I have an incredible idea:
What if we all stopped looking for the hacks, silver bullets, magic pills to answer all of our health woes and instead started to exam the behaviors that caused us those problems in the first place?
How about trying these simple behavior changes in lieu of these bandaids:
Drop the Vitamin D supplements and go for a walk in the sunshine. You will be amazed what 15 minutes of blood flow and sun exposure will do for your health!
Quit pumping your body full of anti-inflammatories and beating yourself up with the foam roller and just move smarter in the gym.
Skip the greens powder drink and eat your veggies instead.
If you focus on behaviors over bandaids you will thrive, both inside and outside of the gym.
So why do so many of us choose the bandaid route? This is because simple behaviors like these aren’t sexy, they can’t be packaged and sold, and truth be told, they take time and work to implement consistently.
But…what we have learned at OPEX Franklin and all of our OPEX Gyms through experience by working with thousands of clients around the world, we know that changing behaviors is the only true way to make a real and lasting impact.
It isn’t the quick fix, but instead altering your daily practices and making them a part of who you are that will give you the power over your own health, rather than relying on pills, powders, 30-day challenges, restrictive diets, and fitness gimmicks.
So me and yourself a favor: Examine your behaviors in four areas: Balance, Energy, Rhythm, and Purpose.
Balance: There are 24 hours in a day, apply work and rest appropriately.
Are you balancing 60% stress and 40% rest throughout your entire week?
Do you include relaxing activities such as gentle movement, walking, meditating, sleeping, podcasting, yoga, chilling out with loved ones, reading, or whatever makes you calm and happy?
Energy: You can’t cheat biology! Sleep with the moon, rise with the sun.
Do you get 7+ hours of uninterrupted sleep?
Do you go to sleep and get up at the same time every day?
Do you watch the sun rise and set?
Do you avoid blue light before bed?
Rhythm: Proper digestion, water, movement, are essential daily routines.
Do you move your body in some way every single day?
Do you drink at least ½ your bodyweight in ounces of water daily?
Do you choose foods that are easy for you to digest and bring you great mental acuity?
Do you sit down to eat your meals in a calm environment and chew each bite thoroughly?
Purpose: You will one day die, get over it and get living!
Do you understand what you want to get out of your health and fitness that goes beyond the walls of the gym?
If you aren’t honoring these Basic Lifestyle Guidelines, you will have to bandaid your health. Many of those bandaids will come in the form of expensive and unsustainable supplements and biohacks. They might work in the short-term, but do you really want to be relying on fixes rather than addressing the root of your problems?
Changing behaviors won’t happen overnight. Just like fitness gains take time, so does working on your food hygiene, hydration, daily step count, sleep schedule, and sun exposure. That’s where OPEX Franklin come in to help!
Our coaches don’t just craft fitness programs, as the fitness program is only part of the solution to live a larger life. We also consult with our personalized training clients every month on lifestyle behaviors. And…we’ll never sell you an expensive CBD ointment that you don’t need! We would much rather build a relationship and work with you to create new behaviors and habits that leave you feeling better than you have in years!
