Four Factors to Fitness Success

There are many factors that could lead you to fitness success.  Here are four to ensure that you have the most success with fat loss and training.

The first is Nutrition. Training is great and it is a huge part of getting the results you want, but without good nutrition you will be stuck with minimal results. Proper nutrition means eating whole foods, organic when possible and staying away from things like sugar, grains and processed junk food.

Keep it simple- eat protein like meats and eggs, lots of veggies, and have a bit of fruit here and there.  Snack on nuts and seeds as needed.  Don’t be afraid of healthy fats like avocado, nuts, fats in meats, coconut oils/butter, and olive oil.

Most people can stick with eating three meals a day and get great results.  Keep your portions under control and eat until you are satisfied but not overly full.

The second is Getting Enough Sleep.

Most people just don’t get enough sleep.  Your goal should be 7 to 8 hours of good sleep each night.

Set up a routine before you go to bed.  Turn off all electronics at least 1 hour, preferably two before going to bed.  Don’t watch TV, play on your phone or tablet, or have electronics in bed.  Make the room as dark as possible. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.

These simple routines will help you get better quality sleep and you will feel much better for it.  When you are deprived of sleep your hormones get upset and it makes it difficult to lose fat.  You also tend to eat more if you are sleep deprived.

The third is Recovery.

Training is good, but recovery is better.  Training puts a stress on our body and if you don’t pay close attention to your recovery you can open yourself up to injury and a lack of results.  Your body needs time between training sessions to repair itself.  More isn’t always better.

Make sure you are taking a few days off per week and only doing active recovery for your training.  3-4 days of strength training is all most anyone needs to get great results.  Especially if you live a bit of a stressful life and have a hectic work schedule.  On the other 3-4 days per week you can go for a walk, take the dog to the park, or play with your kids for activity.

Mediation and walking outside are great ways to improve your recovery.

Finally Training is last but not least.   As you get older my recovery time starts to slow down a bit.  You can get great results from 4 workout days a week.  You will be really happy with how you look and feel with this kind of schedule.

Be sure that your training is a quality workout not just quantity.  No more than 60 minutes of actual work in your sessions, that doesn’t include warm up. 

Hit the big movements, go hard and then go home to recover.  Training should be a part of your healthy lifestyle, not your entire lifestyle.