10 things you should NOT be doing for optimal health

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As a fitness trainer, we often focus on what you should be doing to improve your overall health.

Here’s a list of what you should NOT be doing if your goal is optimal fitness and conditioning!

1 – Don’t focus on cardio

When people initiate a health and fitness program, they often start with cardio. A better approach would be to focus on strength training since it positively impacts so many health variables.

2 – Don’t neglect mobility and flexibility

Spend some time every day focusing on your range of motion.

3 – Don’t do high impact activities every day

Alternate high impact exercise with low impact workouts to minimize injury.

4 – Don’t forget to warmup

Make sure you spend 5-10 minutes before each workout going through low impact, range of motion movements to warm the muscles, lubricate the joints and prep your cardiovascular, respiratory and energy systems. This will assure you perform better and reduce your risk for injury.

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5 – Don’t focus on high intensity exercise

Make sure your program is balanced with a combination of easier, longer duration sessions, moderate intensity and duration workouts and short and hard workouts. Going hard all the time is a recipe for burnout and over-training.

6 – Don’t lift too heavy

It’s important to lift heavy enough to stimulate the muscle to produce benefits. However, if you can’t maintain solid technique, then you’re lifting too heavy. Focus on quality of movement and strive for 8-12 good repetitions.

7 – Don’t rely on your workouts to compensate for an inactive lifestyle

If you spend one hour in the gym, it won’t offset a sedentary lifestyle the remaining 23 hours per day. So set a timer at your desk to get up and move on the hour. Try to achieve 5000-10,000 walking steps per day. Movement ‘snacks’ throughout the day are proving to be far more beneficial than stacking all your movement into one time period.

8 – Don’t drink your calories

Many people would experience incredible health benefits if they reduced and/or eliminated high calorie drinks such as soda pop, alcohol, or sugary coffee drinks.

9 – Don’t eliminate any macronutrient

Every macronutrient, including Carbohydrates, Protein and Fats, are critical for optimal health. Eliminating any macronutrient can lead to poor health.

10 – Don’t consume too few calories

If you are trying to maintain a caloric deficit to manage your weight, reducing your calories too low can impact your health, slow your metabolism and cause muscle loss. Instead strive for a more manageable caloric deficit of 500 maximum calories per day.

Bonus – Don’t neglect your sleep. One of the best initiatives you can take to improve your overall health is assure you are in bed for at least 7-8 hours per night. Develop healthy bedtime routines to promote good sleep habits.

Yours in health & fitness,
Sherri