triggers. Attach movement to the things that you're already doing.

24:06Shawn Stevenson:One of my favorite things to recommend is watching TV while sitting on the floor. This gives you instant access to mobility work while doing something that you are going to be doing anyways. Getting these inputs, these nutritious movement inputs is super valuable. This isn't taken away from your TV time. And this is an opportunity for you to do some 90-90 sitting, to get into a resting squat, maybe a kneeling squat. Cross leg sitting, you know, crisscross applesauce, single leg extension where you're just sitting up on your butt. You got one leg extended and one knee pulled towards you. Double leg extension.

24:46Shawn Stevenson:I can go on and on and on, but your body is going to inform you because when you're sitting in a lazy boy, in a lazy boy, the name is right there. It's telling you what it's going to do to you. You don't feel those pressure points that you need to move and fidget and that your body is looking for some movement But sitting on the floor You're going to find comfort in different movements But then eventually your body's going to be fidgety and wanting to move to a different position And within a very short amount of time you just get acclimated. Like I crave Sitting on the floor. I can I would have never thought I would have never Thought that I would be on that type of time.

25:29All right And literally at this moment, my videographer just got up from the stool and got on the floor. All right. You can't make this up. And so for myself personally, we just didn't really roll like that. I didn't grow up like that, where once you got to be of a certain age, you don't get down on the floor. I'm not a child. I'm not an animal. I'm not an animal. All right. Whatever. It's one of the most human things that we can do is sitting on the floor and getting those inputs. You know, those pressure points getting stimulated and activated and driving us to be able to get some great mobility work in.