We used to call them fitness tips but now the latest trend is to call them fitness hacks, and I desire to be a trend follower. I suppose there is something more to a hack: If something is going to be a labeled a hack then it had better be some sort of game-changing, time-saving short cut. So significant in fact that it should almost feel like you’re cheating. Well, I can’t promise you anything quite that mind-blowing here, but I have compiled a pretty worthy list of my favorite fitness hacks, which will definitely save you time and get you results, especially when you’re on the road traveling so much. While those who know me, know I am an advocate of making fitness part of a holistic lifestyle, and that I am not into trendy, fad diets or one-size-fits-all approaches, there is nothing wrong with optimizing or streamlining your training in order to maximize exercise value. Training smarter, and not just harder, should always be a welcome strategy. Of course there really are no shortcuts or miracles, but there are some hacks. Some so simple they should be common sense, while others, hopefully, are new ideas to you. In no particular order:
Train using full-body, functional movements. Skip the isolation exercises unless you’re rehabbing an injury or bringing up a weak body part. Isolation exercises should be left to bodybuilders, Physique athletes, and fitness models who are paid to look perfect and symmetrical. While you, no doubt, want to look good, your primary goals should be mobility, health, longevity and perhaps athletic performance. Full-body, functional exercises that synergistically involve multiple muscle groups accomplish all these goals in the shortest amount of time; exercises like burpees, pull-ups, push-ups, squats, lunges, planks and box-jumps. It’s amazing what a nice physique these movements will produce inherently.
Train at high intensity most of the time. High intensity training maximizes your exercise value, giving you the most bang for your buck, in the least amount of time. It also triggers a lot of post-exercise, metabolism-boosting, pro-hormone affects, lasting hours afterwards. You can increase your intensity level by: reducing your rest duration between sets, using circuit-training principles where you alternate antagonistic muscle groups, increase load, increase reps, or any combination of the aforementioned. If you desire to reach failure levels, then you must follow with a brief resting interval, usually performed using a 1:3 working-to-resting interval ratio, also known as high intensity interval training, (HIIT).
Adopt an adaptable and flexible training mindset. This open-minded mentality needs to reach across all aspects of your training, because that is what uber-busy, successful people do – they always have a back-up plan and can call the workout audible at a moment’s notice. Had a morning Yoga session planned but now the surf is going off? Go surfing. Had a morning workout planned but now the wife says you have to take the kids to school or the boss calls a meeting? Shift training to lunch or the after work. Had chest-day planned and all the bench-presses are taken? Do dumbbell presses or push-ups. Gym is closed? Train outdoors with just your bodyweight. All this means you always should have a set of workout clothes with you. Keep them in your car or your office. Opportunities abound to fit in random, bonus workouts, especially if you’re a runner. The unexpected benefit of this type of training mentality, is that you never get stuck in a plateau-inducing, complacent, routine rut. Some call this the training principle, muscle confusion.
Build accountability into your fitness. Covered before, this topic is absolutely critical to every successful training or weight-loss plan. There are many ways to create workout accountability into your life. The number one way is to hire a trainer. Once you’re forking out money every month, you’re not going to waste it, and that is what trainer’s do best — hold you accountable! Think about it. How much work would you get done if you didn’t have a boss holding you accountable? Other more simple ways are to buy a home-scale and weigh yourself weekly if not daily to at least track trends before they get out of hand. A more fun way is to join a sport’s competition team or meet-up where you have teammates counting on you to show up. Another way is to shamelessly declare you fitness goal on your social media feeds so all 5000 of your trolling “friends” will be sure to offer their encouragement. Enter a race perhaps? At the very least, schedule your workout into your digital calendar the night before via your smart phone!
Use supplements. I am well aware, thanks to all my Encinitas’ hipster friends, that nothing beats eating organic, locally-sourced, sustainable, non-GMO, unprocessed whole-foods, but for those rare occasions when we don’t have access to them or time to prepare them, supplements can conveniently fill in the gap. I know the supplement industry can be shady, is unregulated, and costly, but it is worthwhile to have some trusted brands of protein or MRP powders and bars always on hand. Ready-to-eat with no refrigeration required, or they shake-up in seconds, either instantly provide the fuel you need to train, or the nutrients you need to recover. What’s more, the top-shelf brands are so good, many of them are more nutrient-dense than their whole-food counter-part. Plus, with a trusted bar always on hand, you’re less likely to make a bad snack choice when food options are limited.
