10 Lean Habits

Ive been a personal trainer 14 years. At a certain point, you recognize that every good fitness professional has the same or similar advice, and recommendations become recursive.

Simultaneously though, you must remind yourself that the overwhelming majority of people are overweight and unhealthy, and what is axiomatic to you can be revolutionary to the general public.

That aside, these are the most common “Lean Habits” that every healthy and fit person practices.

1. Move every day
Life=Movement
Death=Stillness

Structuring your life around movement likely sounds impractical, but IF you do this, you will be exponentially healthier. I only live in places where I can WALK outside readily, I've made certain never to live anywhere that requires long driving. Hell, my role as a trainer is a profession where I am on my feet. I make sure to move at least one hour a day, every day, even its walking and nothing else. I refuse to do anything that compromises my movement and leads to sedentary living.

If all you can do is go for a walk, DO IT. Do not stop moving. As your ability to move declines, death creeps closer.

2. Do not be friends with lazy people
Social behaviors are contagious by default. You absorb and internalize the energy of those you surround yourself with. There have been many studies demonstrating that in social groups, as soon as one person becomes overweight/obese, the likelihood of everyone else becoming overweight increases.

Sloth and gluttony are sins for a reason. If you want to be "fit" in every sense of the word, you need fit friends and a tribe of fit people. Find one, join one, or create one yourself.

3. Master Bodyweight
I make the point CONSTANTLY that resistance training is not a mutually exclusive endeavor and that you should train with ALL implements and be competent with all of them. Bodyweight training is almost a misnomer, as it gives people the idea thats its somehow a separate "style" of training.

Your bodyweight is the one thing you should have "easy" mastery of. Pullups, dips, pushups, lunges, squatting, crawling, situps, leg raises, planks, jumping, running, hopping, you should EASILY be able able to do all these things and more.

4. The best cardio is the cardio that isn't cardio
Running is great, walking is great. Cardio is essential for health. But many people dont like doing it. What to do? Find something you enjoy

One of the reasons I often encourage people to take up a martial art is that it can effectively function as cardio. Boxing, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jujitsu are all highly cardiovascular.

Ideally, you find something that you ENJOY doing, where the enjoyment of it supersedes the need to do it as "exercise". If you cannot, then at the very least WALK, as much as you possibly can. And enjoy the walking (thinking, podcasts, audiobooks, music, meditation) etc.

5. Whole foods (almost) all the time
-The "easiest" way to maintain bodyweight and not have to overly concern yourself with calories and macros? Eat whole foods. Eat like an adult.
Its extremely difficult to overeat when you are eating whole foods. You cannot comfortably "binge" on steak and eggs. Or vegetables. Or rice. Or anything else thats a whole food and not processed.

6. Protein first
Every lean person sets up their meals the same way.

Does this have protein in it? Yes or No? If it has no protein, its not something to make a meal out of it. If it does have protein, eat as much protein as possible before anything else.

Protein is the most satiating and thermogenic macronutrient. You cannot eat too much of it, and it will never be converted into fat.

7. Dont drink sugar
There is zero satiety to sugary beverages. Protein shakes, those can make you full. Soda does not. Ive yet to encounter a single healthy person who is a regular pop drinker.

8. Fast and much as You Eat
And I dont mean intermittent fasting.

This is something that is almost esoteric, but its a recurrent pattern when you notice it

Lean and fit people autoregulate their calorie intake, and they eat and fast at a 1:1 ratio.

Meaning if you eat your meals from 8am to 8pm, then dont eat from 8pm to 8am until the next day.

This is not long duration fasting, but does limit food intake to half the day. If your eating window is greater than your time spent not eating, you are more likely to be eating yourself into a calorie surplus. Following a 50:50 ratio ensures that bodyweight is always maintained.

9. Eliminate stress, don't just manage it a
"But I can't get rid of all my stress!"

No you cannot, but you sure as hell can cut out some of it. And you can restructure your life so you don't have to deal with certain stressors. This no doubt will apply differently to everyone, but the principle is the same; the best way to deal with stress is to NOT have to deal with it.

Toxic people? Get rid of them
Financial worries? Unbroke yourself and get your income up, cease the struggle
Health is shitty? GET HEALTHY

Often dealing with stress is in fact confronting the glaring problem you've been ignoring, and finally solving it. That is AJAC stress management, take care of your problems.

And really though, get rid of all the energy vampires you know. ALL OF THEM. There is zero reason to tolerate shitty people you don't like within your sphere of existence. They serve no point other than to bring hell to your life.

10. Guard your sleep

As soon you begin compromising your sleep and recovery, everything else related to self care completely goes down hill. Ive seen this happen enough time to recognize the pattern. One night of bad sleep to work late or stay up late becomes a vicious cycle rapidly where sleep is no longer a priority.

Being underslept affects your health at every level; reduced testosterone, increased stress hormones, slower cognitive function, impaired immune system, and way way way more likely to store bodyfat. There is no good reason to get less sleep than you need.

7-8 hours a night. Make it happen. Improve sleep hygiene as needed.