My dad lived 81 very active years. Carpentry was his profession and he also spent his nights and weekends remodeling the homes we lived in when I was a boy. Later in life, the 14 acres he owned in East Tennessee required year-round maintenance and he took pride in doing it himself. His daily movement was the key to his good health. Despite the fact he ate too much of my mom’s cooking, an active lifestyle protected him from many of the ravages of time.

Poor sitting posture also shortens the hip flexors, such as the psoas (that’s pronounced “so as,” with an emphasis on the so, as in my hips are soooo tight). A tight psoas inhibits the glutes, which allows for more pressure on the lower spine. When you do move away from your computer screen, a tight psoas will inhibit the stability of the pelvis and lower spine, so twisting to grab a piece of paper from the edge of your desk may leave you in “sudden” low back pain.

The final thing when addressing quality sleep is to consider how you spend your waking hours. Even if you turn your phone off, sleep in a cool, dark room and maintain a consistent sleep schedule, high levels of stress will waylay your rest.

If your glorious glutes are working like they should, they are prime movers when it comes to things like walking, running and squatting. However, if you sit a lot or don’t use good form when moving around, they will be inhibited. The result is that the hamstrings try to compensate for your lazy glutes and end up tight, tight, tight.

The benefits of lifelong fitness are many. Exercise will help you lose weight, feel better and more easily handle everyday tasks. Long term, a varied program of strength and aerobic training changes you at every physical level.

If you’re new to resistance training, it may take a few weeks to notice more muscle, but the results are most apparent within the first few months of training. Think of it like driving a car: if you accelerate from 0 to 60 (untrained to fit), it feels more dramatic than going from 60 to 75. Don’t worry, muscular changes after months and years of consistent training are still occurring.

Try this cardio workout from my bestselling course AGELESS FITNESS on Udemy.com.

The important thing to remember is the site of the pain is rarely the source of the pain. Weakness or tightness in one area indicates something above or below the site of the muscular pain is probably not functioning like it should. Everything is connected and how you move influences your overall physical wellbeing.

Everybody is different. You may have natural strength, or perhaps speed and quickness have always come naturally. Then again, power, flexibility or balance may be your strong suit. What is true of almost everyone is that few of us have optimized our strengths and minimized our weaknesses. Furthermore, no matter how consistently you train, the workout you used last year or even last week may not be the best approach today. Your needs and capabilities change due to age, nutrition, training or injury and your workout has to evolve!

I understand many of the workouts you see in social media posts feature athletes and people you may consider more gifted than you. I mean, they must have been born that way, right? You either have a six-pack, ripped arms and a high-and-tight arse or you don’t. Ha! Not so fast, my friend! Everyone benefits from regular movement, you simply need to understand how your body is designed to work.

Who you are and all you are becoming improves your life and inspires others to do the same. When you let your light shine, you light the way for others to follow. This is what being empowered means.

The benefits of practicing gratitude are many. It’s not simply that you feel better because you appreciate rather than depreciate what’s around you, but you literally improve your physical and mental health. This is why an attitude of gratitude is so important if you want to live in a state of optimal health.

The fact is, exercise benefits the body and the mind. Moving on a regular basis relieves stress, improves your mood, enhances the quality of sleep, improves cognition and increases your overall level of wellbeing. These building blocks of long-term health are essential to living your best life, which is the whole point.

You have chosen to live in a state of optimal health. This is unique to you and not just because of biometrics, your medical history or how long you can hold a plank. Your highest level of living is tied to how you view the world. So, does your perspective give you happiness?

One of the great things about being an adult is you can choose new interpretations about anything in your life. Moreover, you can consciously integrate new, empowering associations to any aspect of your wellness. At any time, you can recreate the meanings about your health.

You are the master of your life. You are the guru. You are the one who gets to choose what optimal health looks and feels like. If juggling oranges while riding a unicycle is your idea of a fun way to workout – do it! – and send me a video. What you are doing must empower you.

I’m an optimist by choice, if for no other reason than life is better with a positive outlook. Looking at the bright side helps me reach goals even when I want to quit. Choosing to see the good in any situation empowers me to see possibilities above the challenges. This approach, balanced with a rational acceptance of what is, is being put to the test as I write this.

If you haven’t noticed by now, the Empowered approach to creating a state of optimal health in your life, is about more than your body. This is about creating a beautiful quality of life by caring for your whole Self. Yes, that is a capital “S” because you are so much more than just a body. Having made it this far into the contents of the book, I trust you agree with this perspective.

Knowing that what you’re thinking in a moment of weakness is one thing, but you also need to know how to defuse the power of the excuse. What follows is a simple process you can use to regain your power whenever one of those self-defeating thoughts arise.

Consistency is vital to long-term wellness. The thoughts you hold in mind on a regular basis lead to actions, which create (or frustrate) you on your path of optimal health. What you hold in mind also sparks feelings that can propel you into the gym early in the morning and may compel you to choose a salad over a cheeseburger.