Easy ways to build high performance exercise habits - and make it stick

Think about your work life. “Taking time each day to get your mind into neutral with some relaxation is good mental hygiene, like brushing your teeth for the mind.” In accelerate-and-reverse mode, you’re operating from your fight-or-flight response, governed by your sympathetic nervous system which helps you get things done but also releases stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. “You’re letting the parasympathetic nervous system take over for a while, which is the rest and digest part of your mind that helps you recharge, renew and get energised,” he says. “In time, that increases your ‘intrinsic’ or in-built motivation to repeat it.” open image in gallery You can’t think your way fitter, slimmer or smarter. Connect to the after-effect “Thinking about the positive end-state you get from something that’s difficult is known as intrinsic reward,” says McKee.