42 Lessons On Getting Fit, Healthy & Performing At Your Best (In 42 Years)

It’s my birthday yet again, the 4.2 version as I’d like to think of it since I believe that every year you have an opportunity to upgrade to a better version of yourself. But if you don’t pay attention to your goals, behaviors, intentions, and environments, then that next version of you may be downgraded and function at a lower level.Here’s 42 lessons I wanted to share with you to help you build your health, fitness and performance, and have you operating at your best (in no particular order). #1. Get strong!As strong as you need to get and some more, but no more than that. Strength helps everything in life. Builds confidenceBuilds muscle.Improves performance.Helps you live longer.Makes you more resilient and harder to kill. You know, the important stuff.“If you think lifting weights is dangerous, try being weak. Being weak is dangerous.” - Bret Contreras My strength training has changed over the years as I adjust to my goals and my body, training history and past injuries, but I continue to work on my strength in different ways.Wherever you are in life.Whether it’s Anne, who’s 72 years old and wants to be able to stay active, lift her grandkids, go for a hike and not feel restricted in her ability to do the things she wants. Or Tim who’s 55 and wants to play soccer and golf with his friends and now only show up, but perform and stay injury free. Or Phil, 62, who’s a vascular surgeon and needs to stay sharp and focused as well as live his best life. Or Abraham, who’s preparing to have another breakthrough NFL season and show the league to watch out for him. Whatever example I give, each person improves their life and “job” through strength training (even though it may look different for each one of them).#2."The best diet (nutrition) is the one you can stick to for life."If you're gonna change your diet for just 8, or 12 weeks, you’re not going to be able to make a long-term transformation since you won’t be able to maintain those habits and behaviors. Losing weight is not difficult, keeping it off IS. Statistics show few people are very good at losing weight (millions of people do it every year), but a small percentage are able to keep it off.It’s because the body treats dieting like controlled starvation. When you lose weight your metabolism adapts, you're hungrier, and your leptin levels (the satiety hormone) plummet (amongst many other adaptations). Think about this...Whatever behaviors you had to incorporate to lose the weight, you'll have to incorporate those behaviors to keep it off.Ask yourself: “Can I continue to do this for the long-term?”If the answer is yes, it should likely be a part of your approach. From there continue to build nutrition habits in a way that can be sustainable for your lifestyle. Brick-by-brick, continue to build the body, fitness, and health you want and deserve. That’s how we do nutrition coaching in Renton with our clients at Vigor Ground Fitness and Performance. I wanted to help you and I shot a video called 7 Dieting Principles To Lose Weight & Keep It Off, that shows what the people that lost weight and kept it off do.#3. You ought to do something physical every day.Humans are made to move. You ought to do something physical every day for at least 30 mins.This could be strength training, conditioning, mobility work, going for a walk; just make sure it becomes a part of your life (how much, what, when, depends on your life and goals).Ask yourself this daily: "Did I move today?"Have you ever felt worse after moving or doing something physical, something active? You never do and it can also get you out of a mental “rut” as when we move we align our brain chemicals. There’s an excellent book called: “Spark - The Revolutionary New Science Of Exercise and The Brain” that dives into this. #4. The environment you train in & live in is crucial to your success!The environment you're in and the people you surround yourself with will mold your future; from the way you think, look, perform, treat others, succeed, and even how happy you are.We are social creatures and we adhere to the standards of the tribe, so why not surround yourself with a tribe committed to becoming the best version of themselves in the areas of life you do too?There’s a great article from Precision Nutrition about The Secret To Nutrition Success: It’s Not Your Willpower, It’s Your Environment.If you’re looking for a tribe that helps you change your body so you can change the story to your life, then check out the Vigor Ground gym here.

