Visualization of the “333” Movement Contract: A Preliminary Attempt

Original link: https://taiwan.chtsai.org/2022/09/11/333_yundong_qiyue/

The first step in building an exercise habit is to make an exercise contract with yourself. “333” is the most basic: at least three times a week, at least 30 minutes each time, and a heart rate of 130 beats. I haven’t seen the wearable device implement this contract, so let me try to make a visual prototype.

The basic structure of three concentric circles is inspired by the Apple Watch’s perfect circle, but with different meanings. The outer circle and the middle circle are each divided into three pieces, and the inner circle is one piece, and each area represents a day. From the outside to the inside, every day of exercise fills up a piece. As shown in the following animation:

Since I’m a longtime Garmin user, here’s how it works in Garmin’s vocabulary:

Reset to zero at the beginning of each week.
Every day the exercise meets the standard, fill in one box in sequence (fill in the first box for the first exercise of the week). A total of 50 minutes of warm blood time on the day is considered to be up to the standard. Fill in only one box no matter how much exercise you do that day.
When the outer circle is filled (on three days of the current week), it is considered to meet the standard for the week. It also means that at least 150 minutes of warm blood time have been accumulated.
The middle circle and the inner circle only continue to reflect the number of days that the exercise reaches the standard in the week (if the exercise exceeds three days), and does not affect the judgment of whether the exercise meets the standard in the current week. The main threshold is still the outer ring, at least three days.
Of course, the implementation can be a little more delicate. What I’m sharing is just a very rough prototype.
This should be the built-in interface for Garmin wearables. Otherwise, use Connect IQ plus gadgets.

The following explains why “333” is important.

Garmin’s current exercise contract is to “reach a certain number of warm-blooded hours per week (the default is 150)” in units of weeks, which is not suitable for establishing good exercise habits. For example, weekend warriors (people who don’t exercise on weekdays and who exercise crazy on weekends) may be able to reach the target in one day.

And the Apple Watch is a bit too much to draw circles every day. A good sports contract takes the worst case scenario into consideration: reaching the target even when very busy, sick or injured. That said, it should be a low bar: it keeps you from getting frustrated by not being able to hit a high bar for some weeks.

So at least three days a week is better than one day and better than seven days. You have more flexibility. And by doing it a few days a week, a moderate amount every day, and exercising more often, the easier it is for you to develop a habit. There is also a better balance between training and rest.

Further reading