9 Fitness Tips to My 16-Year-Old Self

The other day, someone posted online a color-coded picture of the human body divided into the major muscle groups with exercises for each and asked:

What do you think about these exercises?
Would you add or remove any?

While I had a few thoughts on the list (but we’ll save that for another time), it sent me back to when I was first learning about muscles and my approach to creating a workout was:

Work them ALL!

Meaning: make sure each muscle group gets the same amount of exercises… same sets… same reps — because that’s what balancing the body is all about (or so I thought).

Little did I know, certain muscles (such as the glutes) deserve MUCH more attention while others are so chronically overworked they don’t need extra pounding during a workout.

Anyway, this reminded me of my start in fitness (in roughly 2006) and how if I could give my younger self advice on how to eat and exercise to get better, faster results, here are 9 nuggets of advice what I would tell him:

9 Fitness Tips to My 16-Year-Old Self:

#1: Notice what foods your body reacts negatively to(even so called “healthy foods” in hindsight were slowing me down, boosting inflammation and draining me of energy)

#2: Get 6–8 hours of sleep consistently (and have a regular sleep schedule instead of fluctuating wildly on the weekends).

#3: Buy adjustable dumbbells/ resistance bands sooner (water-filled gallon milk jugs, duck taping colored dumbbells together and bodyweight exercises only take you so far)

#4: Don’t underestimate the importance of good form when lifting (it may have saved me from slipping a disc when picking up a 165lb on a barbell)

#5: Learn the abdominal brace sooner (this single technique by Dr. Stuart McGill allowed me to create a ton of stability at the spine and safely do exercises like deadlifts)

#6: Ditch sit-ups and crunches (Knowing what I know about spinal health, I would have stopped doing them cold turkey and focused on planks and other core exercises.)

#7: Go at least few days each week without eating until 11am (the importance of breakfast was hammered into us as athletes, however, knowing what I now know about intermittent fasting and the regenerate impact on the body — I would have done more of it).

#8: Don’t push yourself to eat healthy foods, instead find ways to prepare them (or combine them) so you enjoy them.

#9: Keep training with someone stronger than you, it’s one of the simplest ways to stay consistent and to keep your standards high.

​For more fitness and motivation tips to get serious about fitness again — and to gain a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of lasting transformation check out the link below:
www.elitelifecoaching.net