The Top 10 Healthy Habits for 2022
For those stumbling upon this article, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ryan and I was a personal trainer and gym owner for 10 years. I’d guesstimate I’ve worked with a 1,000 clients, everything from a CEO type to college athlete to stay at home mom.
And although they each had their own goal and story, if you lined them up and interviewed each one, you’d be able to see the successful ones had one thing in common: healthy habits.
So whether you want to lose 10 pounds, gain more muscle, or feel better, here are the top 10 healthy habits that will carry you along that path, just in time for 2022.
1) Eat your vegetables
This is the first habit because it’s so critical. Infact when I was looking for a picture to pair with this article, the word “healthy” generated mostly pictures of food. So it all starts seem to start here.
Take your mother’s advice and eat your greens.
So many problems, from arthritis, energy, and inflammation, can be solved by what food you put in your body. Plus, you can’t out exercise a bad diet, and many of your results from the gym are directly linked to what’s on your plate.
Although there are unlimited “diets” out there, with many becoming cult-like, we all can agree that vegetables are good for you. I don’t care which ones, try them all and see what you like.
2) Sleep tight
Overworked, over caffeinated, and over stimulated is what our current sitaution looks like. This is deadly cocktail that leads to awful sleep quantity AND quality.
How much sleep are you getting?
Do you stay asleep throughout the night?
I know it’s popular in the businesses world to wake up at 4 am but I don’t agree. Maybe if you go to bed at 8pm but who’s doing that, grandpa?
Sleep needs vary person to person. Keep your room cold and dark, get on a regular pattern of going to bed and waking up at the same time, limit screen time before. You know what you need to do and I don’t need to sell you on why sleep is important.
You’re going to feel, look and perform better with better sleep.
3) Move daily
Do something every day. Walk, stretch, run, swim, strength train.
It doesn’t matter, they all work.
You don’t need heroic, olympic setting instagram worthy workouts every time you step foot in the gym. In fact, it’s counterproductive. Better to do something all the time, then try to run up the mountain, burn out and say screw it.
Some days you’ll be able to do a full blown workout, others you can only squeeze in 10 minutes. In the big picture, it's fine.
To make fitness a true lifestyle, it’s got to be a part of your routine. Healthy people exercise daily. Not when they feel like it, not when they have time, not January 1st. It’s just like brushing your teeth, they do it every damn day.
4) Community
You’ll go further with a team. The support and inspiration you get from running with a pack will keep you moving faster than if you went at it alone.
A rising tide raises all the ships.
This could mean finding an accountability buddy, joining a group training gym, or hiring a trainer. You could even go on reddit or join a facebok group.
You need people in your corner.
Find others that have accomplished what you hope to achieve, so you learn from their mistakes, and then find others that can walk along with you, so you can pick each other up when you fall.
Ask any successful person in any endeavor, how they did it and they’ll say “they have a great team around them”.
The lone wolf wanders off and gets eaten. Stay with the pack.
5) Stay positive
Since you do it forever, the journey of healthy is a long way. And on this path, expect the ups, downs and everything in-between.
You’ll have injuries (hopefully minor ones).
You’ll find out you’ve been doing something wrong the entire time.
You’ll have terrible workouts.
You’ll feel unmotivated because life is kicking you in the teeth.
They will be continuous problems, obstacles and failures along the way.
It’s easy to give up. DO NOT. Be a continuous learner and stay optimisitic. You don’t have a choice. In 2022, exercise is not optional so figure out how to stay in the game until the end.
6) Go outdoors
The pandemic brought nature to the forefront of our consciousness. Get out there for your mental health, perspective, and change of pace. Health isn’t just going to a gym. Let that be a tool that leads you to a full life, one that is broad and wide, by getting in-touch with your surroundings.
Hike, camp and explore.
In a modern world, we’re revving our engines too high. We need to park it and cool off.
Jump in the river. Sit down and watch the world.
7) Meditiate
I wrote an article about success not always dictated by your timing, strategy, or situation and how it often comes down to your brain and how you think.
Work on your mindframe.
Mental health is a hot topic and our mental state is now, thankfully, a part of the conversation of health.
You could look completely great on the outside, but have demons banging on your skull.
8) Limit your vices
The posion is in the dosage. You shouldn’t swear off some of the finer things in life like sugar, alcohol, pizza, fried chicken. A good slice pizza can take you to heaven. A cold glass of whiskey wakes you up.
Moderate don’t elimiate.
9) Balance
The 80/20 rule applies here. Don’t get annoying with your nutrition, training, schedule. Nobody wants to be around that.
True success comes from being flexible and strategic. Life is short and not linear. Figure out ways to juggle health and real life. Go out for drinks on Saturday and push your workout back to Sunday at 10am.
10) Married for life
I hate a 30 day challenge. Nothing bothers me more then short term goals because they always lead back to zero. That’s a fling. Fun and exciting, but not going to get you anywhere in long road.
Have no interest in doing this temporarily.
Marry yourself to the game of health and sign on the dotted line. You need to be committed to this for life.
Follow the habits above and you will be fit forever. That’s always the goal. You want to be healthy all the time, not just sometimes, because trust me, it will be better than you ever imagined.
So whatever it takes, until the end, my friend, until death do you part.
And like always, if you find this article helpful please share it with a friend or leave a comment. I like hearing your feedback and try to respond to everyone.
