my top 5 trainer tips for 2024
Make this upcoming year your healthiest and best yet!
New Year’s resolutions are a trap. I’m so sorry to say, but they don’t work 95% of the time. Do you know what does, however? Being proactive about your health well before the clock strikes midnight and we turn a page in the calendar. In the next few minutes, I want to share a few words of wisdom on how you can shape your habits to make 2024 your healthiest year without putting in any more effort than you currently are.
Why trust me? I’ve worked or volunteered in almost every fitness environment imaginable. From a heart and stroke recovery center, youth camps, and a chiropractic clinic, to training with national wheelchair athletes. Each population has given me a wide lens for what healthy living truly means. Even though we’re all uniquely wired, I strongly believe this list applies to every one of us.
Every tip below has either been confirmed in the literature or has been consistently impactful from an anecdotal perspective. It brings me great joy to see how these simple reminders have transformed my in-person clients, and I hope the same for you as well.
To respect your time, I’ve shrunken each point into the absolute essentials. This is all about giving you high-yield information quickly and clearly. If you’re interested in diving deeper into each topic please feel free to reach out to me or hit the links provided.
Let’s jump right into it!
Step Into the New Year Strong and Crush Your Goals
Please note that this list is heavily based on my personal experience and education. If you have any hesitation about applying any advice, please contact your health professional before making significant changes to your life. It should also be stated that this list is in no particular order, and is not supposed to act as an exhaustive list (we’re only scratching the surface here).
Now without further ado, it’s time to take a look at my top 5 health & fitness tips to save you precious time and effort. Enjoy! ⤵️
1) Spend Less Time Stretching and More Time Strengthening
There’s very little to no evidence to show that your short bouts of static stretching are really doing anything. While it may feel good in the moment, no lasting changes are being made to the neuromuscular system. To help give you a similar ‘stretch’ sensation while building lasting strength and function, I encourage you to spend more time doing resistance exercises that focus on the lengthening your muscles under tension. Even a couple days per week will work wonders!
2) Prioritize Sleep More Than Anything Else
Whether you’re a professional athlete or a working mom, sleep is your top-secret weapon for combating illness, injury, and stress. It has been proven that those who get at least 7 hours of consistent sleep every night (similar wake/sleep times as well) are not only more productive, but they deliver better sports performance and have a drastically lower risk of getting chronic diseases later on in life.
Long story short, if you want to extend your health span and get the most out of every day, make it a priority to sleep and sleep lots! Every aspect of your wellness will be better off for it.
3) Invest Into Making Fitness Fun & Enticing
I once had a cheesy quiz in one of my level 100 courses at university and one of the questions was, “What is the most important 3-letter word in fitness?”. The answer was fun. While my classmates and I all laughed after the fact, I’ve come to realize that there is no truer statement.
Fun = Adherence to activity = Good habits = Longevity and health
It’s that simple. If you love what you’re doing, you won't need to be motivated to do it. It’s just a joy. This instantly removes the biggest barriers that many people face when getting into physical activity. Whether it’s joining a fitness club for the social aspect, or buying a new piece of tech to track your workouts, invest in things that make the whole process of exercising more fun and engaging. You won’t regret it!
4) Start the First 120 Seconds of Your Day With Movement
If you haven’t already read Atomic Habits by James Clear, I’d highly recommend it. In one of the first chapters, he introduces the ‘2-minute rule’ stating that a new habit shouldn’t take more than 120 seconds to complete. While he encourages people to extend the time of the activity if they get into a rhythm, he always gives them the option to stop after 2 minutes.
This has stuck with me over the years as it’s a genius way to stop procrastinating and do the thing. I’ve been applying this strategy to morning mobility for years now and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made for my health. To be completely honest, I used to hate mobility training because I was inflexible, but that’s all changed thanks to this clever rule.
While I usually do 5–10 minutes, there are days when I literally move for 2 minutes and call it a day. That’s not the point, however, as it’s about the bigger picture of showing up and being consistent. You truly feel the benefits of weeks and months stacked up on each other, and it makes you even more motivated to keep it up. If you buy into the 2-minute rule, I’m confident that you too can fall in love with this subtle but transformative habit.
5) Stop Underestimating How Robust Your Back Is
If there’s one fitness myth that needs busting it’s that you should only lift with a straight back. Firstly, it’s anatomically impossible to achieve. Secondly, it’s horrible health advice. While this may shock you, things will all make sense once you take a step back and realize just how robust and adaptable your body is.
The perfect lifting posture that’s plastered across WorkSafe videos and hospital walls will only program your brain to be afraid to use your back as it was designed. It implies it can be easily harmed by doing certain movements the “wrong way”. This brings about unnecessary anxiety and even movement avoidance behavior that will only spur more pain, stiffness, and dysfunction.
There’s no reason why you can’t bend your back to pick lighter objects up off the floor or carry in the groceries. Just always remember to use common sense and never push outside of your fitness capabilities. Your back is flexible, versatile, and strong. It’s time you start believing in it and letting it do its job in your daily life.
In Closing,
There you have it! Five accessible and transformational tips that will help you grow stronger and healthier in 2024. Instead of reaching for the stars and setting unrealistic resolutions, focus on the micro habits that you can achieve day in and day out for real, sustainable results over time. You’ll be shocked at how little effort you must put in when you have the right systems in place to support your wellness.
Here’s to your best year yet! You got this.
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