#5. Learn how to move well and have a foundation of great reps when you train.There’s a saying: “How you do anything is how you do everything” and while it may not be 100% correct when it comes to all areas of life, it does resonate when it comes to exercise.Think of strength training and exercise as a skill and it’s important to build a foundation of quality repetition so you’re not one step close to an injury or “beat up joints” in the future. It’s also the path to better results and less nagging joint and muscle issues.After lifting for 29 years I still coach and get coached on the perfect rep.Train with focus, intent and quality!#6. Buy at your local farmers market and stick it to the man (as well as building a better relationship with food).You also get to know the people that farm the food and where it comes from. Another thing: ✅ Shop twice to keep your food fresh, like my pairs of Jordan sneakers (obviously I have a sneaker problem).#7. Pain in life is inevitable.Hear me out. Life is nothing if not change.The only way to conquer a thing is to confront it. If your pain still haunts you it’s because you keep avoiding it.Training is a great metaphor. The body gets stronger with incremental increases in stress and strain. In time you learn to love the pain of training. Why can’t you see life the same?No one became less fearful by avoiding their fears.#8. Cook your own food (as much as you can).I get it, all of us can't do it all the time. But you CAN do more of it than you are right now.Author Michael Pollen said we'd start reversing obesity and if people started cooking for themselves more. I agree.When our clients start cooking for themselves (more), they improve their relationship with food, enjoy it more, lose more fat, and build more muscle, not to mention getting healthier along the way. #9. Follow These Nutrition Principles I read this from my friend Bryan Krahn and completely agree when it comes to summing up my nutrition advice/principles into some points

1. Admit that many things work
2. Calories count
3. Get enough protein
4. Food quality matters
5. Behavior & lifestyle factors will determine what diet will work best for you
6. Can you stick with it for good?

And on point #2. To lose fat....Tracking calories works.So does tracking macros.And tracking portions.And following plate recommendations.Wow. It’s almost like simply tracking what you eat (mindfully, accurately, and consistently)is what really matters.Nah. Impossible. Still gotta add magic fat burners and slim tea (of course, this is me being sarcastic ).#10. Make Your Core Strong & Durable The core is not just "abs", it's many muscles around your trunk (I won't drop anatomy lessons and bore you).These are the foundations of quality core strength:

1. Breathing (yes! If you can't breathe right your core will be weak - its why its one of the first things we teach).
2. Bracing.
3. Anti-movement (the cores main job is to resist movement)

That means crunches are not high up on the list of getting a strong core!While not an extensive list, here is a video I shot for you: The Smartest 29 Exercises To Build Strong Abs & Healthy Low Back #11. Get your sleep right, it will make everything better!This is one of the, if not THE, most important when working to get better results. It will help you recover better, reduce stress, have better cognitive abilities, be nicer (really? yep!), increase strength, lose more fat, and be healthier.Read the book "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker. It will make you rethink everything about sleep and take it more seriously. Whatever your sleep is like, working on getting more (not just quantity, but quality) even if it’s 30-60 minutes per night, will make a big difference in your health in the coming year. Just like anything else, you have to put focus and intent behind improving your sleep, starting with creating a night time routine that will lead to more, and a better night’s sleep.You can also listen to my podcast on 15 ways to improve your sleep and how it helped me change my body and my health: here.#12. You sit too much. You don't move enough!We sit more than ever and we're slouched more than ever. But I don't think we sit too much, we just move too little.We have to do more of what I call "movement hygiene" as I shared with my friend Shawn Stevenson on his Model Health Show.My dentist said: "You don't have to floss...if you don't eat."Same thing with movement. You don't have to move, if you don't sit :)And as someone that has had a serious back injury and has been able to overcome it, it’s very important for me to do daily “movement hygiene” to keep my joints feeling great. Here’s an example of a morning movement routine you can do.#13. Train like an athlete (at least some of the time).Most people want to look great naked. I sure do. And so do most of the clients that I train, both in-person and online. Most people also want to be able to do"stuff,” like hike, play pickup basketball, box as a hobby, play sports with their kids and run around and play frisbee, get out of tough situations when necessary (protect your family!).To do those things, you need athleticism; not just to handle it and not get hurt, but also to recover from it. That’s why we train everyone as an athlete (to different degrees based on the individual goals).The former and the latter are not mutually exclusive, I believe they go together. I shared 4 ways to become more athletic with some changes to your training programs here.#14. Everyone should do cardio, but not for the reason of “burn calories.”Strength is the ability to generate force.Conditioning is the ability to use that force efficiently, so that you can sustain it for longer periods of time without fatigue. If you want to use your strength for more than just lifting weights, you need conditioning. And while many still believe this, conditioning won’t kill your strength, make you slower, or cause you to lose your muscle. It will however give you the ability to use the strength you have for longer without gassing out, support faster recovery, and help you live a longer healthier life.Every client program I write has some form of conditioning in it that will help them get to their goal faster, while improving their life.I’ve done a number of podcast episodes with my friend Joel Jamieson (the top conditioning expert in the world), you can listen to one of them here. We also share the top 5 cardio methods most people should be doing.#15. Everyone should do single limb training (legs and upper body too).

