How to make exercise a habit: Katy Bowman on the knowing gap

To make exercise a habit, plan for an ordinary week instead of your best one. Find a reason that pays off soon, tie one session to a moment that already happens, set a short version for hard days, count sessions per week with a skip or two built in, and write down what you'll do in the slot after a miss. Then give it months.

Katy Bowman knows the starting line well. Bowman runs Nutritious Movement, a movement education company, and came to biomechanics as a physics and math student who was, by Bowman's own account, very sedentary at the time. Bowman's latest book, written with the psychologist Diana Hill, lists 44 reasons people don't move. Its title is the sentence most of us have said at least once: I Know I Should Exercise, But.

On Ten Percent Happier, Dan Harris asked about the common case: you know exercise is good for you and still don't do it. Bowman's answer went straight at the reason most of us are handed. "Health is very tricky. It's not working out as a strong motivator for most people. One, it takes a very long time to pay off" (Ten Percent Happier, 16:49). Something pleasant now usually beats a benefit decades away. (The episode promoted the book.)

In a 2022 systematic review, Ryan Rhodes and colleagues reported that 48% of people who intended to be active didn't follow through, and that in one study the gap was 66% among people beginning, against 29% among people already keeping it up (Rhodes et al., 2022). So the gap is ordinary, and it's widest at the start.

Below, you'll pick a reason that works this week, give one session a fixed place in your day and plan the slot after a miss before it happens. The steps follow three forces the 1h Protocol uses, the Plan, the Gut and the Habit: our map of the research, not a scientific theory.

Start from a reason you feel today

1. Swap "should" for a payoff you'll notice this week

Bowman's way around the slow payoff is to start from what you already care about and connect movement to it. One example from the episode: if you value being productive and notice you work better on days you've moved, the payoff arrives the same day. Another: if you value being of service, pick activity that does both, like a beach cleanup or stacking boxes at a food bank.

Write one line: "When I move, I…" and finish it with something you've noticed within a day, such as sleeping better on walk days, being more patient at dinner or clearing your head after a long meeting. No answer yet? Fill it in after your third session.

There's a second payoff to look for: enjoying it. In a Norwegian study of 250 new gym members who had been exercising less than an hour a week, enjoyment was the strongest predictor of going regularly over the following year, ahead of confidence and support from friends and family (Gjestvang et al., 2021). That's an association, not proof of cause, but it's a good reason to choose the activity you'd pick for fun. Our guide to learning to enjoy exercise goes further.

2. Size the plan for an ordinary week

The same Norwegian study shows how often big starts fade. About half of the 250 members were going regularly, at least twice a week, after three months, and just over a third after a year (Gjestvang et al., 2021). A common reason is a plan built for your best week: five sessions, an hour each, no days off.

Public guidance sets a much lower door. "Any activity is better than none," say the UK Chief Medical Officers, and for people starting from low levels, aiming for at least ten minutes at a time can work as a first goal (UK Chief Medical Officers, 2019). The same report says even one or two sessions a week count. The NHS's 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, plus strength exercises on two days, is a direction to build toward over time (NHS), and never the entry ticket. See do short workouts count for how ten minutes adds up.

So write two versions of your session. The full version is what you'll do on a normal day, for example a 25-minute brisk walk. The short version is what you'll do when the day goes wrong, for example ten minutes around the block. Both count. Set the pace so you can talk but not sing, which is the NHS's rough guide to moderate effort, and stop if anything hurts or you feel unwell.

Before the first session, one check. The NHS suggests speaking to your GP first if you haven't exercised for a while. WHO and US guidance say that for light to moderate activity, like brisk walking, that's generally not needed (WHO; US guidelines). If checking would put your mind at rest, do. Check with a doctor first, then come back to your plan, if you get chest pain, pressure or fainting when active; a pounding, skipping or racing heart, dizziness or unusual breathlessness when active; if you have a heart, kidney or metabolic condition, or another long-term condition or symptoms you're unsure about; if a doctor has told you to limit activity; or after recent surgery, a heart event, an injury or an illness. If you're pregnant or recently gave birth, agree your choices with your midwife or doctor. With a cold or fever, wait until you're better. And if new symptoms show up as you do more, talk to a doctor.

Give the session a place in your day

3. Tie it to a moment you already have

Routines without a set time drift: later, then another day. The part a habit takes over is the start. In a month-long diary study of 123 adults, the habit of starting, set off by a cue, was the only habit that predicted how often people exercised; doing the workout itself out of habit added nothing (Phillips and Gardner, 2016).

So pick a cue that happens every day you plan to move, and write the plan as one sentence: "After I drop the kids at school, I'll walk the long way home." "After my last call, I'll change and go." Our guide to the best time to work out shows how to choose the moment, and implementation intentions covers if-then plans in general.

Expect a modest lift. In a review of 35 trials, planning when and where raised how active people were by a modest amount; plans made face to face had the clearest effect, and plans delivered by phone, email, text or app showed no clear effect. Plans helped more when people went back to them (Peng et al., 2022). So write the plan, then come back to it on fixed days.

4. Make the first two minutes easy

Everything between the cue and moving is friction. Shoes by the door, the bag packed the night before, the route already chosen: each removes a decision at the moment you're most likely to talk yourself out of it. Add a back-up slot for the days the first one is taken, such as "or after dinner".

Build the habit across the misses

5. Count the week, with planned skips

A count of days in a row breaks on the first bad day, and a broken run can make the next session feel pointless. Count sessions per week instead, with a skip or two built in.

