Hello there everyone! Today I want to talk about the “stick to the basics” advice or “just get back to the basics” that everyone refers to in the online space. For many people who are new to fitness or just starting this journey, they’re like, “Well, what the freaking heck are the basics?” or “What really should I prioritize as a basic?”
I think it’s a good question because it’s pretty ambiguous. What are the most basic, foundational things that you should do? And that might change based on people’s perception and what they view as important health-focused goals.
First, I want to start by saying that I think we’d be doing a lot better service if we didn’t call them “the basics” because they’re not basic or simple – they’re foundational. These are the foundational pieces of your training, lifestyle, or diet that allow you to build that foundation from which you can refine, progress, or make more advanced as you move upward in your training progression.
So what are these key things that we really want to focus on that are worth our energy and time? These fall into three main buckets: fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle behaviors.
When I think about the foundations of training, I think about the minimal exercise standards that we want to be meeting for general health and physical well-being. We can look at the exercise guidelines, which are:
Cardiovascular Training: 150 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity (like a 5-6 out of 10 effort) OR 75 minutes of vigorous to very vigorous physical activity (7-8 out of 10 intensity), or a mix of both each week.
This might look like having 3 days a week of cardio training with a mix of harder and easier work. Yes, everyone should be doing at least that much cardio every single week in some capacity. If you want to do more, build, or get more specific goals, you absolutely can, but make sure you’re meeting those minimal standards first.
Resistance Training: At least two full body strengthening days per week. I know lifting can be really intimidating to a lot of people, but striving for at least a baseline of two days per week is a really great place to start.
This would be full body training hitting:
• A squat pattern
• A hinge pattern
• A push away from your chest
• A push overhead
• A pull towards your body
• Core work
You can have two full body days per week or split things differently if you want to progress into more days or get more specialized with resistance training.
These are the minimums we want to be at – that doesn’t mean we can’t do more days of lifting or more minutes of cardio. This is the base where we want to be. At least two days of strength work and at least 3 days of cardio is a good place to start.
Of course, with all things, start where you can and meet yourself where you’re at. It’s better to start with less and work your way up than try to overshoot and not be able to sustain it.
Nutrition is a very hot topic with lots of opinions, so I’m going to give a simplified version of the things I think are worth considering in our diet.
Making sure you’re getting in moderate to higher protein is foundational. This is hard for people to do, but I think getting in at least 30 grams of protein per meal is a really good place to start and aim for.
Make sure you have protein-forward meals – meals that have at least 30 grams of protein whether that’s through a single protein source or across the meal as a whole. Protein does a lot of important things in our body for recovery, repair, fullness, satiety, and hunger signals, so it can really trickle down to help with a lot of things.
Have plants or some sort of fibrous, plant-based component – whether that’s fruit, vegetables, starchy carbs, avocado, salad, whatever – at most meals across the day. Aim for 25-35 grams of fiber per day for females and 35-45 grams for males.
Getting a decent amount of fiber per day is great for good health, bathroom regularity, and general longevity. There are a lot of positive benefits to having fiber in your diet when it comes to different types of cancers and overall health, plus you’re getting nutrient-dense foods with lots of vitamins and minerals.
When thinking about your standard way of eating, build your plate with:
• A good bit of protein (single item or mixed across the plate)
• Some sort of plant or fibrous component
• Higher quality, less processed foods making up most of your diet
From there, you can get more specialized with macros, specific caloric intakes, etc., but having those foundational components where you eat well-rounded meals and build balanced plates is a great place to start before worrying about nitty-gritty details.
Most people jump to macros and calorie counting when they don’t even know how to make a meal or what food choices to make. Start with the foundations.
Be adequately hydrated – make sure you’re drinking enough water across the day and not living off coffee and air. Use electrolyte supplements if needed based on your activity levels, but I wouldn’t consider electrolytes foundational – more of a specialized tool.
When I think about lifestyle foundations, I focus on sleep support and increasing general physical activity while decreasing sedentary time each day.
