Abs don’t come magically, they originate from your routine

The success of your health plan is solely based on your daily routine and your lifestyle.

It may sound surprising for some people, but eating the right foods isn't the only way to build your abs. If I were to list in order of priority what you need to master to reach your your physical goals, it would look something like this :

1. Your sleep and stress levels
2. Your water intake
3. Diet and supplementation
4. Training

Stress and sleeping habits

To succeed in your health journey, the two main points come from your daily routine and your lifestyle. In order to achieve physical and mental changes you need to understand that joining the gym next door and cutting carbs off your diet isn’t always the answer. Deciding to review your evening habits and to pay attention to your bedtime is a good starting point. It’s also important to know that your stress level fluctuates greatly depending on how much sleep you get and it definitely creates a major impact on your results. 90% of my new clients have this concern and these factors are the main cause of the build-up of fat around the abdominal area.

The consequences of junk food and physical inactivity accumulated over the years may appear very late in your life, but a lack of sleep has immediate effects on your health. For example, it can lead to a pre-diabetic state.

My favorite motto is : "Recover as hard as you train" . It's part of the program ! If you're doing your workouts 5 to 6 times a week at a high intensity, I expect you to have at least 7 hours of sleep at night...

As per the above, your nightly recovery affects your stress and energy level. There are many other factors that influence these : work, activities, children, family, friends, screen use and all the information we are bombarded with on a daily basis.

We must also recognize that sometimes the sources of stress are out of our control. This is why I emphasize on the morning and evening routines and how it’s important to make them soothing and essential to recover and recharge your batteries.

Your water intake

The human body is about 60% water. During an intense CrossFit or HIIT training session, you can lose up to 2% of water. Losing up to 10% would be fatal and it’s important to know that your body has automatically integrated these statistics and will always work in order to avoid this scenario.

Drinking water must be a top priority for you since the less you drink, the more you retain. Retaining water means keeping toxins inside and slowing down their natural draining. All of this then leads to an increase in the toxicity and inflammation of your body. In addition, it’ll enter into a defense mechanism and lower your pressure in order to slow down your metabolism.

If you’re prone to headaches and other discomforts such as dizziness on a regular basis, know that your body stops burning calories during these times and always stays in survival mode but also builds up reserves. This is why you need to hydrate often. In my opinion, for the average person, the ideal amount of plain water is 2 to 3 liters per day. Keep a one-litre bottle with you at all times and fill it up once in the morning and once afterwards. Note that you should avoid drinking too much after 6:00 pm.

If you master these aspects, you’ll be able to focus on a good training, nutrition and supplementation plan in order to reach the results you aim for.

‘‘Build a solid foundation first and start your journey the right way’’