We're asymmetrical and life makes us even more so. To stay healthy and the most functional we have to work on those asymmetries and strength discrepancies, and bring them as close to normal as possible.While I typically try to avoid training generalizations, I'm perfectly comfortable with the following: everyone would be wise to include some form of single-leg and single side upper body work in their training program.I'm not saying that everyone should train the same way, or even that everyone should do single-leg work the same way. I'm just saying that single-limb (upper and lower) work will benefit just about everyone.A little tip for your training. When it comes to strength discrepancies, there are a few ways you can go about addressing it:

1. Do the weaker leg first and match the reps on the stronger leg.
2. Do the stronger leg first and then do the extended “rest-pause” set on the weaker leg to match the stronger side. Do as many reps as you can, rest for a short period of time (10-20 seconds), and go again until you match the reps.

For glaring strength differences (more than 5 reps per leg), or if you’re coming back from an injury, I recommend using the first approach. If you have a small strength difference then go with approach number two. #16. When it comes to health and fitness, what’s often overlooked in the decision-making process is prioritizing what fits YOUWhat fits your individual needs, schedule, limitations, and family life.It’s not just practical—it's powerful.So when you’re reading the “what’s optimal” posts from the gurus, those are totally irrelevant because they’re not you.A perfect example from one of my clients.Client: “Luka, what’s the best for building muscle, I hear it’s 4 or 5 days per week of strength training?”Me: “Considering your job, the commitment you have to your family, what are you sure you can commit to when it comes to training days weekly?”Client: “I can do 3 for sure.”Me: “3 is the optimal amount of strength training to build muscle :)”Another one I hear…..“Is it better to train in the morning or later in the day?”If your morning is prepping food, getting kids ready for school, then maybe mornings aren’t gonna cut it, let’s keep it real. Unless your afternoons and evenings are even busier. In that case, what’s your EARLY morning like?You can see where I’m going with this.Once you really know what you want or need, it simplifies the decision making process and you can block out the noise from every person that has the “perfect plan for you.”You can always add on, but start with what you can do, and stay consistent. #17. "If man made it, don't eat it."Like my man Jack LaLane said. While I don't believe you have to stick to that 100% because science has shown that restricting all foods doesn't help us and makes it harder to stick to our nutrition, I DO believe everyone ought to eat the majority of their food from real unprocessed sources.I feel like 80/20 rule from my friend Alan Aragon, is a great thing to shoot for, which means that 80% of your food is coming from whole unprocessed foods, while the other 20% can come from “whatever” (as long as you’re still sticking to the calorie needs that fit your goals). So if you’re eating most of your food from processed foods, work on getting a higher percentage from real unprocessed foods. The journey from 20% to 75% isn’t overnight and may take you a year, but as you’re increasing the amount of quality unprocessed foods you’re eating, you’ll be looking, feeling and performing better. I like these infographics from Precision Nutrition that demonstrate some visuals of this:

#18.To be of service, you have to be fit for service.There's a reason they tell you to put your oxygen mask on before others. If you're exhausted, depleted, tired, worn out, dead, you're going to have nothing to give when the world asks.Take care of yourself with training, nutrition,recovery, mental and emotional health, the right environments and quality relationships and community.Also, laugh and smile every day.#19. Learn to deal with hunger.