Keep as close to a normal sleep-wake schedule as possible and focus on improving either the quality or quantity of your sleep. Sometimes sleeping longer is impossible based on lifestyle, but you can do things to support sleep quality:
• Getting off devices too close to bed
• Winding down properly
• Keeping a cool, dark sleep environment
• Taking a shower to cool down beforehand
• Reading instead of screens
• Cutting off work at a certain time
If you can increase sleep duration, have that tough conversation with yourself about going to bed earlier instead of watching that extra episode.
I often recommend focusing on sleep before many other things because when we get more sleep:
• We have more energy and are more likely to be active
• We have an easier time regulating body weight and maintaining muscle
• We have better hunger regulation and fewer cravings for hyper-palatable foods
Sleep helps make all the other foundational habits easier.
Get enough general daily physical activity:
• Get outside in the sunshine
• Go for walks
• Don’t be buried in screens all day
• Break up your sitting time throughout the day
• Get fresh air and sunshine (it’s good for you!)
Start with taking walking breaks between sitting periods before worrying about specific step counts. Just get more breaks throughout those sitting bouts, then increase the duration or steps per day from there.
For some of you, this might seem like a lot. For others, you might be thinking, “What about this supplement or this macro split or this specific program?” But it’s important to start with these really boring, not-so-sexy things and get them so routine and fundamental that they become second nature.
When you have a solid foundation, all those other things become easier to add, but you always have an amazing baseline to return to. A baseline that’s easier to maintain when you’re on vacation, in busy seasons, or when life gets chaotic – which is exactly when exercise, nutrition, and lifestyle stuff normally falls off.
This is exactly the philosophy behind The Lyss Method. Our programs are built on these foundational principles first – we make sure you’re meeting movement minimums, eating to support your goals, and building sustainable lifestyle habits before we add in the more advanced strategies.
Whether you’re using our beginner programs that focus on building these habits or our more advanced training that builds upon this foundation, we always come back to these core principles because they’re what actually move the needle long-term.
If you have a really good foundation of these activities and behaviors, they become so second nature that you don’t need to rely on discipline or motivation anymore. You have an environment and lifestyle set up that’s conducive to supporting these things.
It’s easier to maintain a functioning baseline instead of always worrying about doing the max, best, perfect thing and then falling off the wagon when life happens.
You’re working on that unsexy foundation that everything else can build upon, but that foundation is solid and you can always return to it.
These foundations are what I call the “big rocks” in your health and fitness – the things that actually make the most progress and contribute most to your results. These might account for 80% of your progress, and then you can refine that final 20% by dialing in more specific protocols, supplements, or advanced strategies.
But without the foundation, none of those advanced strategies matter much.
In The Lyss Method, we call this “doing the boring stuff consistently.” Our programs systematically build these foundations while progressively adding more specific training protocols. We help you establish the habits that will serve you for life, not just for the next 12 weeks.
So next time someone tells you to “just get back to the basics,” think about developing your foundations:
Fitness Foundations:
• 2+ strength training days per week (full body)
• 150+ minutes moderate cardio OR 75+ minutes vigorous cardio per week
Nutrition Foundations:
• 30+ grams protein per meal
• Plants/fiber at most meals
• Adequate hydration
• Mostly whole, less processed foods
Lifestyle Foundations:
• Prioritize sleep quality and quantity
• Daily movement and sunlight
• Break up sedentary time
Remember, these foundations might look different for everyone based on where you’re starting. The key is to begin somewhere and build consistently rather than trying to implement everything perfectly from day one.
Focus on one foundation at a time, get it solid, then add the next. This might not be as exciting as the latest fitness hack or diet trend, but it’s what actually creates lasting change and sustainable results.
No matter what life throws at you, your priorities, motivations, or desires when it comes to health and fitness, having these foundations in place means you’re always moving the big rocks forward and making meaningful progress toward your goals.
The foundations might not be sexy, but they’re what separate people who maintain their health and fitness long-term from those who are constantly starting over. Build your foundation first – everything else is just decoration.
I’m Exercise Physiologist, sports nutritionist, weight lifter, and ultra runner. I am here to bring science to your training in a no-nonsense way. I have helped thousands of women crush big lifting goals, cross race finish lines, and even do both. I’m here to help you do the same!
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