I was 30 years old when I had my first “ah-ha” moment when it came to my health. My first child was just a baby and as I bent down to give him a tub I could hardly put pressure on my knees. I was suffering from patella tendonitis. Years of competitive athletics followed by intensive training for CrossFit competitions resulted in physical pain that kept me from doing simple tasks, such as kneeling down. I knew something had to change…

That led me down a road of re-thinking my fitness, my lifestyle and what I wanted that to look like in the next 5, 10 and even 50 years. It forced me to re-evaluate my life and create some priorities and goals based on that. If I could go back to that time in my early 30’s, suffering from knee pain was probably just one of a number of symptoms that needed to be addressed. Movement, Hydration, Nourishment, Sleep, Rhythm and Stress are all area’s to be assessed. These are our BASIC LIFESTYLE GUIDELINES (BLG’S).

The practice I’d like to walk you through is exactly how we begin and monitor all of our new clients. We pinpoint the areas of highest priority and we put the systems in place to improve it. Here’s how it goes…

STEP 1: Self Evaluation

Rate yourself 1-5 in the following BLG’s:

5 = Extremely Consistent

4 = Mostly Consistent

3 = Somewhat Consistent

2 = Hardly Ever Consistent

1 = Never Consistent

Movement: Do you do some sort of intentional movement everyday? Lift weights, run, walk, hike, bike, swim, etc…

Rate (1-5):

Hydration: Do you drink 1/2 your BW in ounces of water everyday? Do you use salts/electrolytes to hydrate everyday?

Rate (1-5):

Nourishment: Do you eat mostly whole foods? Do you consume .7-.8 grams of protein per BW per day? Do you sit down, take your time and chew 30x’s per bite?

Rate (1-5):

Sleep: Do you sleep 7-8 hours every night? Do you fall asleep easily and stay asleep throughout the night? Do you keep phone and electronics out of the bedroom?

Rate (1-5):

Rhythm: Do you wake-up and go to sleep at the same time everyday? Do you eat and exercise at the same time everyday? Do you get morning sun exposure everyday?

Rate (1-5):

Stress: Does the majority of your stress come from one area in your life? Do you practice daily meditation or breath-work? Do you spend time in nature? Do you detach yourself from screens?

Rate (1-5):

Step 2: Prioritize

Now that you’ve performed the self evaluation, take a look back and see where you need to make the most improvements. Pinpoint one area you want to work on first. You cannot tackle all at once. Think about your lifestyle and what makes the most sense to you. The best way to do this is to create one habit at a time and allow yourself to be patient. Think of this as the “snowball” effect - one step at a time will lead you to lasting change.

Step 3: Create a Plan

You’ve identified your first area of focus and now it’s time to put the systems in place to conquer it. If for example sleep is the main area of focus, make sure you set yourself up for success. If you are not sure what it should entail, do some research or ask a professional for help. Feel free to reach out and I’ll help you devise a plan.

EXAMPLE - Optimizing Sleep is all about the environment.
- Our bedrooms should mimic a cave - dark and cool.
- Absolutely no lights at all and about 62 degrees.
- Leave your phones and electronics out of the bedroom as far away as possible.
- Make sure your wireless router is as far away from the bedroom as well.
- Put away screens at least 30 minutes before sleep.
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.

Those are just a few basics in terms of improving sleep. Of course with any situation, these can be personalized to the individuals needs. Once you’ve accomplished the habit of getting quality sleep, it’s now time to move to the next. For some it could take a few weeks and for others, longer, but it’s important to make sure you feel confident about the new habit you’ve created before moving on to the next. Set short-term goals for each habit and give yourself a time frame to accomplish each one. Then set a long-term goal to have accomplished all area’s. Maybe it’s a 12 month commitment to accomplish all. If you can stick to that, I guarantee you you’ll be a whole new person in just one year.

Step 4. Refine

Even though you’ve created the habits and know exactly how to conquer them, it will never be perfect. There will always be room for improving so, make sure you stay on top of it. Block out some time for yourself every few months to schedule a check-in. Go through all your BLG’s and see how you are doing. Make modifications as needed and stay on top of each area the best you can. Your health is a lifelong journey - it will never end until it does. As long as you make it a priority you will enjoy a long, happy, and active life.

If you have any questions at all or need some help getting started, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

In Health,

Bobby Scott