Hey, guys! Welcome back. Today’s post is all about optimizing your fitness, nutrition, and mindset. Here on the site, I’ve been blogging about all of these topics for years now. I’ve been around the scene long enough to know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to reaching your goals. And let me tell you, I’ve picked up a lot of tips and tricks along the way. Things that I’ve been more than welcome to share with you all. However, it’s easy for a lot of them to come and go and get lost the more I continue adding to the site. Hence why I decided to create this post- it’s your grand central station for accessing some of my top advisory posts! Bookmark this page whenever you’re looking to supplement your knowledge or have any questions that I may have already covered in the past. If none of them make it here, please leave a comment below and maybe you’ll see it get covered in a future post! So, without further ado, here’s your go-to guide for all aspects of your training- mindset!

Mindset

I believe that your mind is like a muscle. It must be trained and worked through obstacles, evaluation, and constant self-improvement. Or else, like with any muscle, it will start to weaken over time. Think laziness, self-doubt, insecurity, or anxiety. Without the right mindset, it will be very difficult for you to overcome the daily challenges of life. Even working out or pursuing a goal will be difficult if you don’t get your mind right. So, check out these posts and start whipping your mental fitness back into shape!

Discipline & How I Stopped Snacking at Night
Getting Back After Falling Down
Don’t Be at the Mercy of Motivation
A Deeper Reason Why You’re Not Motivated
Answer These Questions Before Setting Goals
Positive Attitude
How to Decide What’s Best for You
Giveupitis

Let’s not forget stress! Becoming a victim of stress takes away the strength of your mind. You must learn to adapt and overcome to stress in order to become its master. Doing so keeps your training, nutrition, recovery, and emotional health from taking a brutal hit. I’ve got quite a few posts on it, so give yourself some time to read through them- especially if stress is one of the more difficult aspects of your lifestyle.

Good Stress Vs. Bad Stress
Stress and Pleasure Seeking
How Exercise Counters the Effects of Stress
Why Meditate?
5 Ways to Unwind After a Stressful Day

Fitness

There are a lot of ways to approach fitness. Each with their own successes and failures. What matters most is that you find what works best for you, while at the same time being open to experimentation. One of the ways you can tweak and evolve your personal fitness regimen is by learning an assortment of exercise techniques, using new equipment, and playing around with different training methods that revolve around time, intensity, and style (i.e., Tabata, HIIT, AMRAP, etc.). Look over these posts and level up your fitness!

The Cycles of Training
How to Fix Strength Imbalances
Breathing Better During My Workouts
The Importance of Whole-Body Training
Is Muscle Confusion Just Another Myth?
Why I Don’t Really Believe in Heart Rate Monitors
Do You Pee Your Pants When You Exercise?
What to do About Snapping Hips
Should You Separate Your Cardio and Weight Training?
ZGYM 101
Is Your Environment Holding You Back?

The following posts are specifically about injuries, working with or around injuries, and what to do about them. As always, please make sure you’re working with a doctor or physical therapist before attempting any sort of workout program when dealing with an injury!

Dealing with Injuries
Three Common Overuse Injuries and How to Help Prevent Them
Staying Active Despite Permanent Arm Injury
How to Exercise and Avoid Knee Injury
Exercising with Knee Pain
Working Around Injuries
When to Go Low Impact
How to Stay Pain Free

This section is all about recovery, as well as flexibility and mobility. Don’t skip out this vital aspect of your training! Even if you don’t consider yourself an elite athlete, maintaining flexibility and mobility are both keys for healthy aging!

Recovery After Exercise- Important for Your Health and Progress
Five Workout Recovery Tips
The Importance of Cooling Down
Why is Mobility So Important?
MOB Therapy- Mobility Checklist and Basic Tools
What You Need to Know About Training for Flexibility
Want More Flexibility? Train Smarter!
Turn Up the Heat: The Flexibility Hack No One Talks About

Just because you’re limited by work, family, budget or traveling doesn’t mean you can’t get into the best shape possible! Before you go hanging in the towel, check out these posts that will help you to weave fitness into your lifestyle, no matter the obstacle.

The Busy Body’s Guide to Working Out
Time Is No Excuse
Travel Friendly Exercise Equipment
Travel Friendly Workouts
Warrior Wednesday: How to Keep Yourself in Shape While Traveling
Small Space Bodyweight Workout
Hotel Workouts
Do You Even “NEAT”?

Last, but not least, here’s a list of posts made specifically for beginners. Whether you’re new to working out or joining the ZGYM (or both), these should cover most of your bases.

How to Use ZGYM and Who’s Zuzka Light?
Hi There! New to the ZGYM?
For Beginners: Getting Started
My Workouts and Weekly Schedules
How to Get in Shape #2: Simple Tips on How to Get Yourself to Exercise Regularly
5 Tips for Building Healthy Habits
Is One ZGYM Workout a Day Enough?
What to do if the Workout is “Too Hard”?

Nutrition

Your training is only as good as your diet. Without proper nutrition, you may as well kiss all of that hard work goodbye. Even those who get away with it can’t ignore the health complications that arise as the result of a poor diet. Remember, food is more than calories. It’s fuel for your body, mind, and spirit. Yes, you should enjoy it, but make no mistake about the fact that it’s one of the strongest forms of medicine.
Check these out for my top tips regarding nutrition!

Live Session #3: All About Diet
If Food is Life, Why Isn’t Your Diet?
How to Find Which Diet is Suitable for You
Signs Your Diet is Working
Processed Foods
What Are Whole Foods?
Bio-Individuality
Nutrition as Religion

These tips are specific, addressing diet-related issues like overeating or how to eat well while on a budget.

How to Prevent Overeating
Your Guide to Eating Out
Eating Healthy at Parties
Healthy Eating on a Budget
Budget Friendly Superfoods
The Simple Key to Modifying Recipes
Pack Healthy Lunches for Work
The Top 5 Reasons to Do a Meal Plan
Weight Loss and Weight Gain Strategies

Alright, everyone, I hope you find this round-up-style post helpful! These are some of my greatest strategies for maintaining my health and physique. Obviously, not everyone will agree 100% with what I recommend, but these are the product of years of experience, research, and consistency. Hopefully at least one of these will land with you! Be sure to bookmark this post for later use guys, and let me know what more you’d like to see here on the site!