The 60 Second Habit That Can Turn You Into an Exerciser For Life (Used by the Busiest of CEOs, Olympians, and More) #TinyHabitFriday

As a busy parent (or maybe you’re an entrepreneur or even CEO), you’ve said it:

I don’t have time to exercise.

And maybe you really believe it.

But maybe you also know that it’s really important, and you’ve heard how much it can make you feel better during the day.

I mean, studies have even suggested that it can work better than antidepressants – a LOT better.

But doing it? Ehh…

Brian Grasso is an expert on mindset – especially that of elite athletes, Olympians, etc. – but when it came time to coach CEOs he encountered the same narrative: I don’t have time.

In today’s video I’m going to show you how he used a 60 second habit – the handshake technique – to turn even the busiest CEOs into regular exercisers.

Olympians, Busy CEOs, and Flipping The Switch

How To Turn Yourself Into an Exerciser… Even if You Swear It’s Impossible

Brian grasso is one of the top fitness and mindset coaches in the world – having worked with Olympians and national athletes, people who are the creme de le creme – the top 1% of the top 1%.

And he spotted something different in the top 1% of those people – the way they viewed their own game, their improvements, the grind and the struggle.

So don’t forget we’re talking the top 1% of the already top 1%. Everyone that walked in the door was a top performer.

But he noticed that a smaller slice of this population was still doing something different.

The top people complained less, had more positive self talk, viewed themselves as capable of getting to the top and in general they seemed to have better control over their minds.

The people below them complained more and doubted themselves, which clouded their own vision and abilities.

After he noticed this, and after getting hooked on studying the mindset differences, he ran into another problem when coaching busy CEOs to get fitter: they knew it’d improve their performance, but they had a list of excuses a mile long.

He heard the same old excuse (an entirely valid excuse for a CEO), that I don’t have time for this.

So he decided to try something different: rather than setting them up with an entire workout regime, a diet plan, etc, he knew this was an issue that originated in their minds.

He told them to come to the gym at 6:30 am sharp, with their gym bag, and once they got into the gym, he’d shake their hands and tell them the workout was done for the day.

In case you missed that, let me repeat it: he’d shake a CEOs hand, then tell him/her to leave.

That was the workout.

Now if you’re a sane person, this looks borderline neurotic – and you can imagine how pissed off a CEO might be. But there was subtle magic being worked here.

Brian knew that until the CEO had proved (in his own mind) that he wasn’t too busy for this, he’d never show up consistently to workout.

Over a period of weeks of doing this (weeks of just showing up on time, shaking Brian’s hand, and then leaving), some of them figured, “Eh, I’m here anyway, might as well get a quick workout in.”

And RIGHT THERE is where the magic happened.

Once they regularly got in a small workout, it was easier to just make it a bigger workout.

And once the internal battle had been won, “Okay, I’m not too busy for this” it was a piece of cake.

The Power of Psychologically Flipping The Switch

Usually when we find it impossible to stick with a health habit, there’s an underlying psychological reason for it.

This is something I call the “homer simpson effect” – psychologically, we can tell ourselves we really don’t have time.

But sometimes once we just show up, we pass over that line.

There’s an invisible line in the subconscious when we go from telling ourselves the story, “I don’t have time because I’m busy” to realizing “Okay, maybe I have a few minutes.”

And once we realize we can do a few minutes it’s REALLY easy to add “just a few more minutes.”

This comes back to that entire inner game thing I always talk about here.

So if you’re really struggling with this, I want to challenge you this week:

Whatever you’ve set aside, whether it’s the gym, walking, yoga, or some home workout… If you just AREN’T doing it, despite saying you will, LITERALLY walk by it.

Roll out the yoga mat… then roll it up.

That’s your workout for a week.

Drive to the gym… and then drive by it.

That’s your cardio for the week.

If you go for walks, walk to the end of your driveway… then walk back into the house.

That’s your walk for the week.

I’m saying LITERALLY use these as your workout, until that psychological line, “okay it’s not that much time” is passed.

This is something I’m call the “handshake technique” – because it was the power of the handshake to cross that psychological threshold that made CEOs realize they could afford to do this.

Your Tiny Habit For Today – Procrastination Secret Sauce

Today’s tiny habit is simple – so simple, that you can choose to avoid it, or you can actually DO it (even though it only takes a few minutes)  – and that’s where the magic happens.

If you find yourself consistently procrastinating with exercise, then scale down the commitment – to something as little as a handshake in the gym.

Roll out the yoga mat… then roll it up.

Walk to the mailbox… and then call that your walk.

These actions are so small that anyone can do it – but will you?

– Alex

Previous #TinyHabitFriday Sessions

• Addicted to Soda? Use This One Simple Habit to Quit (For Life) 
• How to Psychologically Trick Yourself Into Meditating by Using the “Linking” Method
• The Really, Ridiculously Simple Guide to Creating The Habit of Drinking More Water