If you don’t have good health you don’t have anything. Many of us will recognize in conversation how important it is to be healthy, yet in our actions we can sometimes forget to follow through on those words. We need good health so that we can experience life’s fullest joys, like running with our children, seeing them grow up, traveling with loved ones, and of course having fun adventures like skydiving, rock climbing or even hiking. This will be one of the shortest yet most effective fitness blogs you have ever read, if and only if you APPLY what you read. Also, just so you know I am not a doctor. I am a regular man who has worked with men for many years and this is my experience and recommendation not a professional diagnosis or health prescription. 

Here Is The Secret

The one fitness plan that will work for every man reading this blog 100% of the time is the fitness plan you stick to consistently. I know right, such mind blowing information. But think about it for a second, how many times have you or a friend started a fitness/health plan and for one reason or another you stopped, you quit, you gave up. Or maybe you hit a short term success goal and you stopped the plan, only to fall back into the same old results you were unsatisfied with from the beginning. I am going to lay out a few steps to help you pick a health and fitness plan that you can stay consistent with over the long haul.

5 Steps To The Best Shape Of Your Life

These are steps that I have followed and continue to follow in my life, that help me improve my overall physical health and wellness. Before we get started there is one prerequisite that we have to establish. First, set your mind on a long term, mid term, and short term course of action and goals. The problem I have had in the past and have seen others struggle with as well, is setting only short term goals. A good template would be something like a 3 year goal, a 1 year goal, and a 90 day goal. Ok let’s get started on the 5 steps:

1.   Source 
   1. This is where you need to explore what food plan you will commit to. Our source of energy and power all come from what we put into our bodies. There is not one size fits all for every man. You have to explore what works best for you and commit to following through on this consistently. For me I use the calorie counting system. I am in a busy season of fathood and business growth and this is what works best for me.
2. Strength
   1. Building muscle in our body has a ton of benefits. You don’t need to become a bodybuilder but you definitely should incorporate muscle building activities into your plan. A few of the biggest benefits of strength training are increased testosterone and is a great way to burn excess fat. What I do for my plan is I do three days a week of strength training. Remember whatever you choose, stick to that plan consistently, make a covenant with yourself.
3. Speed
   1. Speed training has a ton of benefits just like strength training. Some of those benefits are lower stress and increase cardiovascular health. Regular sprints lower your risk of heart disease, improve your blood cholesterol levels, and help control and prevent high blood pressure. What I do for my speed training is at least two times a week. I often try to fit it in on days I am not strength training and I switch between speed training and stretch training. Whatever you choose for your plan, stick to it consistently.
4. Stretch 
   1. This one is a big one for many men. For whatever reason many men’s sports don’t emphasize this aspect of health enough. I know for me this is a category I continue to work on and I am steadily seeing better results with consistent commitment to following my plan. This accompanied with sleep helps you to recharge and recover. A huge benefit with stretching is releasing tension in the body, lowered stress, and faster recovery so that your body can continue to get stronger. 
5. Sleep
   1. Quality sleep is some of the best timeless medicine that has always been available to us. Yet so many of us men sacrifice this aspect to “do” more, or to “hustle harder”. When in reality with less sleep we do less and our hustle is at best us dragging ass all day. Some of the benefits of quality sleep are more energy, lower stress, and improves overall wellbeing. When you get the seven to eight hours of sleep that experts recommend, your body gets time to heal, it recharges, and restores itself. Skimp on it, and it affects every body function, from your memory to your mood to the number of sick days you take and even your risk for a heart attack, says Shalini Paruthi, M.D., a sleep specialist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Pick a number from 6 to 8 hours of sleep and stick to it consistently. 

Time To Take Action 

Ok so now that you have the 5 Steps to what it takes to get into the best shape and overall health of your life, it’s time to take some action! First thing you want to do is take one hour, yes I said one hour. Trust me, you are going to need that much time and you will want to ensure that you have all aspects of the five steps completely outlined. After you have crafted your plan you need one of the top secret weapons for success; Accountability. 
I am sure you have experienced this or have seen other men starty something and because they are not accountable to other men they can easily backslide into inaction and bad old habits. This is a great opportunity to join our free 5-Day Physical Transformation Challenge Facebook group. We will launch this challenge this summer, so get ready!