8 Practical Habits to Improve Your Fitness Lifestyle
These little daily habits will help gain better results
Better health is forever at the top of people's lists. It doesn’t have to just start on January 1 of every year. Better health should always be something that you work toward. And taking the first step is one of the most important toward your fitness journey.
“Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don’t be afraid to take that first step” — Mohammad Ali
When it comes to the fitness lifestyle (yes, it’s a lifestyle), the time we spend exercising and working out tends to be the primary focal point, and it shouldn’t be. For some, it’s just a check-off box on their daily to-do list. Unfortunately, there tends to be too much focus on that one hour when you’re actually working out, and an underemphasis on the other 23 hours of the day.
“Workout done for the day, box is checked… moving right along”.
What happens during those other 23 hours of your day is vital to your success and outcomes on your fitness journey and goals. A lot can happen in just 23 short hours!
People tend to not plan or prepare ahead of time for their workouts. There's no macro tracking or meal prepping. There’s no routine.
If there is a plan, it’s usually only within the 30–45 minutes prior to the workout itself. This planning typically involves shoving some kind of protein drink, snack, or supplement quickly down your throat. Then just go work out.
Whether you know it or not, what you do in the time leading up to your workout, as well as after, can directly impact the workout itself and the results you achieve.
If you’re looking to improve your fitness routine, reach your goals quicker, and set yourself up for success, these 8 habits will tremendously benefit your fitness routine, if you want to improve the quality of your workouts.
1. Sleep
Sleep is so grossly underrated. Most of humanity is sleep-deprived. And by sleep-deprived, we’re talking less than 6 hours of poor quality sleep.
Sleep is vital to a healthy and active lifestyle. Sleep is the time when our body is trying to recover from all the stress of the day. Sleep is an essential component to gaining muscle, losing fat, and being healthy.
Like most habits, developing a sleep routine takes continuous practice. There are a few very simple things you can do to help your sleep efforts.
One powerful thing to do is to stop looking at your phone, tablet, or computer at least 2 hours before going to bed. The blue light emitted from phones and electronic devices have a profound effect on our quality of sleep. It also affects the sleep hormone, melatonin, which in turn affects the circadian rhythm.
The brainiacs at Harvard health state:
“While light of any kind can suppress the secretion of melatonin, blue light at night does so more powerfully. Harvard researchers and their colleagues conducted an experiment comparing the effects of 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light to exposure to green light of comparable brightness. The blue light suppressed melatonin for about twice as long as the green light and shifted circadian rhythms by twice as much (3 hours vs. 1.5 hours)”.
Blue light throws off the circadian rhythm. The Harvard researchers go on to say that “exposure to light suppresses the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that influences circadian rhythms. Even dim light can interfere with a person’s circadian rhythm and melatonin secretion”.
Circadian rhythm is the natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Chances are when you’re staying awake and reading on your electronic device before falling asleep, you’re throwing your circadian rhythm out of sorts and you won’t get restful sleep.
Stop scrolling, and you’ll improve your sleep. And when you improve your quality of sleep (truly resting and allowing your body to reach deep REM levels), you’ll feel rested, rejuvenated, and like you can tackle the day and your workout with loads of energy.
2. Nutrition
This is the cornerstone. This is foundational. Good nutrition is vital for a productive and healthy lifestyle. Honestly, this can’t be emphasized enough.
Good nutrition is how you effectively fuel the body for your life. If you put good fuel in (whole foods, complete proteins, complex carbs, healthy fats), you‘ll have the necessary energy to power through your day and workouts. If you put in bad fuel (fast food, refined and processed items), you’ll get lackluster energy, brain fog, and substandard results.
You can’t put in bad fuel and get amazing results. You can’t eat junk food and binge on sugary things and expect the body of an athlete to emerge. If you do… please tell me how; inquiring minds want to know.
Just like you can’t take in negative information and expect to get positive thoughts or outcomes. It doesn’t work that way. Your input determines your output (mindset, food, actions, words, etc.).
Many people overlook the importance of nutrition going into their workouts. If you don’t fuel up before you get your sweat on, you’ll most likely hit a brick wall every time. You can do more harm than good if you don’t eat properly. And because you’re running on fumes while trying to workout, your strength and power are both compromised.