It will not cause your immediate death. Learn to control all of your desires and you will gain more control over your life.Actually, statistics show that one of the key things any person that lost weight and keptit off has in common, is cognitive restraint.I’ve also found it helpful to ask myself based on the HALT acronym. The model was first developed to help addicts in recovery see when they were most vulnerable to relapse. Since then, it's been useful for other people, too – both in the workplace, with nutrition, in personal life.Am I…

• Hungry?
• Angry?
• Lonely?
• Tired?

Because many times it won’t be true hunger that gets you eating (especially snacking), it will be anger, loneliness, being tired, bored, anxious, stressed. Don’t allow your emotions to control your nutritional behaviors. #20. Overemphasizing any one quality leads to issues."Just get strong.” “Just be flexible and mobile.”“Just do cardio.”“Just get jacked and build muscle" “Just get fast, explosive and athletic.”To have quality health, fitness, performance and longevity, you have to focus on them all.How you structure that so you don't mess up your results is why you have a structured training program made in line with your goals.Here’s one video I shot on how to organize your training program.You can find many videos of me explaining my program design philosophies and how I structure training (as well as much more) on my YouTube channel HERE.#21. Eat food you love with people you love.I'm sure there’s plenty of foods you love and like that fit the goals you want to achieve.Eating to look, perform and feel good doesn't have to be restrictive. Even the "bad" foods (remember there are no evil foods) many so-called experts say you should stay away from, eat them 10-20% of the time and you'll be just fine (and happier than if you are fear mongered into avoiding whole categories of foods). Spend more time eating good food with good people, having great experiences. Life is to be lived.“It's not just what you eat but who you are when you eat it and how you feel when you eat it and why.” #22. Find training you can do for the long-term.So many people start with: “I’m gonna train here for the next 12 weeks.”I ask: “And then what?” Most people really don’t know.As Dan John said:“I’ve been training since 1965 (that’s a lot of “6 weeks”!)Find something that you can fit into your lifestyle and stick with it consistently. Don’t have time? That just means it’s (health, fitness, longevity, looks, performance) not important enough to you. We make time for things that are important.#23. Thinking you need to “lose weight” is the problem.As my brother Alan Aragon shares: The solution begins by realizing you need to GAIN new habits and remodel your daily routine with effective countermeasures against old habits.That’s a whole different ball game and mindset than merely “losing” something. This is a reminder that mindset matters!#24. Minimizing spinal compression is a good idea.After many years of training it’s not a smart idea to squat and deadlift heavy multiple times a week.Limit it to one day or two at the most.This is coming from someone that played professional sports, lifted hard for 29 years, had a serious back injury, and studied back pain and performance from the best for a decade and a half.There are better ways, you can train hard and smart. You will thank me in 10+ years.The key here is to be smart with choosing the exercise selection for the individual as well as the volume and intensity. Training is a science and an art. #25. The fastest way to speed up your recovery is NOT doing cryo, cold plunges, sauna, or foam rolling….…it’s getting enough sleep, learning how to relax, eating the right foods, and managing your training stress effectively. Just like you can't out-train a bad diet, you can't use recovery methods to overcome poor lifestyle choices and habits.If you're not getting enough sleep, eating the right foods, and managing your mental stress effectively, then there is no amount of “new recovery strategies” that will help.Just like using a fat burner isn't going to do you any real good if you're eating too many calories, you have to get the basics of recovery down first:✅ Get at least 8 hours of high-quality sleep.✅ Eat the right foods with enough calories and protein. Stay well-hydrated✅ Learn how to relax and spend time each day unplugging from stress✅ Manage your training volumes and intensities, have a structure, and also pay attention to how your body is feeling✅ Avoid too much caffeine or other stimulants, particularly later in the day✅ Get in the right amount of daily activity to promote circulation✅ Do a cooldown at the end of every training sessionWhile various tools like heat, cold, hydro, etc., can be valuable when used effectively, most people have a ton of room for improvement in their daily habits that they ought to start with first.If you're getting 6 hours of sleep a night, dealing with a ton of mental stress, and using too much intensity, then no amount of recovery strategies are going to make a real difference.Recovery is more than just a method you do for 15 minutes a day. It's a lifestyle.#26. You don’t have a program. Let’s start with one of the simplest reasons you aren’t seeing the results you want in the gym:You don’t have a workout.More precisely... you don’t have a program.There’s a lot more to seeing success in the gym than just showing up (althoughthat’s a start).When you don’t have a path or plan, the default is struggle. #27. Keep your food the same, but don’t.When you make changes to your nutrition, it’s best and easiest to eat the same foods/meals to get results and not get overwhelmed. Too many new choices, options, and possibilities, and it will cause anxiety and lack of action.As you have built up some wins, consistency of habits, and confidence, you add in more variety in the foods that you eat, try something new, cook something different, order a different food when out, etc.Diet flexibility is earned through consistent tracking and mindfulness with food. #28. Show up, don’t quit, ask questions. Every new client that walks in through the doors of Vigor Ground Fitness and Performance I share the foundational 3 secrets to success:

