Behaviors

In training paradigms, pull a joystick back away from foods you should avoid to create psychological distance, and move it forward toward foods you should eat, such as broccoli, to reinforce approach behavior.

Use aversive imagery to reduce desire for tempting foods; example given was imagining a cockroach crawling across cake.

When resisting temptation, focus on immediate downsides of indulging rather than only long-term outcomes; example: think about the sugar crash you would experience after eating cake.

When initiation is the hardest part, use a tiny first step such as simply putting on workout clothes to get started.

For the last rep or final minute of a hard effort, grit your teeth and push through using willpower.

Use gains- and advancement-oriented motivation for offense-like tasks, and safety-, security-, and loss-prevention-oriented motivation for defense-like tasks.

Maintain an unbroken streak or repeated pattern because the pattern itself can become motivating above and beyond the original goal.

Use designated time windows for social media rather than unrestricted access.

Pair exercise with something enjoyable to improve adherence over time; example given was listening to your favorite music while on the treadmill.

Writing thoughts can support emotion regulation and motivation by externalizing them and creating distance.

Music that evokes nostalgia may help create self-continuity and reconnect you to who you were and who you've become.

Build in breaks rather than staying relentlessly goal-directed all the time.

For social anxiety, do the feared social behavior in real life rather than imagining or simulating it; the goal is exposure to the actual situation so beliefs about others can update.

Use asking others for help as an exposure exercise if worried about rejection; the point is to learn that acceptance is more common than expected.

Essential for improving posture, rear delts, and general shoulder stability.

Lie on your side and do a leg raise down and back while holding pressure on the glute medius pressure point to relieve spasm/discomfort and restore normal motion.

Continue to train around aches, pains, and injuries rather than stopping entirely; stopping accelerates decline. If free-weight pressing hurts, use a machine press; if you cannot press at all, use rowing as an alternative to keep the joint moving and trained.

Stand on the leg furthest from the wall, let the hips drop, then slide yourself back toward the wall to level the pelvis; targets glute medius.

Can be done anywhere, including on a bed in the morning with torso supported and legs hanging off. Raise heels/legs to near parallel, hold briefly at the top, and consciously squeeze the glutes so the glutes—not low-back arching—do the work.

Use a mini band around the heels while lying prone with knees bent to 90 degrees to train hip rotation. Open the feet apart for one variation, or hold one leg steady and cross the other over for external rotation; also train internal rotation against resistance.

Attach a band around the ankle and do lateral hip swings with a rotational component against resistance. Use toe direction as a cue: toe out means hip out, toe in means hip in, with knee and foot moving together.

Tie a weight between the legs with a rope/leash and walk slowly without letting the weight swing into the feet; progress by moving faster while minimizing displacement.

Do a lunge while holding weight on one side only, opposite the forward leg, to resist falling toward the weight and strengthen the opposite glute medius while training multiple planes.

Recommended as direct low-back strengthening; can be done face inward on a hyperextension setup.

Do ab/core training separately as its own focused session rather than as an afterthought at the end of a workout; example given is 5–10 minutes.

For problem areas, do a separate small routine on its own day or at a separate time, about 5–7 minutes around 3 times per week. If done on a training day, place smaller focused exercises after bigger training so they do not compromise big lifts and so dominant muscles are pre-fatigued.

Every day, put socks and shoes on while standing on one foot at a time without sitting down; only put the foot down after the shoe is tied. Used as a balance, hip strength, ankle mobility, lumbar paraspinal, and low-back control test/training drill.

Hold a side plank, then raise the top leg about 45 degrees and try to hold even 30 seconds; tests and trains lateral pillar and underside glute medius strength.

For athletes and recreational sport participants, focus most strength and conditioning on overall balanced bilateral strengthening rather than replicating sport motions in the weight room. Stick to core lifts and let skill work be skill work.

Whenever possible, perform movements standing rather than seated to train the body more like an athlete and in more functional positions.