Improper nutrition can cause you to feel sluggish and tired. Mentally, you may feel completely unmotivated. This is all a result of not properly fueling your body for the work ahead.
To make sure you’re properly fueled up and ready to go, a good habit to get into is eating about 60 to 90 minutes before your workout. In that meal, try incorporating some complex carbohydrates with a complete protein source.
Consuming a complete protein source with a complex carbohydrate together will help give your body the proper nutrients needed for your workout. It’ll help minimize the amount of muscle tissue being broken down for energy so you can perform at your best.
What’s considered a complete protein source?
A complete protein source contains all nine of the essential amino acids the body needs, but can’t create on its own. Therefore, these must be obtained through food or supplementation.
3. Hydration
Don’t just drink caffeinated beverages or energy drinks casually throughout your day. For one, it’s not good, and two, it’s not practical. There are so many drinks readily available on the market that label and list all the right “buzzwords” to make you think you are putting in good fluids that are required for your workout.
Gatorade comes to my mind as an example. This article gives a beautiful breakdown of the very popular sports drink. I am not for or against Gatorade, but just using it here as an example.
The author of the article, Chrissy Carroll, who is a Registered Dietician, states: “most people (even those who exercise regularly) do not exert themselves at a level that requires a sports drink. Once you pass over an hour of strenuous exercise, research has shown that providing carbohydrates for energy improves performance. If you’re exercising for less than an hour, though, plain water is all you need”.
You need water. Simple H2O. Nothing more, nothing less.
Water is needed for so many basic physiological and biological functions. Here are just a few important ways that water works in the body:
- it protects body organs and tissues
- it carries nutrients and oxygen to cells
- it lubricates joints
- it lessens the burden on the kidneys and liver by flushing out waste products and toxins
- it regulates body temperature
- it regulates hormones
- it provides moisture to soft tissues
These are just some basic functions of water in the human body.
How much water should you consume? It depends.
It depends on your weight, gender, workout goals, and the intensity of your workouts.
But a general rule of thumb is to consume at least 100–120 ounces of water each day. Drink water throughout the day, not just right before or after your workout.
Being well hydrated with water can help with proper muscle function, mental clarity, fighting off fatigue, and preventing muscle cramps.
4. Supplementation
There are so many types, brands, and ways to get supplementation for your workouts. There’s a whole industry dedicated solely to fitness supplementation. Some are based on science. Some are not. Be careful what you choose.
There is a time and a place for supplementation: Pre and post-workouts.
Supplements are intended to get some extra fuel in the body prior to a workout. Supplements are not intended to replace any complete meals. It’s not enough to eat just a protein bar for lunch and call that a complete meal (although marketing and advertising will have you believe otherwise). That’s both ridiculous and unsustainable. You need real food for meals. By meals, I’m talking breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Supplements should be taken at least 30–60 minutes prior to a workout and within the hour following a workout. Timing is part of the process to achieve the results you want.
If you are consuming simple carbohydrates for your pre-workout, eat up to 30 minutes before your workout. Simple carbs will give you a quick burst of energy. If you are consuming complex carbohydrates for your pre-workout, eat up to 60 minutes before your workout. Complex carbohydrates take longer to digest and process. It will provide sustained energy without spiking your blood glucose levels.
Pre-workout supplements are intended to prime your body for better performance. Post-workout supplements are intended to help the recovery phase.
The recovery phase is vital. In the recovery phase, you’ve most likely used all your glycogen reserves in your muscles. The recovery phase is actually where muscle magic happens (not at the gym). What you put into your body immediately after intense training can make or break your results.
You’ve probably heard for years to drink protein immediately after your workout, but that’s only a small piece of the puzzle (I know I heard this as well). The truth is that protein post-workout is only a small component of what your body actually needs for proper recovery. Protein is just a piece of the puzzle.
Glycogen is your body’s carbohydrate store that serves as your body’s battery. Glycogen reserves are used first, as it provides the energy needed to power through your workouts.
Weight training and intense workouts severely deplete the glycogen stores and drains your proverbial battery. So your glycogen stores need to be replenished in the recovery phase.
