Let’s talk about the often overlooked basics of health and fitness that make the most impact in our daily lives.
If I had a centavo for every time I get the question of “What do you think about (insert fad diet,
workout trend, new biohack here)?”, then I would be a rich man now. Too often do people look
for a way to lose weight, gain muscle, and even feel and look younger, in frankly the wrong
places.
We are always looking for the fastest and easiest way. That’s why drugs like ozempic
and wegovy are all the rage which has led to a shortage as well as a spike in prices. Too bad
for those people with diabetes who actually need it, when people who just want to lose some
excess weight are hoarding these drugs. But it’s the lure of the quick and easy, and it’s never
going to disappear.
Not that it’s completely wrong. If there was a safe and legitimate way to aid in weight loss
especially for the morbidly obese, then it should be promoted. Obesity is a worldwide problem
that needs immediate attention. Any help we can give those people who suffer from it should
be maximized. However, the fact of the matter is the majority of individuals around the world
will not have access to these drugs, while some cannot afford it.
If only there was something else that we can do to get healthy and fit. Right?
Ok. Let’s be honest. You guys probably know already most of what I call the first principles of
health and fitness. But maybe because it’s not novel, hip, and exciting, we tend to take them
for granted. We hear about a celebrity taking ozempic, or somebody going on the latest fad
diet and we tend to gravitate to those headlines. We forget that most of the stuff you read
online are like sand in the jar of life.
If you don’t know the metaphor yet, the jar of life is a way of looking at the important things
that you should focus on. In that jar are big rocks, pebbles, and sand. The big rocks make up
the most important things in life. The things that really matter. This might be different from
person to person, but to me, my big rocks are my family, my wife, my kids, my friends, my
health, and my passions like fitness and exercise, training people, and sports. Now these big
rocks make up the most of the space in my jar of life. In fact, if you look at the jar it seems full.
But there’s still some space in there.
That’s where the pebbles come in. Stuff that’s important but not something that I can’t live
without. They still give meaning to my life but if I lose them, I’m still okay because the big rocks
are still there. To me, that’s my job, and my hobbies like building Lego sets and playing golf. I
can lose them and I’ll be sad, but I’ll be okay at the end of the day.
Then finally there’s the sand that takes up the rest of the space in the jar. This represents
things that are the least important. For me these are material possessions like shoes (which
honestly can be pebbles to me in this metaphor), clothes, and keeping up with the latest trends
that are inconsequential to me.
The idea is that you want to fill your jar with the big rocks first and make sure that they are in
there before you can find space for your pebbles and finally your sand. If you do it the other
way around and put sand and pebbles in first, you might lose touch of what really matters,
because there’s no space anymore for those big rocks.
I apply the same metaphor to fitness and health. Too often we spend much of our time thinking
about the pebbles and sand, when we forget about the big rocks which are the most
meaningful and impactful in fitness.
Principles of fitness
These are the first principles of fitness: Purposeful Physical Activity, Increasing Daily N.E.A.T., Proper Nutrition, Ample Sleep, and Stress Management.
Purposeful Physical Activity is any form of exercise that is planned and consistent. We all have our own biases when it comes to exercise activities. Some like lifting, some like yoga, some like to dance, some like to box.
When it comes to exercise though, my recommendations are these: Have an activity that is cardiovascular-centric, and have another that is muscular-centric.
Now my colleagues in coaching and sport science might say “What are you talking about?!
Exercise involves both your cardiovascular system, and muscles!” Relax. We’re not in a
classroom. I’m simply saying that have one that challenges and improves your cardio more
(think heart and lungs), and one that develops muscle strength, size (if you want that), and
functionality.
This Purposeful Physical Activity should be 6 out of 7 days of the week. I follow world-
renowned exercise scientist, author, and back expert Stu McGill’s advice in scheduling these
days. You have a strength day (think lifting or calisthenics), you have a cardio day (jog, swim,
bike, etc.), you have a mobility day (stretch, yoga, dance, even box), then repeat for the next 3
days. That way you hit all components of fitness consistently throughout the week.
Next is N.E.A.T which stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis. This is the energy
expended for the things that we do daily that isn’t purposeful exercise, eating, or sleeping. The
idea is simple. If you exercise 30 minutes a day but sit around for the rest of the day, it’s not
enough to be holistically healthy and well. We need to stay mobile as much as we can. The
easiest way is to walk more. The 10,000 steps rule has been used over and over again but if
that seems like a daunting task, start by increasing your step count by a thousand per day for a
whole week. Then increasing it by a thousand again for the following week until you get close
to that 10,000 step goal.
Then there’s proper nutrition. Working out is easy compared to being mindful of what we eat.
Here’s the thing: if you look at all fad diets, they have one thing in common: calorie control or
restriction. When we talk about the quantity of food, it’s really knowing the amount of calories
you need to maintain weight and then go below or above that depending on what your goal is.
In terms of quality of food, the simplest rule to follow is to eat REAL food.
This means trying your best to eat non-processed food most of the time. It’s never going to be all the time, and not all processed food is bad. Just look at whey protein. But just because both whey protein and a bag of chips are processed, doesn’t mean they are equal. Let’s use common sense here.
Now if you thought eating right is hard, sleeping right might be harder for some people. This is
due to the countless distractions we have in our lives now compared to the past. Screens are
just everywhere to be seen and it seems harder and harder to slow down and get a good
night’s sleep.
However, even if the world has changed, our bodies have stayed the same. We
still need a good 8 hours of sleep to function optimally in life. There are things that you can do
to help here which is what we call sleep hygiene. There are a few things you can try. Keeping
your bedroom as free of distractions as possible is one. Making your bedroom dark and cozy
and keeping the temperature cool is another. And having a fixed sleeping schedule is also
good. Remember as well that not only do we need 8 hours of sleep, we have to try our best to
do it between the hours of 10pm-6am because that’s when our body recovers the most.
(Sidenote: This is an example of having the knowledge doesn’t necessarily equate to being able
to practice that knowledge. My wife will be the first one to point out that I have awful sleep
hygiene and I admit it’s something I need to work on.)
Finally, there’s stress management. We all go through stress in life. It’s inevitable and
sometimes even important since from that stress comes adaptation both in a physical sense,
as well as in a mental/emotional sense. But having too much stress is also not good. This is
where balance in life is important. We all have ways to manage our stress levels so I’m not
going to tell you that one way is better than the other. But as long as we have a way (and it’s
legal) to manage stress on a consistent and sustainable basis, then we are generally healthier
as well.
Those are the first principles. The big rocks in your jar of health, fitness, and wellness so to
speak. Make sure that you fill your jar up with these big rocks before you start thinking about
the little things. Like diet pills, laxative teas, and even supplements.
And please. Stop asking me if you can burn 400 calories in 4 minutes. That doesn’t even
belong in the jar.
Banner Image from VD Photography/Unsplashed.