Maximize your daily fat-burning window by performing cardio in a fasting state, before breakfast. If fat-burning or weight-loss is your primary fitness goal, then know that the most ideal, naturally occurring window of opportunity to maximize your chances is when you first wake up after fasting all night (because you were sleeping). At this critical moment upon waking, you are burning mostly stored fat for fuel, your stomach is empty and your blood-sugar is stabilized. The stage is now set to access and burn even more stored fat by training aerobic-cardio while in this fasting state. To mobilize and access yet even more stored fat, you can consume a serving of caffeine via black coffee, tea or a pre-workout supplement. (Caffeine unlocks and mobilizes fat-stores). Note: If you are concerned about catabolizing muscle tissue for energy, then you can also consume either one scoop, (20 grams) of whey protein powder mixed with water, or eat a teaspoon of coconut or MCT (medium chained triglyceride) oil along with your black coffee or tea. The MCT fat found in coconut burns like a carbohydrate but without triggering insulin or disturbing blood-sugar balance. To be clear, if your primary training goal is athletic performance or building muscle, then training before consuming a balanced breakfast may not be ideal, as your energy levels will not be topped off.
Get smart with your Smart-Phone. Gadgets can be good. Pilots love gadgets & data. So download a workout app on your smart-phone or wear a fitness bracelet for immediate physiological feedback. Immediate performance and completion data feedback — such as, how many calories you’re burning, your heart rate, distance traveled or elevation gained — is very rewarding and empowering. It can serve as a catalyst to propel you to the next level or workout, track trends and progress, and serve as another accountability tool. Fitness bracelets and their associated downloadable smart-phone apps do all this and more. Plus, they can suggest workouts and provided detailed exercise guidance via photos and videos. It’s like having your own virtual trainer everywhere you go and automatic updating workout log, only for hardly any cost! I should know, I helped create one.
Multi-Task. Let your A.D.D. diagnosis work for you. Need to make some phone calls? Put on your blue-tooth headset and talk while you walk. Have to take your kids to their practice? Train with them, or train while they train. That’s what I do. Wife or girlfriend has you pinned down for a lunch date? Take a rain-check on lunch and make it a fitness date instead: Go for a run, hike or bike ride together. Listen, Cosmo says if you agree to do a Yoga class with your chick, you will be her hero for the week. Need to listen to some podcasts or audio books for work research? Again, put on your blue-tooth headset and listen while you workout.
Make it FUN. This is perhaps the biggest hack of all. If you can find a way to make your workout the highlight of your day – literally boosting dopamine, your “drug-of-choice” — you will discover that you miraculously possess endless energy to give to exercise. You won’t want to quit. The best way to do this to find a sport or activity you love and then do it at all costs. My wife and I are only half way joking when I say she thinks she’s a pro beach volleyball player and I think I’m a pro surfer…at age 45! The fitness magic happens only once it becomes addicting — literally. Veteran, world class athletes call this feeling – this state of mind, flow. Granted its hard to play your favorite sport on a layover, but eventually you can learn how to slip into flow-state even during the most bland treadmill workouts.
Use positive self-talk and affirmations daily, or go get hypnotized. Instruct yourself daily (without judgement) that you are “fit and strong”, or that you are “a powerful, fit warrior”, or something to this effect. Repeat this aloud to yourself several times daily. If you have the motive and the means, visit a sports psychologist to experience the sincere power of suggestion (hypnosis), and learn about self-fulfilling prophecy, to instill within you that you are becoming the confident, fit, athlete you desire to be. ou think I’m kidding. I couldn’t be more serious. You also have to hack into your mind. Ask yourself this: If you don’t believe in yourself, then who will? Get radical with your fitness and realize your full potential. The time is now. Eventually with practice you can learn to experience mindfulness, positive affirmations, and meditation anywhere.
