It depends, of course! Your context will determine the most urgent areas to work on.

If you're feeling stuck, it's possible that some unique aspects of your life conflict with general Fitness & Nutrition advice. However, those same generally good practices are recommended for a reason - they promote better Health!

Check out the Foundational Habits Checklist, to see where you stack up against the 4K standards. They're split up into 4 domains - Fitness, Nutrition, Recovery, & Mindset - because these are the areas we can most easily affect through our lifestyle behaviors and habits. If you see one domain lacking, I encourage you to start there to see how it helps you look, feel, and function!

Working around a current Health concern can be stressful. It can create feelings of worry, anxiety, and frustration. I get it. 

HOWEVER, do not allow this to limit you more than it does. Health can be expressed along a continuum. You can always move toward improved Health and resilience.

Check your Mindset here - Think strong. Be strong!

At 4K, we cannot treat or diagnose. We do respect the power of Fitness, Nutrition, and the many variables that affect our current state of health. In collaboration with your medical professionals, yourself (yes, you have a role here too!), and your Coach, there is always SOMETHING you can do to gather data, prioritize, and discover what works for you. 

Doing nothing will get you nothing. Avoid letting a concern become an excuse.

Hacks?! Lol

Listen, I won't ignore the advances in technology and access that are allowing us to be more informed and precise in our lifestyle behaviors. 

Things like blood work and DNA analysis are truly individualizing Nutrition protocols. Peptides and nootropics can enhance a number of processes, including cognition and healing. It's amazing.

At 4K, we focus on the basics - the foundational behaviors - that need to be in place before any hacks or enhancements are included. Behaviors with the biggest return on investment are often the simplest and cheapest. So, before we get lost in the details and the trees, it's important to zoom out and view the whole forest; to respect the overall picture.

Definitely! 

We'll establish a base of strength, conditioning, and movement competency. Then we'll get specific about your needs and your timeline. You'll need to prioritize what's important now and for the long run. 

There are 9 trainable attributes for an athlete:

• Coordination/technique
• Speed
• Power
• Strength
• Hypertrophy / Muscle size
• Muscular Endurance
• Anaerobic Capacity
• Maximal Aerobic Capacity (Vo2max)
• Long Duration Aerobic Capacity / Stamina.

We'll identify your weaknesses and align your training with your season, schedule, Nutrition, Recovery, and athletic goals. Together, with your specific sport Coaches, we'll make sure you're actually getting better! 

The simple answer: Train like an athlete! 

But we know it's not THAT simple. As the years go by, stress, training, competition, and age all play a factor. Wisdom is making the appropriate adjustments - respecting previous injuries, schedule demands, and current recovery capabilities. 

Yes, train like athlete. Do athletic things... Use it or lose it, with regards to the 9 trainable attributes mentioned above. But it doesn't mean training like a 20-yr old athlete or a professional athlete. 

They key to maintaining and even building athleticism as you age is appropriate assessment and progression. Identify weaknesses, prioritize your training, and don't stop!

Let's get clear on what's happened, understand the timeline, cause, treatment, and get all the details. 

No injury should be ignored, but there's rarely a case where nothing can be done to help. Once again, we must get clear on where you are now and where you want to go - intelligently creating and monitoring a plan to get better. 

Consult with other medical professionals like Physical Therapists, Athletic Trainers, Chiropractors, and Massage Therapists. 

Training the right way, earning progression, and modifying as needed, will ensure you improve and stay safe! 

Appropriate training and Nutrition. 

Myth: Light weights = toning. 

Truth: A toned body - one that has muscle definition and lower bodyfat - is achieved in similar ways to very big and muscular physiques. The difference is in HOW you train and HOW you eat.

Any goal to change your body size, shape, or composition can be considered "body building". The same things that help a typically muscular bodybuilder - resistance training and prioritizing protein - will also help someone get "toned". 

The training volume and intensity will be different. The exact Nutrition protocol will differ. However, the fear of lifting heavy weights will only limit your success in obtaining a lean and toned body. 

It depends. 

It's likely best to get leaner first, to increase your metabolic rate, shed excess fat, and improve blood markers. But that's assuming you have a lot of extra weight to lose.

What's better for you? Maybe Nutrition changes are more challenging and it's easier for you to start a muscle-building training program. Cool. After a "bulking" phase, the extra muscle will help you burn fat at rest, as you diet down your calorie intake. 

You're a true beginner, who's never trained or had a history of dieting? Well, in that case, you may just be able to do both at the same time! And that's the beauty of being a "Newbie". Do the really good stuff consistently and you'll experience a lot of quick change!

Plan & prepare.

4K does NOT encourage the idea of eating whatever you want, as long as it fits within your macro targets. Not all foods are equal and quality matters!

With that said, perfection may not be your goal and that's absolutely ok. You'll need to discover, through practice, what you can enjoy and in what amounts. It's possible to achieve high levels of fitness, great physiques, and exceptional health, while still enjoying "bad" foods and drinks. 

You should prepare for some level of restriction, though. If you've been eating for entertainment, fun, or boredom, I encourage you to audit those behaviors. Making a change in your body, means making a change in your Mindset. 

You'll look, feel, and function better when you eat to fuel most of the time. Then, yes, track, and account for, the less-than-great stuff too. If eating freely led to excess weight gain and/or poor health, then you'll need to take control of your intake somehow.