1. Show Up.
2. Don’t Quit.
3. Ask questions.

I let them know that if they do those 3 things for 12-weeks they’ll be proud of their progress and will build the momentum towards their ultimate goal. I also share ACE:A - Accountability C - Consistency E - EffortThese are easy to remember, simple, but foundational to getting the results you want. Are you doing them?

#28. Choose better exercises for your body, goals, results, and health."You should straight bar deadlift from the floor", "everyone should back squat",etc.This is NOT true.There are no mandatory exercises! Most people do things they shouldn't be doing and haven't earned yet. Guess what stops results?Injuries and nagging pains. Fear of pushing yourself because of getting hurt, and possibly a previous bad experience with a certain exercise.Many times it’s a form correction, but it’s also often not the best exercise for you at this time and for your goal. Pick things that fit your goals and your anatomy, health history, competence, and goals.There's a better way to train and be able to do it for the long run. #29. Train like you’re 40, even 50 years old.Yes, even if you're 20, or 30, or…This is far from a bad thing. This means that you're focusing on things like mobility, joint friendly exercises (as well as joint friendly coaching), recovery, nutrition for health, looks and performance., moving more, being in nature more.When you're younger you don't think about what will happen "after", it's too far out. And many times you can cause irreversible damage (ex: hip, knee and shoulder replacements are at an all time high, and people are getting them earlier in life).What if you could have longevity and achieve your goals (whatever they are)?You CAN! Smart and hard training go together. Here’s an example of a joint friendly lower body training session with my friend Jay Ferruggia.And a shorter interview with Jay Ferruggia, Dr. John Berardi, and myself, talking about training smart and longevity.#30. Learn daily. About yourself, your body, your mind, and anything that will lead to creating a better life for yourself. Ask questions.Be a student.We are always educating our tribe as then they have the tools to make better choices with the support of the coaches and other awesome members.Close to two decades ago, my then mentor and now friend Alwyn Cosgrove said to me: “If you can read, you can learn anything anyone has ever learned.”That was a powerful realization for me and I’ve been voraciously learning and studying anything I can get my hands on to improve my skill sets, train my body, mind, emotions, and gain wisdom through applying it.I block out time to read, learn and study every day, it’s in my schedule. If you don’t make time for it you won’t improve it.Realize you’re 100% responsible for your life. Know better, and do better. #31. Progress is not always linear.Here’s another great insight from Bryan Krahn…We all have days where we appear to "plateau" and can't seem to add more weight or reps in a workout.And too often, you’ll rush to change things up —or even dump the entire program— thinking that’s the key to progress.But in reality, the struggle is a fundamental part of the process and NOT something you should rush to avoid.Because striving to improve a lift, even when you can't add more weight, almost always brings improvement. And let’s be clear, a couple of stalled exercises while all the other exercises are slowly improving is NOT a plateau. Progress is never a straight line.So perhaps sticking with the stalled lifts and fighting the "good fight" to break through the wall is the smarter play?And that "wall"? It's usually a combination of mental angst and poor recovery. So doubling down on nutrition and especially sleep is always the first place to start.Reflect, refine, and recover. You'll be surprised at how much progress you can make when you show up with a positive attitude and a willingness to keep pushing forward.#32. Mobility for the win.True mobility training will make your life so much better.Mobilize your hips, ankles, upper back, wrists, while also working on the stability of your core, improving spine health with daily drills.......and you'll live a better, healthier, more pain free, higher performing life. Period!If your joints can’t function and be controlled in isolation that means once you add duration, load, and speed it will compound the issues and wear and tear of your joints.For example, if you have tight hips and ankles and they’re not mobile and stable, if you choose an exercise like a back squat, the restricted ranges of motion will put a lot more stress on your joints (hips, knees, low back,..) rather than the muscles that you want to work. I wanted to show you an example of some specific mobility training to help the hips of our former intern Zack Nielsen (he’s now the head of strength and conditioning for the military at Ft. Lewis), to see how we work to improve your movement so you have healthier joints for the long-term.#33. Ability to focus on the long-term.Whether it’s nutrition or training, studies show that the most successful people are able to focus on the long-term rather than the quick fixes, 30 day detoxes, 6-12 week programs, etc.This is important when it comes to anything meaningful you wish to accomplish in your life. The ability to delay gratification, discover the deep reasons why you are doing it, so that when challenging times come you have an anchor that keeps you grounded to keep moving forward, rather than falling off and switching to another “quick fix.”“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” - Aristotle

