A Different Approach to Better Health

I've been an exercise physiologist for over fifteen years. When I was completing my undergraduate degree at East Carolina University in the early 2000's, I was a personal trainer for the university health care system. Here's the program that I put into practice for professionals in the area that were serious about taking control of the their health. It wasn't popular with many people that came to see me, but it wasn't designed to be popular.... it was designed to be effective and sustainable, because a healthy body doesn't happen overnight. This program is based on science; not popular magazines, celebrity workouts, or the hoards of snake-oil you see selling for tons of money over the internet and on the shelves of "fitness" stores everywhere. I spent tens of thousands of dollars on my education to learn many of these principles, but you don't have to! I hope you enjoy the read and this article helps you in some way.

Let's begin by understanding that almost everyone wants to be healthy, but only a fraction of people actually are willing to do what it takes to get healthy and stay that way. With this in mind, I developed a program that was designed to identify those who were dedicated to the quest for real-world health and to weed out those who were looking for a quick-fix and would surely quit before any real results would be achieved; wasting both their time and mine. Stay with me here, it may sound like this was a difficult tasking, but only for those who weren't resilient in reaching their goal.

Here's The Plan

People would show up to the university fitness facility eager to workout on the first day of week one that they met me. They would ask "So what exercise do we do first!".... The look on their face was usually pretty humorous when I told them that we weren't going to be working out this week at all, but that we were going to focus on something else..... With that said, I handed each client a new water bottle and asked them to do only one thing health related for the entire week. Drink More Water:

Drink More Water: The human body is made up of 60% water, on average. Your heart and brain are approximately 73% water and muscles are closer to 80%. What does this mean? Water is important! The hard-truth is that the majority of people on earth are dehydrated. Those wishing to get and stay healthy must drink enough water to properly hydrate their body. This accounts to drinking far more water per day than the average person consumes.... at least a half a gallon (preferably more) every day is ideal. For those who consume caffeine, alcohol, and soda; your amount of water should be even more!

I told each client to come back and see me after a week of them increasing their daily water intake to the levels recommended above. Surprisingly, only about 75% of clients actually came back, the other 25% either decided to go to another trainer or weren't willing to simply drink more water for a week. So at the beginning of week two, my clients who came back would be properly hydrated, feeling much better, and ready to hit the gym. They would state something like, "So where do we begin now! I'm ready to get going!" Once again, I surprised them by telling them that we weren't going to be working out during week two either! I simply told them to go home and continue drinking water, and asked them to also do one more thing for me, every night, for the entire week.... Get Enough Sleep:

Get A Proper Night's Sleep: If the human body has a legitimate superpower, it's the ability for it to regenerate with adequate amounts of sleep. Between 33-50% of adults simply do not get enough, and the body cannot function optimally without it. Sometimes, clients would tell me "I know I don't get enough sleep, I'm just too busy".... My response to them would be to ask them if their health was as important as their job/family/etc, or if they truly desired to make themselves a priority.

After two weeks, about 50% of my clients would make their way back to me (another 25% would opt-out) ready to finally start exercising. When I saw them, they stated they felt much better then before, now that they were getting more rest and were properly hydrated. They were also eager to begin their physical fitness regimen, but I had one more issue that needed to be addressed before I felt like picking up a barbell was the right thing to do. You guessed it; I sent each client away for one more week outside of the gym, asking for them to incorporate one more thing to their daily routine as they continued drinking water and getting enough sleep. What did I tell them? Eat Breakfast:

Eat Breakfast: Breakfast is a compound word, which quite literally means "to break the fast". In these times of intermittent fasting (which I despise), your body is already fasting from the time you last eat in the evening until the time you eat the following day. For people who don't eat breakfast, this usually equates to about 16-18 hours every day! That's insane! Your body is not designed to perform at an optimum level by feeding it in that manner... Sure it will survive, because your body is resilient, but it is not healthy in the least. Again.... this is science, not what might be popular at the moment. Remember, there are people out there telling you to eat like a caveman nowadays and they have millions of followers, but perhaps a more intelligent way would be to eat like a nutritionist.

So, after three weeks, roughly one-third of my original clients were still with me. They were hydrated, well-rested, and fueled with enough nutrition. Now we were ready to begin training, which is essentially the "easy" part. I say "easy" because only 30 minutes of exercise at a moderate intensity most days per week is recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) to generate good overall health. It is much more difficult to drink enough water throughout the day, get enough sleep, and eat breakfast every day then it is to go for a brisk walk, lift moderate to heavy weights, or play a sport for a half-hour more days then not, at least in my opinion. I won't go into fitness training during this article because that isn't its intent. I'll save that article for another time if this one generates enough feedback.... I will, however, leave you with these few takeaways:

• There is no magic pill for health and fitness. Actually, a healthy lifestyle can alleviate those pills you're currently taking now, because a healthy fit body doesn't need them! Consistency is the key to a sustainable change in lifestyle, not an expensive bottle of powder sold by a celebrity.
• A healthy body isn't exactly a destination, but more of a journey. There are no shortcuts, but a positive change is a step in the right direction that gets you closer to your goal. Simply drinking more water is a positive change.
• Optimum health cannot be achieved without a body that is properly hydrated, provided adequate sleep, and fueled with the proper nutrition. You are what you eat. Either you are eating to prevent disease and obesity, or to promote it. It's as simple as that. Enjoy eating bad on occasion to keep your sanity and enjoy life, but don't live-to-eat; rather eat-to-live.
• It is not a coincidence that I published this article the first week in December, and that this beginning plan is a three week transition into health and fitness. It's also not a coincidence that the average New Years Resolution lasts 12 days, and my plan lasts 21. Science (there's that word again) also says that it takes 21 days to commit an action into a habit. Funny how that adds up!

I hope you enjoyed this article and it provided a different perspective on beginning a healthy lifestyle than you are used to. Please "like" and share if you would like to see more... See you at the water fountain!

Best Wishes!

~Cliff