You should always consume a fast absorbing carbohydrate that spikes your insulin levels to replenish the depleted glycogen stores and to take full advantage of the proteins you are taking. Your body naturally wants to restore glycogen reserves first, before it utilizes protein. You can’t fix or change this process, as it’s already hardwired into the body’s biological mechanisms.
Proper recovery creates an optimal environment for muscle growth and development, as well as sustained energy and less muscle fatigue postworkout.
5. Mindset
“Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right” — Henry Ford
What kind of information are you taking in? Are you listening to anything and everyone, or are you being selective with the information you receive?
Most people give up on maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle because they’re programmed to believe from the early stages of their efforts with the word “diet”. They believe if they lose those 50 pounds, they’ve reached their goal and destination. They fail to realize that they must now continually work to maintain those same habits and routines so the lost weight doesn’t come roaring back with a vengeance.
Just like nutrition is the cornerstone of a fitness lifestyle, mindset is one of the foundational building blocks as well. Your input determines your output. You can’t get something positive by continually thinking negatively.
No one said or promised that engaging in a fitness lifestyle was going to be easy (because it’s truly not). Usually, when the going gets tough and life gets challenging, that’s most people's cue to throw in the towel and give up. They convince themselves by the mountain of excuses continually running through the mind. They mentally break and cave. They want easy and convenient, and not doing the tough work.
Spoiler alert: rebuilding your body composition and engaging in a fitness lifestyle is not a destination. It’s an ongoing effort that requires mental toughness and going against the societal norms that have programmed your thinking over the years. Practically everything we’ve been taught about health and nutrition from youth is actually wrong… on so many levels.
What do you see more of on TV: fast food, convenience, and sugar-laced products or healthy, whole foods from organic farming? Certainly not the farming.
You have to be okay on some level to practice courage and say “No” to a lot of things. Most people won’t understand your goals or desire to make a lifestyle change, even those in your support system. And that’s okay. They don’t need to understand. Only you need to understand. They can’t do the work, only you can do the work.
It’s mentally hard at first because you’re used to eating and doing certain things. Most likely you’ve fallen into some sort of pattern, routine or habit… and that can be terribly difficult to break and change! True transformation is hard work. And that transformation begins when you shift your mindset.
By giving yourself permission to break out of those old routines and habits, to make decisions for your health, and to do what’s not exactly easy, you empower yourself to make better choices and decisions for your lifestyle. And you never know, you may empower someone else in the process.
It takes a determined mindset, perseverance, and some mental toughness to break through the daily bombardment of media messages when it comes to nutrition and fitness. We all want better nutrition, but hey… you’re in a hurry and the dollar menu at some fast-food restaurant is more convenient than taking time to plan and prep your meals and macros. Saying no to the dollar menu will take a mindset shift. But you’ll feel better when you do!
Stop the endless rant of excuses. Do what’s hard, and not what’s easy. And don’t sell yourself short of the fitness lifestyle you want to embrace. When you transform your mind, your body will have no choice but to follow suit.
6. Warming Up
Don’t work out with a cold body. You must prepare your muscles for the work ahead. If you don’t warm up before you go on a run, you will pay a price and it will be a painful one. If you don’t warm up before you begin your weight lifting session, you may actually hurt yourself.
A warmup is crucial to a good workout or exercise session. Warming up gradually ramps up your cardiovascular system by raising your body temperature and increasing blood flow and oxygen to your muscles. Warming up may also help reduce muscle soreness and lessen your risk of injury.
I recently spoke to a very dear friend of mine who experienced this issue. She told me she was powerwalking her way to a yoga session. In her powerwalking, she felt she stepped the wrong way and felt a pang in her leg. She didn’t think anything of it and continued to her planned session.
After yoga, the pain was noticeably worse. Eventually, she was having difficulty walking. The pain became so bad she thought she tore something in her leg. I asked her if she warmed up or stretched before her powerwalk or doing yoga, and she said no.
After some troubleshooting and her telling me the insane level of pain she was experiencing in her thigh and pelvic region, I told her that she most likely strained and angered her hip flexor muscles (yes, muscles tend to get “angry” when we don’t properly warm them up). I told her that while stretching sounds counterproductive and might be painful at first, it's necessary to perform in order to break the muscle free of its tense state.
