If my entire health and fitness progress was erased overnight, would I be able to get back to where I'm at right now?

If so, how long would it take?

Tomorrow I turn 35.

Which sparked some thought on the questions above.

I don't especially love birthdays, or being celebrated, but I do love an excuse to take some time to reflect on where I'm at and what I've learned.

Depending on who you ask, turning 35 might seem young or it might seem old.

I have conversations all the time with friends, clients, and strangers that throw around phrases like 'must just be getting old', referring to why their joints hurt or why they can't lose their gut like they used to.

Some are half joking, but many actually believe their best days are behind them.

But there's one thing I know for sure that sets me apart from a lot of people I talk to.

I feel better than I ever have, and I wholeheartedly believe my best days (physically and otherwise) are still ahead of me.

Feeling my best physically is not just in one area, but almost across the board, as it relates to my:

• Pound for pound strength
• Body composition
• Energy
• Lack of aches, pains, injuries, and getting sick
• Conditioning (despite very little time put towards this)

I might not be quite as 'springy' as I once was as it relates to my ability to jump or sprint like I could in my college football days, and I wouldn't want to get tackled by my 21 year old self, but I'm not just throwing around empty words when I say I feel my best.

I legitimately mean it.

And I don't say it to brag.

God has blessed me with an incredible ability to perform at a high level despite focusing on the wrong things for many years.

But I've also done a lot of things right, and that's what I want to share with you, if you truly have a desire to look, feel, and perform your best at any age.

If I knew what I knew now, when I was in my 20s, I'm sure I'd feel even better.

Because in all honesty, I'd say I've only been 'getting it right' over the past 2 or 3 years in terms of really figuring out what works best for my body.

I believe my success has much more to do with my current daily actions than it does my health and fitness background, my genetics, or having it all figured out at a young age.

If you feel like it's too late, it's certainly not, so don't get discouraged with where you're at.

You'd be amazed at what 18 months of a well designed plan, consistently executed on, can do for your mind and your body.

If everything was taken away from me today, and tomorrow was the very first day of my health and fitness journey, here is exactly what I would focus on if I wanted to look and feel my best:

1) I Would Eat High Quality Food

Focusing on whole and high quality foods, while minimizing processed foods, is the first thing I would focus on.

The term 'clean eating' gets thrown around a lot, and I think it's highly individualized from person to person, but getting this one thing right will lead to countless benefits including:

• Easier calorie management (making point #2 much easier to accomplish)
• Better 'behind the scenes' health as it relates to hormones, bloodwork, immune system, etc
• Improved blood sugar regulation, making point #2 easier yet again due to less cravings, and allowing you to show up better without being 'hangry'
• Improved performance and recovery

2) I Would Eat Appropriate Quantities of Food (Based On My Body Composition)

If I was above 20% body fat, I would eat in a slight calorie deficit (5-10% less than maintenance calories).

If I was below 20% body fat, I would eat near maintenance calories or in a slight surplus (5-10% more than maintenance calories).

When you have more body fat, your ability to simultaneously lose fat and build muscle is much higher, even in a calorie deficit (especially if you haven't trained before or in a while).

If you're at lower body fat levels, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is not eat enough calories to maximize lean muscle (especially if you haven't been at the gym recently).

Many people fall into this trap and end up losing weight (but losing muscle along the way).

To figure out maintenance calories, I would use a tracking app and track my average bodyweight week to week.

3) I Would Strength Train 3x/Week With The Goal To Add Lean Muscle

If you're starting from scratch, or starting over after a long time away from the gym, you don't need more than 3 strength sessions per week.

If I was starting over, I would focus on building lean muscle by progressively getting stronger week over week.

Adding lean muscle will help you:

• Increase your metabolism, making fat loss even easier
• Protect your joints
• Look better and have more confidence
• Perform better, in your life or in a sport

Not sure where to start?

Here is what I would do: I wouldn't overcomplicate it.

Most things, aside from consistency and continuing to get stronger, don't matter a ton when starting out.

So choose any program you can stick to.

Or just follow this exact program until it stops working, and then reach out to me for another one.

4) I Would Walk 8,000 Steps/Day (Or More)

The data behind increasing your daily steps is insane.

If you want to burn more fat, live longer, and be free of more diseases or sicknesses: increase your daily step count.

If that sounds like too much work, then looking and feeling your best for years to come isn't that important to you.

I would wear a step tracker and make sure I'm averaging 8,000 steps per day (at a minimum)

5) I Would Sleep 7+ Hours/Night

Similar to walking, sleep is another habit that is not flashy.

But it just works.

You'll look better.

You'll feel better.

You'll perform better.

You'll just be better.

So find a way to make 7 (or more) hours work for your daily schedule.

6) I Would Do Some Conditioning (But Not Too Much)

Some conditioning (ex: running, HIIT, etc) is helpful, but not for the reasons you think.

I wouldn't do conditioning to burn more calories, but I would do it for my long-term overall health.

I would spend the majority of my time here in Zone 2 training (something you could do while still holding a conversation).

Occasionally I would do something really hard that leaves me out of breath - like sprints or the Assault Bike.

But I wouldn't spend too much time here and I would make sure I'm recovering from my strength sessions.

7) I Would Commit To 18-36 Months

If that sounds like a long time, it is.

But then again, it isn't, if you haven't been healthy for the last 10 years (or longer)

60 days or 6 months isn't going to cut it.

Most people get discouraged way too quickly when their body isn't transformed overnight.

Personally, I would commit to 3 full years of this plan before changing anything.

If that sounds like a lot, 18 months will be plenty of time to get addicted to how well you will look and feel if you do these things consistently.

Wherever you're at, just get started.

If you want some extra accountability, DM me right here and let me know which one you're committing to this year.

Dave