Do you feel like health and fitness got way too complicated?
Me too..
It’s gone a long way from what started out as an effort to encourage people to embrace physical movement and eat real foods.
Now depending on who you talk to one of carbs or fats are the enemy. High intensity training is either going to solve all your life problems or kill you.
Not to mention that there’s more companies claiming they have the secret supplement to help you lose weight, build muscle and become smarter than ever before.
It’s at the point now that it’s getting ridiculous..
One of the things we believe in here at Newstrength is simplifying the process and doing the simple things well.
It’s all good to have the most dialled training program but if you eat rubbish then you’re not getting the result you want.
A simple way we combat the complexity of the fitness and health space is by making simple switches in habits.
Flick The Switch
We don’t ask you to take away something you love completely, nor do we add heaps of things to your already busy lifestyle.
We simply ask…
“Can you switch this for that?”
Why this works much better is that often the barrier to entry is really low so adherence improves and along side it since the time or effort investment is small than the return on investment is high.
So here’s 6 of our favourite switches to improve your health:
Spend More Time Outside
Given that we live in a country that has some of the best weather for embracing the outdoors it might surprise you to know that nearly 23% of Australians are Vitamin D deficient.
Vitamin D plays an integral role in many body functions but is particularly of importance to mental health, energy levels and calcium absorption.
With more and more of us being busy throughout the day, people are spending more time indoors by the desk and many of our exercise is limited to within the confines of a gym the need for getting outside to bring up our Vitamin D levels has become significantly higher.
The time required to absorb sufficient Vitamin D isn’t overly high so small exposures are normally enough however it should be suggested that small frequent exposures will trump singular intense exposures.
This can be tied in with some of our following switches but it’s important to remember that you need some skin exposed and sunlight through windows or glass doesn’t help with absorption.
Wake Up With Movement
Do you feel like you can’t start your day without your caffeine hit?
I’ve been there plenty of times too don’t worry..
One of the flaws of using caffeine to wake us up each morning is the reliance on it as you create a habit. Next thing you can’t get up without it, we shouldn’t need to be reliant on a particular substance to get us moving of a morning.
That’s definitely not me saying don’t have coffee but just push it back a little further in the morning.
Often some light exercise like a walk or some stretching or yoga practice can give you a simple morning pick me up from promoting blood flow through the body and brain.
Then when you’re getting to work and need that extra bit of focus start your caffeination then!
Trade Long Walks For Shorter Frequent Walks
Nobody argues how a simple walk or light activity helps the body.
But often you hear you need to do at least half hour a day to get the benefits. What people forget to mention is that it doesn’t need to be in one bout.
Instead of a single 30 minute walk, try to think of how you could implement 3 short 10 minute walks into your day.
As simple as walking a little further to and from your car to work each day and then adding a short walk to your favourite coffee shop at lunch can do wonders for promoting digestion, energy and even improving body composition.
Double up with these walks being outdoors and you can hit two birds with one stone.
If you want to get even more crazy, do some of your walks barefoot to help build strength and stability in the feet.
Trade Your Liquids For Water Or Non-Calorie Drinks
Let’s pretend at first I just said water but the non-calorie options are for if you find yourself smashing multiple litres of coke everyday.
Most people (myself included) could improve their health through simply drinking more water.
We don’t need to get into the details as we’ve all heard it before.
Simply start by switching over your soft drinks, juices or whatever else you drink for water. After you finish your water if you still feel the need then go for it just make sure to drink your glass of water first.
If you think going from sugary drinks to straight water immediately will be tough then slowly work your way off by choosing sugar free soft drink options for a little while first.
Turn Off The Screens 1 Hour Before Bed
One of the biggest problems we have right now with our health is the lack of quality sleep across the board. Most people would be lucky to get 7 hours and even if they do get that it’s often not enough time spent in deep restorative sleep.
A simple way to improve that quality sleep is by turning off all blue light screens (iphones, tv’s) at least an hour before bed. Blue light receptors in your eyes pick up the light emitted from these screens as daylight and stop the release of melatonin production (the hormone that relaxes you and initiates the sleep process)
So if you find it tough getting to sleep try this out and maybe add in the following switch afterwards.
Try Journalling
What should you do without your phone before bed?
Journalling or reading books can be simple fixes as a trade off for TV and Candy Crush.
Why should you journal?
Most people have too many thoughts running through their head, journalling is a great way to clear those thoughts. Plus as a bonus people who spend time on mindfulness practices like expressing gratitude, journaling and meditation have been found to have lower symptoms of depression and more positivity.
So better sleep and being happier… Seems too good not to try.
Now It’s Up To You To Make The Switch To Better Health
We can give you ideas all day on how to help improve your health and wellbeing
But really it comes down to you taking action on it.
We’d love you to try out some of these switches and let us know how you go.
For more awesome training info make sure to check out our blog here.