#34. The 4th component of health that could add 10 years to your life.My friend Adam Bornstein shared this powerful fact.Everyone talks about diet, exercise, and sleep.But a 4th component could add another 10 years to your life. According to the National Institute of Aging, social isolation and loneliness has the same impact on mortality as smoking. Remember, reach out to your friends. This isn’t about needing lots of friends or not appreciating alone time (we all need it sometimes). It’s about the benefits of having a community and not feeling isolated. Connection is a foundational aspect of mental health. And where the mind goes, the body follows.Adam wrote a great book on how to finally get your nutrition habits in check that you can get HERE.

#35. “Not to do lists” are just as powerful as “to do” lists, here’s a fitness one…

Don't buy fat burners.Don't argue with people which diet is best.Don't ignore rest days.Don't downplay sleep.Ignore "Magic Bullet" diets.Don't overreact to research.Don't grocery shop on an empty stomach.Don't follow celeb workouts.Stop doing cleanses.Don't blindly blame hormones, toxins or inflammation.Don't train through pain. #36. The quality of your life is a direct correlation to your muscle healthMy friend Dr. Gabrielle Lyons talks about this frequently 👇🏽While looking good naked may be of value, it is only a secondary outcome to a much more important function of muscle. Muscle is the foundation of your metabolism... AND your body armor.Muscle is your metabolic currency. The stronger and healthier your muscles, the more effective your body is at managing carbohydrates and fat. The more healthy the skeletal muscle you have, the better chances of survival, increased metabolic health, and overall wellness.Let’s shift the attention from muscle [only] as it relates to aesthetics and performance- and focus on how it can be leveraged for HEALTH.#37. You’ll be stuck if you keep changing the goal."The goal is to keep the goal, the goal."Are you a program jumper? Do you follow through on working on a goal for at least 12 weeks?It’s impossible to see measurable growth if you keep changing the goal and not sticking with a program.My client’s that have the best results are usually the ones that say: “I’m here to change my body and health in the next couple of years”, as I know they are sticking with a program long-term and following through with the commitment. If you have found yourself doing short term everything, from diets, to programs, to lifestyle changes, it’s time to lock in and focus on your main goal and align your behaviors, training, and nutrition, for the long-term.#38. 7 science based motivation tips that really work.

1. Picture where you want to be (not where you are).
2. Have skin in the game.Investing in your health and fitness and having "skin in the game" has been proven to get higher accountability and better results.
3. Create the ultimate playlist. I have different playlists for different days depending on how I’m feeling, but they always help.
4. Rely on social accountability. Research done at Oxford University suggests that when people work out together, rather than solo, they automatically double their bodies’ levels of feel-good endorphins.
5. Remember an awesome workout.
6. Write your goals.
7. Accountability and support. At Vigor Ground, we know every individual is unique. There’s no one-size-fits-all nutrition or workout plan. Our team can develop a plan around your lifestyle to help you reach your goals.

