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Do it the natural way

Plenty of people don't like to admit that they exercise to look good. That's OK. Let's make peace with that notion.

One thing is certain, if you do exercises that train your body to do real-life activities, you will look good and natural. The old design adage that form follows function works in the fitness world too.

How do you apply this principle?

Choose exercises that utilize multiple parts of the body. When you carry groceries back from the store, you are using a lot of muscles to stabilize the bags. Almost 90 percent of the exercises I do on done standing upright. This recruits the legs, midsection, and everything else that anchors our bodies.

I used to love bench pressing because I could move a lot of weight, but when do we lie on our backs and push a heavy load towards the heavens? Instead I do standing shoulder presses. This forces my entire body to stabilize.

Ice cream substitute

I love my Breyers vanilla ice cream, but when I need to fulfill that craving, I turn to the potent combination of plain Greek yogurt, agave nectar and cinnamon. The agave nectar lends the sweetness and the thick yogurt gives this dessert some heft.

Agave is derived from a plant and is a good sugar substitute because it has a low-glycemic index, which means it won't cause a sharp rise or fall in blood sugar. Agave is also said to have health benefits like anti-inflammatory properties as well as an immune-system boost.

Really though, this yogurt treat is simply delicious. That's all you really need to know.

Foam rollers for relief

If you can't get a regular massage, get a foam roller, available at many sporting goods stores for about $30. You can place it underneath your legs, back, thighs, hips to smooth out muscle aches. It's simple: Put the roller underneath, say, your left calf and roll it back and forth using your body weight to apply pressure.

I've been using this at the gym for about a month now. It's really help limber up my lower back and hamstrings. I've also heard you can get a similar effect with a tennis ball.

Gluten-free for performance

In recent months I've experienced some parts of the gluten-free diet, mainly by eating brown rice pasta. Those who suffer from stomach problems often turn to such a diet. I've recently read it can help athletes as documented in this recent Men's Journal article. One top pro cyclist had this to say:

“I was pleasantly surprised,” says Christian Vande Velde, Garmin-Transitions’s team leader, who was the first member of the team to experiment with going wheat-free during the racing season. “I just had all-around better digestion, and digestion is the biggest thing in utilizing the energy I consume.”

Eat your veggies

One of the tastiest ways to eat vegetables is to roast them in oven.

Preheat to 425 degrees. Get a nice assortment of your favorites. We did asparagus, red pepper and zucchini. Coat with olive oil, add salt and let it go for ten minutes. Check them and turn them. Cook until nicely browned and carmelized.

Enjoy the flavors.

Find some sort of spirituality

While I'm never going to tell you how to pray, I've found that having some sort of ritual where you devote yourself to focusing your mind on reflecting on why we are here on earth is a very healthy practice. Going to church on Sunday morning has really made me feel better mentally. Afterwards I feel more focused on what is really important in life.