MANSFIELD — Getting healthy, losing weight and improving physical fitness are all common New Year’s Resolutions.
The internet is ripe with advice on how to get started.
Influencers, companies and wellness apps claim their workout routines, trendy diets, revolutionary products and one-of-a-kind hacks are the key.
Chris Hershberger, a personal trainer and former CEO of Black Belt Fitness, said it’s rarely that simple.
During a special episode of the Source Daily podcast, Hershberger shared his tips on how to set positive health goals (he’s not a fan of resolutions) and actually follow through.
Below are a few highlights from that conversation. For the full version, click the play button to listen to the Source Daily episode.
Commit to the long haul
When thinking about how to get healthier, it can be tempting to look for a quick-fix.
Hershberger said these approaches often don’t work and can actually be demotivating when people don’t see the results they want right away.
“We are bombarded with a system that basically is predicated upon convenience and convenience usually means bad for the body,” he said.
He advised people working on their health not to see their efforts as a failure, just because there aren’t noticeable results right away.
“Any type of transformation with your body is meant to be done slowly and gradually,” he said.
“I always say this to potential clients when I sit down with them initially in a consultation, ‘How long did it take you to get where you’re at right now?’ That answer is typically decades,” he continued.
“You can’t expect (the weight) to be gone or to change back to 18 years old in three months, it just doesn’t work that way. And if you do find a way to do it, you’re gonna have major repercussions.”
Start with habit building
From Hershberger’s point of view, the key to good long term health is building healthy, sustainable habits.
“People forget everything that you do is the sum of your habits. That’s what it boils down to. Everything that we do on a daily basis is the sum of the habits that we build.
“The process of building, breaking down, recreating habits, is a very specific psychological science, and most people don’t even get into that. They just see, ‘Oh my gosh, 30 pounds in 30 days.'”
It’s for that reason that Hershberger recommends focusing on building habits rather than resolutions.
“Once you’ve made the decision that you’re ready for transformation, build a plan,” he said.
Good health is a marathon, not a sprint
Build a system of healthy, sustainable habits is beneficial not just in the short term, but the long term.
Hershberger said one of the things that motivates him is the desire to be healthy for as long as possible.
“I want to have a good health span, not a lifespan,” he said. “I want to be 70, 80, 90, moving around and doing the things that I want to be doing, not living to 90 in a nursing home or being taken care of by other people.
A cross-sectional study of the 183 countries in the World Health Organization found that the gap between a healthy lifespan (years lived in good health) and overall lifespan has grown larger in the last two decades across the globe.
The United States had the largest gap — 12.4 years — followed closely by Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Norway.
Figure out your why
Whether you’re setting your habits and goals or simply working to motivate yourself on a tough day, it helps to remember the reason you’re making a change in the first place.
Hershberger said his clients have had a wide range of motivating factors. Some feel pressure from friends and family, others simply want to look better.
“When you find someone that is willing to make lifestyle transformation because they want to for themselves, they’re unstoppable,” he said.
“I love working with those people because they had this energy to them that I can just guide and they just take the ball and run.”
Focus on health rather than weight
If you’re focusing on wellness this year, you may have considered a weight loss goal.
While weight certainly has health implications, Hershberger said he believes Americans focus on too much on it.
One recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that individuals who have high cardiorespiratory fitness have significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease and death regardless of their body mass index.
In other words, being physically fit is more important for longevity and heart health than being thin.
“If somebody said, ‘Chris, you get to change (one) overarching thing in the world of wellness in the United States, I would eliminate weight. I would say it’s not even part of our lexicon anymore,” he said.
“If we did that, then we would focus on more important metrics that I think are.”
Those metrics may include things like cardiovascular health, resting heart rate, maintaining lean muscle mass and a balanced diet.
They can also include factors like sleep quality, stress levels and social connections.
The CDC found that one in three U.S. adults report feeling lonely and one in four report not having social and emotional support.
A 2023 advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General stated that loneliness is associated with greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety and premature death.
“If you have very low social connection and very little purpose in life, it basically destroys everything else,” Hershberger said.