#39. Let your food be your medicine or medicine will become your food. What you put in your body becomes you (on a cellular level, literally).Stop and think about who you're becoming with the food you're eating...not to mention how you're influencing those around you with what you eat (kids, friends, family).Is it making them better or worse?#40. The Power Of A Coach There’s a number of pieces of research looking at the effects of training with or without a coach’s supervision.One study looked at a group working with a coach 2x a week for 4-months (as a group) to an unsupervised exercise program. The group with supervision lost on average 362% more fat in that 4-month period (Total fat loss of 13.4 lbs in the coached group - and only 3.7 lbs in the advice only group). Interesting side note - they made improvements without ANY dietary advice given.The fact that the group exercised together only improved results further (as social support is one of the key variables in fat loss success), so I’m not sure that the supervision and instruction alone was entirely responsible - or the social support was part of it. However, it’s clear that together it's an unbeatable combination. Our clients experience the same thing (as well as get nutrition coaching which makes it even more effective). Whenever I want to achieve something that is important to me I hire a coach and become part of a community that will help elevate my behaviors to the desired behaviors, while having guidance and support. This works with any area of life you want to improve.

#41. Assess your "deep health"There’s many ways to track your improvements, whether it’s with the scale, the InBody that tells us body fat percentage, measurements, the pictures we take of ourselves, the performance markers that we test in the gym. All of those can be great to track depending on the person and the goals. But I highly recommend also assessing your deep health and getting blood work done to see how your body is functioning from the inside out. Hormones, nutrient deficiencies, markers for certain diseases (like Parkinson’s and cancer in my family).Being able to identify and address your deep health and create a plan to improve is critical to your well being AND to your results (since many times you’ll discover what your roadblocks may be). I work with Marek Labs on the most comprehensive deep health diagnosis, if you’d like to discover where you are with your deep health and get a comprehensive 32 page report and expert analysis, then email me to luka@hocevarperformance.com with the subject “Deep Health”.If you have deficiencies that can be addressed through supplementation, my favorite and highest quality supplements are Thorne Health (if you purchase anything through this link, you will get 15% off for life when you set up the account). #42. "Always something" rather than "all or nothing".The “pause button mentality” is ruining your health. “Getting a fresh start” isn’t the magic bullet you thought it would be. “I’ll start with my healthy nutrition after my summer… once the baby is born… after I get done with these crazy deadlines at work… mid January… Monday.” While this kind of “pause-button mentality” seems reasonable, it could be ruining your results in health and fitness.The pause button mentality only builds the skill of pausing. Whether it’s tomorrow, Monday, next week, or even next year, hitting that imaginary pause button gives you some sense of relief.You get good at starting, and you get good at pausing, but you don’t get good at continuing to adjust when adversity happens and building your skills up so you can handle life’s challenges (which will inevitably come).’It’s not about will power, it’s about skill power. Let’s accept that life has no pause button.The key lesson here is that, like it or not, the game of life keeps going.There is no timeout. There’s not going to be a time where things just get easier. You can’t escape work, personal, and family demands. Nor can you escape the need for health and fitness in your life.So instead of all or nothing, think about adjusting the dial. If a 10 is the optimal workout you can get that day, and 0 is doing nothing, you can always do a 3 or 4, which is better than nothing.Precision Nutrition illustrates this in a great way with the infographics for training and nutrition below:

When you have the “always something” approach to your health and fitness, you’ll build skill sets and keep moving forward even during the most challenging times, and make a lifelong transformation.It’s the approach we coach, guide and support our clients on as a Renton personal trainer at the Vigor Ground Fitness and Performance gym in Renton, so that they can finally achieve their sustainable results. These lessons work if you apply them, and apply them consistently.If you’re looking for a coach and community to guide, support, and challenge you to your best self, reach out to us here.