Podcast - 2 Week Wellness Challenge!

As we head into Spring, I thought it was a great time today to share with you a 2 Week Wellness Challenge to level up your health, fitness and vitality in time for summer months, without any confusion, overwhelm or stress.

BTW, the audio is always better than the read version because I go off on tangents and add more value! :)

This 2 week challenge consists os a 10-point daily & weekly checklist that you can download at my website at the beginning of my FREE Rock Solid Wellness online video course (access it here if you haven’t already).

Use this 1 -page PDF as a wellness checklist or as a challenge - whatever works best for you!

Personally, I really like checklists because they can bring basic organisation and structure into your weekly routine, which is helpful for many people.  Having a guide or checklist or challenge is also a great way to get yourself heading in the right direction if you need help getting on track staying on track or taking your health and wellness to the next level.

Now, this is how I structure my routine.  And I believe it can work for you too if you need guidance – because it is scalable, practical and will give you a fantastic foundational base to work with no matter where you’re at in terms of your age, level or fitness or your goals.

Now, I’ve named this a 2 week challenge – but the reality is, I build my entire daily wellness routine around these 10 things.  And to make it easy for you, I’ve condensed these 10 points onto a 1-page download which you can access at my website when you sign-up for my FREE Rock Solid Wellness video course (if you haven’t already done that).

Simply go to my website at zanetruscott.com…go to the “Coaching” tab and click on course and community and you’ll be able to access it.

Before I share this 2 week wellness challenge with you – you might be thinking to yourself why 2 weeks?

Well it’s a great starting point. 

It’s a bite sized duration of time, that will enable you to create some base level routine and momentum in your weekly wellness schedule.

And it’s where I would start if you needed my help to get back into the driver’s seat with your wellness routine and your health.

Now obviously, you may already be doing all the right things and are fully happy with where you’re at and your current routine.  If so, just use this as an opportunity to mentally check in with what you’re currently doing and maybe 1 or 2 of these suggestions can help you to elevate things for you. 

But if you’re anything like me, you like to constantly learn, evolve, grow and make progress, so there are always little prompts that can be really helpful no matter how long you’ve been on the path of health and fitness.

So, I’m going to rip through these points now and make a brief comment on each one – but I think you’ll find most of them fairly explanatory in terms of what to do and the benefits:

1.         Drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day – your body and brain are comprised of at least 75 % water, which means your they need water to function at their best – to hydrate your cells, flush out toxins, lubricate your joints and for cognitive health.  In fact, the brain weighs around 2 litres of water – it’s called hydronium fluids – and it should really be replaced every 24 hours.  So this is why I say AT LEAST 2 litres.  Your brain gets first dubs on the water in your stomach through capillary precipitation, so you really need to more to service your body as well, particularly if you’re relatively active.  So for me, I shoot for 3-4 litres personally, but you do you and make 2 litres an absolute base line non-negotiable;

2.        No Processed Food – I believe you can simplify all of the confusion and tribalism and conflict that exists around the area of diet and nutrition, by simply avoiding processed food and then prioritising a natural wholefood diet that is as close to source as possible, whatever that looks like for you and resonates with you.  Whether you choose to follow any particular ism or diet or eating plan, for me, this is THE most important principle for health and vitality.  In other words, there’s no point in being vegan if you’re going to load up your diet with refined sugars and grains, which are highly inflammatory and do little for gut health, your insulin resistance and metabolic health.  So, again, rule #1 is to avoid processed foods – because these are laden with chemical preservatives, refined sugar, flour and industrial seed oils and trans fats which will harm not help your health.  Follow this rule, go with whole natural foods and you won’t have to worry;

3.        No Alcohol – I’m sure you’d agree this one is pretty self-explanatory because all of the research shows that alcohol really does more harm than good in the body. Now I’m not saying that you should never drink alcohol, in fact I enjoy a cold beer and glass of wine myself from time to time – but if you’re trying to build a robust health base or get back on track with your health, it really is something you should eliminate for a period of time.  You’ll feel better, you’ll look better and you’ll function with more clarity and purpose.   For some people, I know that the prospect of going 2 weeks without alcohol is a serious challenge, but that’s why I’ve put it in here, because I also know it’s one of the first things that needs to go for anyone who is struggling with their physical or mental health and wellness. So again, if you enjoy a drink from time to time, that’s great…but if you haven’t tried going for 2 weeks without it for a while, try it for yourself and I guarantee you’ll feel more energetic, clear and vital than you thought possible.  Enough said on this one;

