This week’s podcast episodes are all about habits: how to make them, why we break them and what makes them an important piece of our lives. First, Peloton instructor and Fitness Flipped host Tunde Oyeneyin teams up with social psychologist Wendy Wood, a professor at the University of Southern California and author of Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick, to find out how to, well, make a habit stick. “92 percent of people who make fitness resolutions usually drop out after six months,” Tunde notes. “But 96 percent of Peloton Members are still crushing it after a full year. I have to, in my gut, attribute that to it being this idea of a habit.”
Tunde then checks in with fellow Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby to discuss the role habits play in his life—both the good ones and the not-so-good. He also shares his appreciation for the supportive Peloton Member community and how privileged he feels that they’ve made him a part of their workout habit.
Finally, Tunde hears from Member Michael Smith (#SmittyTheGreat), whose high fives constantly light up the Leaderboard. “If you're on that Bike, and you’re a #PelotonTeacher or #PelotonDad or any of the hashtags I follow, I will high five you because you're trying to do something to better yourself,” he says. The father of two young boys and a high school English teacher, Michael is also a dedicated rider and runner. He talks to Tunde about how healthy fitness habits can help influence the next generation to have healthy habits too.
How to Make a Habit Stick
To increase your chances of making a healthy habit stick, Wood says two things need to happen: The first is to figure out how to make it easy. The second is to make it fun. “Unless you can figure out some way to make it fun, feel proud about it, or make it into a game, you're probably not going to do it enough, no matter how important it is to you, because that's just not how we're wired,” she explains.
Finding Joy in Your Habits
The reward, no matter how small, is what motivates Cody to keep some of his best habits—including making his bed each day and brushing his teeth before every class he teaches. “I noticed the joy that those tasks bring into my life,” he tells Tunde. “Like today, I made sure to make my bed, and I’m just looking at the bed like, ‘Oh, this brings me joy.’ I think it's like really finding the joy in the things that feel like tasks or boxes to check.”
After Cody and Tunde confess their worst habits to each other (tune in to see what they are!), the pair make a plan to start a new habit together: not checking their phones for at least 30 minutes after they wake up each morning.
The Importance of Accountability
As Tunde discusses with Michael, her final guest of the week, having an accountability buddy puts you on the path to success. It can be someone with the same goal, like Cody in the no-phone challenge or someone who isn’t trying to build the same habit but is invested in you. For Michael, who lives in California, it’s his two sons, ages 3 and age 5.
“When I feel myself getting tired or unfocused, the boys do bring me back,” Michael explains. “They always want to come and check after a ride, ‘Papa, did you get a PR?’ If I get one, they lose their mind. They jump and scream. And if I don't get one, they say, ‘It's okay, Papa. Try again later.’ They're learning if you do your best or you give your best, that's what matters.”
The Weekly Challenge
Tunde challenges listeners to do one new thing that they’ve always wanted to make a part of their life three times this week. Maybe it’s ignoring your phone for 30 minutes in the morning, making your bed or getting your workouts in—or maybe it’s something different. Share your progress on your habit-in-the-making by tagging @Tune2Tunde and @OnePeloton and use hashtag #FitnessFlipped.