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The Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Your Fitness, Nutrition, and Mindset
Blog | May 29, 2019
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!
Related Posts
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Improve Your Energy Levels & Weight Loss
Fitness Tips
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Stress Relieve Mobility Routine
Warm-up & Cool Down
Private Member |
Great reference tool. Thank you Z!!!
Private Member |
waco, tx, usa
Love that you took the time to compile this all together for us, Zuzka! Thank you!
Private Member |
istanbul, istanbul, turkey
Zuzka hi!
couldn’t chose which size of kettlebell I have to buy for most of your workout with they????
I am advanced, training regularly.
Thank you so much for your workout in Zgym! Those are really best in whole world!
Private Member |
I’m sorry it took so long to find you. It was a bit of a shock when you were not longer on the other platform. I am, glad to see you’re back at it. Please please please continue promoting a healthy lifestyle. You were a massive inspiration for me. I cannot thank you enough. I really hope you get back to a point where you can provide a weekly video. Be it, just a vlog or a workout video. You’re an amazing and smart person and I really enjoy your prospective.
Private Member |
rehon, france
Hello à tous ! Je m’adresse en particulier aux abonnés français du site. J’aimerais savoir s’ils y en a qui suivent le meal plan fat loss. Trouvez vous les recettes faciles à réaliser et trouvez vous facilement les ingrédients en France ? Ce plan vous apporte t il satisfaction ? Merci pour vos réponses 😊. Stéphanie
Private Member |
Hi, zuzka. I have a personal question related to the keto meal plan. Is there any way not to make it in such a public way (like a private channel still related to work, of course) ??
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Private Member |
Great post. Commenting for reference♡
Private Member |
love this reference! thank you!
Private Member |
coventry, west midlands, united kingdom
Thank you so much Zuzka for putting this all together, I’ve just returned to your ZGYM after leaving and trying other alternative platforms – all of which haven’t really helped but placed me further into bad habit after bad habit.
This weekend I was moaning to my husband about how felt about myself (both physically & mentally) he happily pointed out that I was happiest doing your workouts….more importantly I was happy as a whole. This got me thinking 🤔 hence my return and the need to nurture myself whole again.
Recently I have gotten into an extremely unhealthy relationship with my body, not only how I fuel it but how increasingly aggressive towards myself I have become – in regards to how I talk to myself. As I mentioned totally unhealthy and it’s something I recognise that has to change. My own self sabotage is a behaviour trait which I need to address and these articles you have shared are valuable to addressing my own sabotaging habits…..I can’t wait to digest their valuable content and implement them moving forward 😊
Private Member |
são paulo, são paulo, brazil
Hi Suzka!
I have undergone a lipo 20 days ago
I am wearing a knee length girdle, doing massages to soften fibrosis, which also helped me to recover movements (since a week ago, more or less), but I cannot yet perform high impact training or do some movements, like bending to tie my shoes, squats, lateral bending, rotating my torso, jump, etc…
Which program do you recommend I start with, so I can slowly go back to full training?
Thank you in advance.
Kind Regards,
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Hi Paola, I think you have described every human movement 🙂 there’s really not much you should be doing. You could try the Bunny Slope Program for complete beginners because those exercises are low impact and very gentle and easy to perform. You should still use your own judgment though, because I can’t tell you for sure if it’s ok for you to do these workouts. I think your doctor would know better. How long before you recover completely?
Private Member |
são paulo, são paulo, brazil
Thank you for your answer, Zuzka!
My doctor informed me, before the surgery, that I would be able to go back to exercising a month after.
I had already though about the Bunny Slope program, just wanted to hear your recommendation.
And yes, surely I will go on my own pace, doing movements as I feel comfortable.
I have, since Wednesday, been able to do some squats, though cannot force it..
I felt happy I am recovering faster than I thought, but I will surely be very careful not to hurt myself and go back many steps….
Thank you, again!