While training a client this week, I realised how often I say things that involve the number one, as in “do this once a day” or “do that once a week.” It’s a good general guide to get your head around what you need to do. Below is a sum up of some of the more common ones I use. You don’t need to do all of them, but using a few of these “once” rules can massively improve your health and fitness with minimal effort.
Plan ONCE a day – I’m still not sure why people expect things to magically fall into place every day when your health & fitness is not a natural habit yet. You can make things massively easier if once a day you take a couple minutes to plan out how to get your steps / exercise done alongside forming a rough plan of what you are going to eat.
Be motivated thinking about your health & fitness ONCE a day – A big issue people have about their goals is that they rarely think about them and when they do, it doesn’t inspire action or worse, it demotivates you. You need a mental image or feeling that you not only think about but it excites you or scares you into action.
To get this feeling you need to spend a minute or two thinking about your goal outcome. This could be looking for inspiration, for example, create a 60 second video moment in your head that encapsulates all the good things about achieving your goal. Alternatively, tune into the fears of what you do not want to happen, perhaps fast forward to a landmark birthday in the future, then picture how you would feel if your health & fitness has taken a massive downturn.
Get out of breath ONCE a week – I know the health advice is more than this but I also know that the vast majority of people do nothing. If you get out of breath/ breathe heavily once a week for over 10 minutes then the compounding effect of doing it for years will make you a fitness machine. Yes, you read that right, just 10 minutes once a week for years will be enough.
Strength Train ONCE a week – Last week I wrote about bone density and how a long term strength training and loading stimulus will sort you out for life. It does not have to be long, just ensure it gets done every week. You may want to use one of my daily routine videos I posted last month to really get ahead of this goal.
Eliminate a food of some sort ONCE a quarter – Our food & society this day and age is set up to always knock us off our healthy path, be this through increased food portions, eating frequency or socialising. It seems like bad food options are always trying to find their way into our life. With this knowledge at hand, I think it is a good idea every few months to cut something out to keep yourself from being drawn downwards. This could be a quite short change, such as cutting out sugar for a few days, or trying a gluten elimination for a week or maybe just not eating in the evenings for 5 days. These short, sharp resets can really transform your behaviours.
Perform a health reset / detox ONCE a year – Along the same lines as a quarterly elimination, it is wise if once a year you dedicate a bit of time and energy to improve your health in some way. This could be a non-drinking period, some time off social media or doing some sort of health based programme. Too often people just sit and wait for a kick up the rear when their health is struggling. Why not front run this by doing something once a year when all is quite good.
Do a fitness challenge ONCE a year – I still think people are sleeping on the power of fitness challenges, which I have written about many times here. This week in Battersea it was the JP Morgan Chase, a 5.7km run for city workers, for many it is the only time they will run all year. This is the power of a fitness challenge, even if it is not serious and just for fun. Stop hiding, and sign yourself up to something.
Do a fitness transformation ONCE every few years – I think people underestimate the time and depth of changing your identity verses just trying to lose a little weight or get fitter. If you zoom out a little, you will see there is a massive change from being a sedentary person to regular exerciser. There is another big leap from a regular exerciser to super fit, and the same to even higher levels of performance. It is not just about plans or actions, it is about who you are as a person. This takes time to develop, cement into your personality and be ready for the next jump. For me this is a every few years type of thing. Almost everyone who is in epic shape or good health & fitness took a good while to get there.
***** If you are doing a body transformation *****
Measure ONCE a day – You cannot stumble through a body transformation with no guidance or feedback on how it is going. You should measure key behaviours at least, this could be steps, times you ate, water or calories. Ideally you would also be checking in on overall results, you can see body fat changes every few days if you know what you are looking for and assuming you are getting results. Too many people’s efforts fall part because of the wrong frequency when checking progress during a body transformation.
What Does This Mean For You?
In line with the theme of this newsletter, why don’t you pick ONE of the above and put it into action…… Which one will you do?
Photo – Me doing my weekly strength sessions, getting out of breath at my free Friday night Hyrox group and scences from the JP Morgan chase start line:
Need Support Getting In Shape?
Changing your body on your own without support or an effective system usually ends in failure sadly. To avoid this outcome you can become one of my coaching clients either online or in person. I provide Holistic, Healthy & Sustainable Body Transformations. Contact me to discuss your goals further or see below for more details and the options available to you based on your location / preferences:
Worldwide (Online) –
For transformations, coaching and support wherever you are in the world read more here>>>>
London (Battersea) – If looking for Personal Training Battersea please contact me. I am available for sessions in homes, private gyms or Personal Training Battersea Park. To see my locations please visit my Battersea Personal Trainer page>>
London (Oval / Kennington) – For Personal Training in Oval & Kennington please contact me. I am available for sessions in homes, private gyms or parks.
**************
Read My Book – The Grand Unified Theory of Weight Loss – My latest book is available in print, kindle/ebook and audio formats. You can read more about it and see where it is available here>>>
Follow Me – You can get more great advice, tips, hacks and more by following me on one of my social media channels. Follow Me>>>
Instagram>> You Tube>> Facebook>> Twitter>> Tik Tok>> My Weekly Newsletter>>
**************