In a four-week study, 273 students and staff trying to keep up a daily step goal were split into four groups. People whose goal came with two "emergency" skip days a week met their goal on about four days a week, against about three in the groups without them, and got going again more often the day after a miss (Sharif and Shu, 2021). It was a step goal among mostly young people, so read it as a direction.

If your plan is three sessions a week, write "three, with one planned skip".

6. Write down the slot after a miss

The session that matters most is the one after a gap. In a study of 30,110 members of a North American gym chain, the strongest predictor of whether someone went on a given day was how long it had been since their last visit: for 76% of them, the longer the gap, the less likely they were to go (Buyalskaya et al., 2023). That's a prediction, not proof of cause, but it tells you where to put your effort.

So write one line now, in your own words, for the slot after a miss: "If I miss a session, my next slot is the short version, no catching up." Doubling the next session makes the start bigger just when it needs to be small. If you know a break is coming, a trip or a busy month, write your comeback day before you leave. Our guide to getting back into exercise covers longer gaps.

Then give it time. A 2024 review of habit studies found typical times of about two months (medians of 59 and 66 days), with individuals ranging from 4 days to almost a year; only four of its 20 studies reported a time (Singh et al., 2024). In the gym study, the gym habit typically took months to form, with no "magic number" (Buyalskaya et al., 2023). Forget 21 days. Think months, with a wide range.

Back to the knowing gap

Bowman's point was that knowing exercise is good for you rarely gets you out the door, because the payoff is too far away. The steps move the payoff closer and take the decision out of the moment. Choose your cue tonight and write the sentence down.

To build this around your own week, try the 1h Protocol to Build an Exercise Routine, a program of practical education. Its free first chapter starts with a quick check, asks how your last try went and how it ended, and finds your pattern (one of five, or the Tune-up), with one thing to do tomorrow. The full program takes about an hour: seven chapters show why your last try stopped and what counts, build one session with you from its slot and cue, work on your pattern, plan the slot after a miss and set up your week. You leave with up to three changes to start now, each with an alternative, your line for the slot after a miss, a log that counts the week with planned skips, your slots in your calendar and reviews on days 7, 14 and 30. Four one-tap check-ins follow by email on days 1, 7, 14 and 30, if you're signed in. Start free

Frequently asked questions

How do I make exercise a habit?

Tie one session to a moment that already happens, like "after I drop the kids", set a short version for hard days, count sessions per week with a planned skip, and decide what you'll do in the slot after a miss. Then give it months.

How long does it take for exercise to become a habit?

Usually months, and people vary a lot. A 2024 review found typical times of about two months, with individuals ranging from 4 days to almost a year (Singh et al., 2024), and in a study of 30,110 gym members the gym habit typically took months to form (Buyalskaya et al., 2023). The studies don't support the popular 21 days. See getting back into exercise.

How many times a week should a beginner exercise?

As many as an ordinary week can hold, even if that's one or two. UK guidance says even one or two sessions a week count, and suggests at least ten minutes at a time as a first goal for people starting from low levels (UK Chief Medical Officers, 2019). The NHS's 150 minutes a week of moderate activity and two strength days are a direction to build toward.

Why do I always quit exercising?

It's common, and it's rarely about willpower. Of 250 new gym members in Norway, about half were going regularly after three months and just over a third after a year (Gjestvang et al., 2021). Routines tend to stop in a few typical ways: a plan too big for an ordinary week, no set time, a break with nothing to bring you back, or sessions that feel like a chore. See how to enjoy exercise for the last one.

Do I need to see a doctor before I start?

Advice differs. The NHS suggests speaking to your GP first if you haven't exercised for a while. WHO and US guidance say that for light to moderate activity, like brisk walking, that's generally not needed. If checking would put your mind at rest, do. If you get chest pain or feel faint when active, have a heart, kidney or metabolic condition, or a doctor has told you to limit activity, check with a doctor first, then come back to your plan (NHS; WHO).

Sources

This article draws on Katy Bowman's interview on Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris, and the studies and guidance listed below.

• Why You Don't Exercise Even Though You Know You Should, with Katy Bowman (podcast episode, Ten Percent Happier, YouTube upload, 2026)
• Hill and Bowman, I Know I Should Exercise, But: 44 Reasons We Don't Move and How to Get Over Them (book, publisher's description, 2025)
• Rhodes, Cox and Sayar, What predicts the physical activity intention-behavior gap? (systematic review, 2022)
• Gjestvang et al, What makes individuals stick to their exercise regime? (one-year cohort study, 250 novice members of 25 Norwegian fitness clubs, 2021)
• Phillips and Gardner, Habitual exercise instigation (vs. execution) predicts healthy adults' exercise frequency (one-month diary study, 123 adults, 2016)
• Peng et al, The effectiveness of planning interventions for improving physical activity in the general population (meta-analysis, 35 randomized trials, 2022)
• Sharif and Shu, Nudging persistence after failure through emergency reserves (four-week field study, 273 students and staff, plus lab studies, 2021)
• Buyalskaya et al, What can machine learning teach us about habit formation? (observational study, 30,110 members of a North American gym chain, 2023)
• Singh et al, Time to form a habit (systematic review and meta-analysis, 20 studies, 2024)
• UK Chief Medical Officers, Physical activity guidelines (government guideline, 2019, updated 2026)
• NHS, Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64 (health information page, 2024)
• World Health Organization, Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour (guideline, 2020)
• US Department of Health and Human Services, Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (guideline, 2018)