38 Ways to Train Better, Move Better and Live Better

Another birthday has come and gone.  Besides making me realize that I'm getting dangerously older, my hair is getting closer to a full shade of gray and becoming painstakingly slower birthdays days also get me thinking.  The wheels start churning and thoughts go into overdrive.  This year my 38th birthday got me thinking about the simple things that a lot of us, including myself, could do better.  Some are things I learned along the way or picked up from others.  Some are things I think about on a daily basis.  Some are things I need to think need about more often.

1. Spend at least five minutes a day working on your breathing.  Do it in a supine position, in a prone position, in the morning, before bed.....doesn't matter how or when.  Just do it.
2. Get yourself a foam roller.  It will be the best $20 investment you will ever make.  Once you have a foam roller use it daily for 5-10 minutes a day.
3. Keep your cell phone out of your bedroom.....unless you plan on taking photos or videos I probably shouldn't know about.
4. Eat something green at least three times a day, preferably five times.  Mint chocolate chip ice cream doesn't count.
5. When you strength train....train for strength.  Train with the intention of getting stronger, not to burn fat, tone up, get ripped or whatever else the young kids say.
6. Do 10-15 minutes of some type of interval training at least twice a week.
7. Don't believe everything Dr. Oz has to say.
8. Start your day by pounding a large glass of water.
9. Have fun with your training with from time to time.  It's OK to break the rules.
10. Find a training partner, trainer or coach.  
11. Enjoy your coffee.  It's not the bit of cream or sugar in your coffee that is the problem.  It's the donuts, bagels and croissants that come with it.
12. Laugh daily.  Life is hard enough.
13. Cry when you need to.  
14. Spend 5-10 minutes before each training session on dynamic flexibility and mobility work.  And don't half ass it.
15. Aim to drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day. For example if you weight 150 lbs, drink 75 ounces of water a day.  If you weight 200lbs....you can do the math.
16. Never work out in white tube socks and black sneakers.
17. Realize you don't need bread.  You want bread, but you don't "need" bread.  And it doesn't matter if it's whole grain, whole wheat, white or whatever other labeling is thrown on it.  Bread is bread.
18. Aim to get 0.8-1.0 grams of protein per pound of ideal body weight.  If you weigh 165 but would like to get down to 150lbs aim for 120-150 grams of protein per day.
19. Realize there is no one good seated posture.  The best seated posture is a constantly moving posture.
20. Stop worrying about when the best time to stretch is.  Just stretch.
21. Stop comparing your training and nutrition to movie stars and professional athletes.  They have more things and time at their disposal than us average Joe's and some pretty good genetics and plastic surgeons.
22. Store your food in glass containers.  Drink from glass water bottles.  Do not microwave your food in plastic.  To make it simple just get rid of your plastic ware.
23. Stop looking for advice that you want to hear.  Start getting advice that you need to hear.
24. Train with a goal in mind every now and then: a road race, a Tough Mudder, being able to do a chin up, setting a dead lift PR, etc..
25. Get out for a long walk at least once a week.
26. Tell your mother you love her.  Tell your father you love him. Tell your kids you love them.  Don't just assume that they know.
27. Do some type of squatting on a daily basis: a body weight squat, a goblet squat, a squat hold, a squat to stand, etc..  Any type.  If you don't use it, you lose it.  And what's the one movement I see deteriorate the most?  The squat.
28. You may not be able to control how you sleep, but you can control the behaviors that could lead to good sleep: shutting down the cell phone and Ipad at least 30 minutes before bed, setting up a good sleeping environment,  not falling asleep to the TV, etc..
29. Have some sort of dead lifting variation in your training program: single leg deadlift, kettbell deadlift, barbell deadlift, trap bar deadlift, etc..  There is probably no other exercise that is more "functional" than the deadlift.
30. Learn a ton of body weight exercises such as lunge variations, push up variations, chin ups and squat variations.  You will have a whole array of exercises to use when you're on vacation, stuck at home or just want to mix it up.
31. But before you learn variations master the basic variation.  Be able to do a good, clean set of push ups before you go trying more advanced variations.  Be able to do a good split squat before you get into lunge variations.
32. Don't blame others for your poor food choices.  Chances are you put that piece of apple pie in your mouth.  Someone else didn't do it for you.  Hold yourself accountable.
33. Set behavior based goals such as getting in three hours of exercise a week or taking your fish oil on a daily basis.  Behavior based goals will influence your outcome based goals such as losing weight or body fat.  You also have more control over behavior based goals.
34. When someone asks how you're doing don't just say "Good" or "OK".  Ask them how they are doing.
35. Stop hopping from one thing to another. When starting out on a new training or nutrition plan, give it time to work.  And when I say give it time, give it at least four weeks.  
36. When your alarm goes off in the morning get your ass out of bed.  
37. Realize it's OK to break the rules now and then.  It's OK to have some cake from time to time.  It's OK to switch out an exercise now and then.  It's OK to have a few beers.  Don't beat yourself up over it.  Enjoy it.  Then get back on track.
38. Be thankful for what you have rather than focusing on and being jealous of what you don't have.