It’s all about the fundamentals

We’re going to talk about something a little radical today, especially when it comes to your health and fitness results.

Because we all want results, right? 

And the faster, the better! 

Well, what if that big rush to get to the finish line is actually slowing down your progress and making the road harder … especially when it comes to keeping those hard-won results!?

Have you ever heard the saying, “To go faster, you must slow down?” 

It’s an idea that has been around for ages … because it actually works. 

It can be a hard concept to wrap your mind around, but U.S. President Abraham Lincoln supposedly summed it up pretty well with this quote:

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

There’s some debate as to whether this can actually be attributed to him, but who cares, it’s a great philosophy regardless!

So how does this apply getting results with fitness & wellness?!

Sharpening the axe is mastering the basics. 

It’s building a foundation of healthy habits. And it’s so important because everything rests on it! 

But the thing with the basics is that they can seem … basic. Boring. Unsexy. Especially if you’re in a rush!

It can be tempting to get sucked into trying a “hack” to speed things up … or trying the latest trend your friend/coworker/brother-in-law is experimenting with. But my belief is that you need strong habits before you earn the “right” to try hacks!

Remember: you will get at least 90% (and maybe even 99%) of your results from the basics! Fundamentals, man, fundamentals!!!

With health & fitness, those basics include:

  1. Feeding your body with whole, healthy foods,
  2. Intentionally moving your body to make it strong and supple ,
  3. Getting enough sleep,
  4. Drinking enough water,
  5. Reducing stress,
  6. Taking time for FUN,
  7. Spending time with people you love and enjoy.


Or what we call THE 5 PILLARS OF HEALTH, which are Eat-Move-Recover-Play-Connect.

If you do all of those things, you definitely WILL get results. 

Then, once you have those basics covered, you can start to add “hacks” to supercharge and expedite your results.

Learn More at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArenaFitnessTrainingCenter/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arenafitnesstrainingcenter/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/arenafitness/

Jonathan Aluzas is co-owner of Arena Fitness, a fitness center that offers group training in Encino as well as personal training in Northridge.