4.         Eat Something Green Each Day – greens are among the most nutrient dense foods out there, so you should prioritise something green in your diet every single day.  Whether it be a green smoothie, green raw juice or good quality organic juice powder blend, a green leaf salad for lunch or a bowl of steamed greens with your evening meal, just get something green into your body each day.  This is a principle I follow religiously and it’s a great one to check off your daily list.  My favourite ways to get greens are all of the ways I just described – I’m a prolific eater of green salads made with spinach, rocket and lettuce blends as a base and I love preparing a green smoothie after my morning work out at least 2-3 times per week. I also absolutely love broccoli and brussel sprouts as an accompaniment to my evening meal, particularly during the cooler months

5.        30 Minute Brisk Walk (Minimum) – again this one should go without saying, but the reality is many, many people don’t do this every day as a non-negotiable.  There are 24 hours in your day, so if you’re not already, can you find 30 minutes per day?  Now when it comes to walking, the gold standard is 10,000 steps which will take you about 90 minutes – but if you’re doing other forms of exercise, then this may be unrealistic to do every day.  So that’s why I recommend, shoot for 30 minutes as an absolute minimum daily target, which will give you about 3,000 steps – then on days when you have the time, go on a longer walk and see if you can hit that 10,000 steps at least once or twice per week.  I usually walk both in the morning and late afternoon, but if I was to recommend the best time to walk it would be first thing in the morning before breakfast if you can;

6.        Functional Strength Training (20 minutes x 3 per week) – now when it comes to your health span and life span, your strength and functionality play a vital role if you want to continue to be physically capable and independent.  Functional movement and strength is key for your balance, mobility, flexibility, strength and to maintain your muscle mass which declines naturally from the age of 30 to the tune of around 5-8% per decade.  So by the time you reach 70, unless you’re doing strength training, you’ve lost 20-30% of your muscle mass (known as sarcopenia).   Now, I’m not going to give you a workout to do here because finding WHAT to do is not the problem – the problem is actually deciding you’re going to do it every single week no matter what.  You can do it at home with a couple of sets of dumbells and a yoga mat, join a gym and get a program done, join a functional movement, circuit class or interval class, pilates, or even forms of dynamic flow yoga can be very useful at least on the mobility, flexibility and balance side, but they do a lot for you on the strength and muscle side.

7.        8 Hours Sleep Per Night – you might be wondering why I’ve put this in the 2 week challenge, because most people struggle with sleep.  A good, uninterrupted, restful nights sleep is one of the most important keys to your long term health and wellness and 8 hours ties perfectly into the natural circadian rhythm of the body and your body’s assimilation and digestive cycles.  I’ll do a separate episode specifically on sleep soon where I’ll cover off my pre-bedtime routine and some tips that can help you in this area if you need it.  But for now, if sleeping is a challenge for you try to go with what is known as the 3-2-1 pre bedtime method – stop eating 3 hours before bed, stop drinking 2 hours before bed, turn off all your blue light electronics 1 hour before bed and this should be a great starting point;

8.        15 Mins Of Mindset Fuel – I want you to get some educational, motivational or inspirational content into your radio frequency every single day.  In a world of constant negative noise, politics, fake news and social media – it’s so important to protect your peace and take charge of your thoughts and your mental space and to expose yourself to productive information every single day which can change your whole demeanour and outlook on life.  This is another non-negotiable for mean and I want it to be a part of your 2 week challenge;

9.        Body Restoration & Maintenance (1 session per week) -Taking care of your body is so important, particularly as you age to keep yourself functioning well and pain-free.  That’s why, I believe it’s so important to dedicate at least 1 hour per week to a body maintenance practice.  Some of my favourites include: Sauna sessions and cold plunges (which I do at home with my infra red sauna and magnesium pool), massage, salt baths and visits to my natural wellness guru who specialises in Chinese medicine – dry needling, acupuncture, osteopathic etc.  Your body needs you to nurture it and take care of it, so as part of this challenge I want you to schedule at least 1 session in per week;

10.  Nature immersion (1 session per week) – Exposing yourself to nature is so healing and uplifting it has to be included every week into your schedule.  It can be a forest hike, beach or nature walk or swim in the ocean or creek.  For me, my big nature immersion each week is typically my Saturday morning cross country MTB ride at nerang state forrest with just myself, my bike and the trees and trails.  Connecting your mind and body to nature as often as you can gives you perspective, clarity and is very, very soothing on your emotions, mental health and your soul.

So there you have it.  My 2 week wellness challenge to spot-light your current wellness routine, suggestions for you to make some positive tweaks or adjustments…or it can be the catalyst to help you really get on track and move forward.

Finally, just a quick reminder that you can download my 10 point challenge checklist on my website under course and community at zanetruscott.com

I hope you got value from today’s message.  Thank you for reading.

Until next time, stay strong and live well!

ZT.