In the last decade the health industry has exploded. More and more people are lifting weights, doing cardio, and taking supplements than ever before. There are countless fitness channels on YouTube and ads pushing the newest weight loss pill that “Doctor’s don’t want you to know about.” For many, the goal is the ideal beach body, for others strength and overall functionality. More than often the goal is health and the hope that exercising and eating well will ensure a long and enjoyable life. However, the massive expansion, which has promoted healthy lifestyles and exercise, has caused all of us to overlook and obscure three aspects of health.

1. “Unhealthy” Guilt

Dieting is a popular approach to weight loss. Unfortunately, most people live in extremes. Their diets call for cutting out comfort food completely, rather than just limiting it and reducing how much of it they eat. It is unhealthy to consume an excessive amount of doughnuts. It’s unhealthy to consume excessive amounts of any food, including vegetables. We need to allow ourselves to indulge and have a doughnut every now and again. It is worse to place so much pressure on eating “clean” and feeling incredibly guilty after caving and eating something traditionally unhealthy than just enjoying food. When we place that much pressure on ourselves, we are more likely to binge when we cave. If we feel guilty for having a doughnut after eating "clean" for a while, we may have three or four. If we choose to indulge and don't feel guilty, we can limit ourselves to one delicious doughnut. Food is an integral part of life and the human experience. It defines cultures and is the glue of most social interactions. The name of the game is limitation, not extermination. If you like doughnuts, enjoy one at the end of the week. Limit your consumption of doughnuts, but keep them in your life. Don’t let guilt undermine your happiness on your journey to a healthy lifestyle. What is the point in being physically healthy if you’re emotionally unhappy?

If you’re exercising regularly and you aren’t stretching when you're done then you should definitely start. I myself have been lifting and running regularly for nearly half a year now and I did not stretch after any of my workouts. Now I am working against joint stiffness, muscle tightness, and imbalances. I wish I had discovered Kelly Starrett, Doctor of Physical Therapy (pictured above) and gained the knowledge that he provides on YouTube earlier. Most people are so focused on gaining muscle mass and cutting fat, getting stronger or improving athletic performance that they overlook mobility. Mobility problems don't develop overnight; they're gradual, so you won't notice their negative effects until you reach a breaking point and get injured. If you've been going to the gym, you probably know what a "foam roller" is, but few of you have likely used one on a regular basis. Kelly Starrett, DPT owns and operates "Mobility WOD," a company that produces products for improving mobility, ranging from the ball pictured above to programs that you can follow to improve on your own. This focus is new in the fitness industry, and hopefully it will take off and more and more people will realize that being able to move your joints through their entire potential window of movement will not only improve the way they feel, but their quality of life and gains made in the gym. You should stretch your muscles after exercise, and if you already have a lot of muscle tightness then you should stretch at other points during the day to increase the length of your muscles. Stretching before sleep is a good idea because you'll lengthen your muscles and sleep better. It can be very therapeutic and can make falling asleep easier. Start stretching now and loosen up those muscles and joints before they become a problem and set you back on your journey to a fitter and healthier you!

Avoid doing the same thing repeatedly for months on end. If you run long distance and never do anything different, your body will eventually adapt to long distance running and exercise will become easier and easier. If you only ever perform flat bench or other lifts with a barbell, try to perform that same lift with dumbbells. If you subject your body to the same stress, every time you exercise, for a long period of time you are more likely to develop an overuse injury. Variation reduces your chances of overuse injuries and subjects your body to a variety of stressors so it can’t adapt as easily. This will increase the effectiveness of how exercise affects your body. Doing the same thing again and again is boring as well. It is hard to maintain regular exercise if you get bored. Mix it up!

On the journey to improved health and the ideal beach body, we should enjoy ourselves and be happy. What is the use of being healthy and living longer if we can’t enjoy ourselves as well? Reduce your unhealthy guilt, stretch and do mobility work every day, and mix it up. You’ll be happier, enjoy your health journey more and you will increase your chances of achieving your health goals.