My top 10 health tips from 2015

There may come a day when I can no longer do this. Today is not that day!

It’s the time of year to look back at the year that is over or look ahead at the coming year. In today’s post I chose to select my top ten list of health tips from 2015. This list might not seem like a list of health tips, but I assure you, it is.

1. Practice mindfulness: think before you act - This may sound trendy but call it what you will – consciousness, awareness, being present in the moment – it is a practice that will serve you well in all the things you do. And it does take practice! In the workout world, repetition without awareness is simply movement without a goal. To make progress, movement is not enough, it must be purposeful and determined.
2. Make life-affirming choices - Decision-making can be an onerous task but if you keep this rule in mind, you will make the best decisions for yourself.
3. Show up - You can’t get anywhere in life if you don’t show up. Show up for your job, for your classes, for competitions, for appointments, for commitments. Showing up is the first step to success.
4. Exercise wherever and whenever possible: look at places to go as opportunities to exercise. Walk or ride your bike; take the stairs. Squeeze in some push ups and squats. Do what you can.
5. Eat at the table. Eat slowly, taste and enjoy your food - Eat when you feel calm and relaxed to get the most benefit from the food you eat. Ask yourself are you a stress eater or do you avoid food when feeling stressed. Neither is healthy but being aware is the first step to changing the behaviour.
6. Give up on self-defeating talk - Don’t listen to those negative voices in your head. They are wrong. Nobody progresses by listening to self-defeating talk. Keep things positive, including how you see yourself. Be patient and gentle with yourself.
7. Do the same thing different ways - Your body adapts to new movements after about 4 weeks. Adding intensity, time under tension (speed of movement), volume, load, and varying angles (increasing or decreasing leverage) are all ways to train the same movement in different ways. There are an unlimited variety of ways to perform pushups and squats, two of the boss fundamental bodyweight movements. Doing the same thing different ways equals success.
8. Mobility and flexibility are foundations – If they are weak, you will never be strong. Making flexibility and mobility the cornerstone of your practice will allow you to develop a strong flexible body. You will have fewer limitations as well as fewer injuries.
9. Ask yourself, what’s holding you back from being the best version of yourself? Identify the obstacles that are preventing you from progressing and then work on removing or overcoming those obstacles. It might be lack of flexibility, it might be time management, it might be inertia. Whatever it is, it can be overcome.
10. Always do your best – When working out, you might not always feel your best, but give it your best on that day and your efforts will pay dividends. When making food choices, do the best with what you have. You might not always be in an optimal place or situation to make the best food choices. Do the best with what you have.

Making this list was not easy. There are many more tips that I could have included. However, I hope I have chosen some that resonate with you. If you have favourite tips from the past year you would like to share, please comment below. And if you have ideas for blog posts for 2016, I invite your input. Until then, Have a happy and healthy New Year everyone! Santé!