3 Fitness Tips for the New Year

By Daniel Jauregui

I’ve never liked the idea of New Year’s Resolutions. If you wanted to commit to doing something, you probably wouldn’t wait until the first of January to get started. Nevertheless, everyone seems to be more willing to try to develop good habits at this time of year. So with that said, here are 3 tips to help make 2020 a better and healthier year for you.

1. Start training at least 3 times a week.
Several of you are already doing this, so great work! But if you’re training fewer than 3 times a week, it's likely you’re not reaping all the benefits of exercise. These include (but are not limited to) improved body composition, higher metabolism, improved hormonal profile, reduced risk of heart disease, more strength, better cardiovascular endurance, and the list goes on. If you’re only spending 1-2 days a week exercising, the lack of frequency can slow or potentially stall performance progress you’re trying to make. In 2020, work to increase your overall physical activity, and start setting aside a minimum of 3 days for training every week. If you’re already doing that, try to set aside 4 or 5.

2. Set some realistic performance goals for yourself.
Many people measure the efficacy of their workouts with things like how hard it felt or how sweaty they got or how sore they were the next day. In my experience, none of these are all that useful. The only measure of an effective workout is whether or not it actually contributed to getting you better at something. What that something is is ultimately up to you. In BHIP, we’re constantly trying to improve your capabilities across different modalities, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your own individual focus. Whether you want to improve your number of push-ups, increase your deadlift, or run a mile faster, you can always get better. Having a goal will also help to focus your training. Rather than going through the motions and trudging along, you will have a purpose that you’re training for. The key is to make your goals performance oriented. Stop worrying about how much you’re sweating and start trying to improve what you can do. If you’re not sure how, we’re here to offer suggestions!

3. Improve the quality of your recovery.
In 2019, probably for the first time in my life, I found I wasn’t recovering enough from my training. My knees became constantly achy, body fatigued and weak, and nagging pains plagued much of the exercise I did. There were several things contributing to this, but what it boiled down to was the very low effort I put into my recovery. I wasn’t making time for stretching or foam rolling, wasn’t sleeping enough, and was pretty much eating what was convenient. I’ve seen patterns like this one repeat themselves in many BHIPers and other clients I work with. Anyone that neglects recovery, regardless of age or capability, will eventually get to a point where injuries and irritations easily develop. If you’re training regularly, then as much time as possible should be spent focusing on what you can do to continue performing well. It is during this recovery time that growth and progress actually occurs. Exercise is the stress that breaks your body down, but recovery is what allows your body create adaptations that improve your fitness. This includes stretching/foam rolling to reduce the tension and inflammation surrounding your muscles and tendons. It also includes getting the optimal amount of sleep, which most research seems to indicate is between 7-9 hours for the average person.

Doing all of these things may not always be convenient, but progress has never been easy. Comment below with any questions or other habits you’re hoping to develop in 2020.