Los Gatos Personal Trainers On The 1% Rule: How Small Changes Lead to Big Results

The self-help gurus like to tell us that getting just 1% better every day brings big changes over time.

As “Atomic Habits” author James Clear says, “Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.”

Tiny improvements add up. See how much in just a year. Over your lifetime, you are the result of what you do consistently, even if it doesn’t seem like you’re advancing day to day.

So, how do you do it? 

First, get your mindset wrapped around the idea. Too often, our Los Gatos Personal Trainers meet people who want to get healthy RIGHT NOW.

• “I want to lose 20 pounds NOW”
• “I want to stop eating all junk food NOW”
• “I want to go to the gym every day NOW”

Well, if you’ve ever tried it, you know that just doesn’t work. It’s too much. You fail, feel miserable about yourself, and double-down on negative behavior.

So, try thinking like this instead.

• “I will adopt eating and exercise habits to reach my healthy weight at a healthy pace.”
• “I will make a healthy choice when I want to eat junk food – just once a day to start with, and build on it gradually.”
• “I will try to move my body meaningfully just about every day, slowly increasing length and intensity.”

We bet these sound more realistic – and more achievable. Don’t they?

You lower your expectations to INCREASE your results. As Clear says:

“If you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done. Conversely, if you get 1 percent worse each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero. What starts as a small win or a minor setback accumulates into something much more.”

Here are some practical tips from Psychology Today:

• It takes you 40 minutes to get ready for work. That's 2400 seconds. A 1% improvement would be 24 seconds. You realize you could achieve that by keeping all your lunch-making supplies in the same cupboard, rather than needing to open three.

• You're trying to curb overeating. You decide to permanently keep a 1/3-cup measure in your oatmeal container so that you can easily scoop that amount, without accidentally overdoing it. This is an example of doing something once and gaining the benefit repeatedly. 

• You run on the treadmill at the gym with no incline. You decide to put the incline up one increment. This is an example of changing something repeatedly over time. It’s easier to create those that you need to set up just once, but these are positive, as well.

Maybe this all comes down to a proverb we were told as children: Slow and steady wins the race.

It’s still true!

Committed to Your Success,