I sent her as much information as I could about the hip flexor muscles, as well as some targeted stretches she could do. I also told her to follow up with her medical provider. I gave her some other comfort measures she could incorporate like massage and trigger points, as well as heat and ice therapy.
She heeded my advice, and within a few days of stretching the pain and discomfort began to subside. Soon she’ll be back to her routine of swimming.
It doesn’t matter the level of activity you’re performing. You may think walking and yoga are so mild that you don’t need to warm up. But truth be told, it still needs to be performed.
Most of us are guilty of not doing a warm-up. We get in this mode of just wanting to get our workout done for the day and just dive right in without warming up our body.
There is no “perfect” warm-up routine. It is what you make it. You could do some cardio, stretching, or both. I do a 10–15 minute abdominal workout and some dynamic stretching prior to my training sessions to get my blood moving and muscles warmed up.
Warming up shouldn’t expend a lot of energy; just enough to maybe start breaking a little sweat. This way, you won't use up a ton of your fuel for the work ahead.
Without a warm-up, your muscles will tense up. You may experience a strain or pull, spasm, or even some type of tear. Avoid injury by doing a 10–15 warm-up session before any type of exercise or weight lifting routine.
Get your muscles warm and your blood flowing. Your body will thank you for it!
7. Plan Your Workout Routine
Have a plan.
If you fail to plan, then you’ll most likely plan to fail. We’ve all heard this at some point, but do we really grasp the concept?
I plan my workouts for each month. I have 4 days of weight lighting, 1–2 days of active recovery (no weight lifting, but doing a cardio session), and 1 day of full-blown recovery (taking a day of rest).
For my nerd brain, spreadsheets work best. Some people use whiteboards or even apps. YouTube has some great workouts as well. I tried both Youtube and an app in a program that I do, but found using my tablet or phone a tad annoying while I’m trying to concentrate on my workout.
So I developed my own plan of attack. I wrote out my plan in a spreadsheet format, with some pictures of my physique goal, and some motivational quotes. I printed it out and posted it at my workout space in our basement.
Having a plan for when you’re going to work out removes the guesswork from what you want to do that day. Plus, it helps make your workout more time efficient. You’re not lolly-gagging or wondering what you’re going to do next.
While there are many workout and fitness “plans” and guides you can look up on the internet today, the most important thing is to find what works best for you, and stick with that plan of attack. Consistency is key.
There are so many tools available today to help you develop your workout routine. There are apps, there are infographics, there are personal trainers to help. And in a pandemic setting, there are virtual training sessions you can take.
8. Recovery Time
Recovery time isn’t just an absence from working out.
This is the critical time when your body begins repairing itself from your workout. Recovery is when your body begins its actual transformation.
Muscle is not built when you’re working out. Muscle is fatigued and broken down with resistance training, but repaired and developed in the recovery (post-workout) phase.
Just as the other seven points in this article are important to implement for a fitness lifestyle, recovery is just as important as well. And there are some things you could do right after your workout to help your body recover well.
Following your training session, consume both a quick-acting protein (like a whey isolate) with a quick-digesting (simple) carbohydrate. By doing this, you can speed up the recovery process.
The carbohydrates will help to replenish the glycogen stores in the muscles, while the protein will give your body the amino acids necessary to repair and rebuild the muscle. Using the carbohydrate and protein together stops further muscle breakdown, and begins prepping your body for the next training session.
Summary
These eight habits can act as a guide in developing a healthy fitness lifestyle.
Implementing them is not something that’s done overnight. But when done consistently and frequently, over time they will stick and become habits and routines.
With time and consistency, you’ll be on your way from “dieting” to living a healthy, active, fitness lifestyle.
The eight habits that will transform your fitness lifestyle include:
- Sleep
- Hydration
- Nutrition
- Supplementation
- Mindset
- Warming up
- Having a planned workout routine
- Recovery time
Over the last two years, I’ve added these eight topics into my daily life. It’s been challenging at times, but the results I am getting today was worth the temporary discomfort I experienced while developing my routine.
I live an active and productive fitness lifestyle. And I am continually fine-tuning my routine so I can get continue to develop and transform my body composition.
Is it hard work? Yes. The hardest work you will ever do is on yourself.
Is it worth it? Absolutely!
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