Five tips to improve your fitness from a fitness instructor

This post with tips to improve your fitness is sponsored by NOW®. I’ve been a customer and fan of the brand for many years, and I’m happy to be a partner again this year.

Hello, friend! I hope your 2025 has been going great so far! Because the new year is often a time that people get re-energized in their health and fitness routines, I thought today would be a great day to share some tips to improve your fitness … coming straight from me, a fitness instructor. (And, if you make it to the end, you’ll see how you can enter to win a $300 e-gift card to NOWFoods.com.)

And here are the tips to improve your fitness …

1. Make sure you’re wearing the proper footwear for the workout you’re doing. And make sure you’re changing out your sneakers every few months.

If you’re running, you should wear running shoes. If you’re lifting weights, you should wear cross-training or flat lifting shoes (not running shoes) or even go barefoot. And if you’ve been working out for a long time in the same sneakers, it’s probably a good idea to get new sneakers, even if they don’t look old from the outside.

Let’s talk about why all this matters …

How your feet feel and function is a big part of how the rest of your body will feel and function in your workouts. You want to be safe, stable and supported properly from the ground up, to ensure proper alignment through the ankles, knees and even hips. If something is off with your shoes, it can affect your workouts, thus impeding your form or increasing your risk of injury.

Running shoes are designed mostly for front/back impact workouts, and they often have a slightly elevated heel and toe. This works great for running, but it doesn’t work as well for lifting weights, where you want a flatter surface for your feet. That’s why you should take note of which type of sneaker you’re wearing for each workout that you do.

Next up, you want to monitor the age of the sneaker. In fact, if you’re doing four or more workouts of moderate to high intensity a week on the same pair of sneakers, you probably want to change those sneakers out every three or four months. I know that seems crazy, but it’s true. And I know this, because long ago, I wore sneakers for too long and developed shin splints, and I’ll never let that happen again. While the outside of my shoes looked fine (because I primarily wore them indoors), I had worn down the interior of the shoes with repetitive movements, and it ended up causing pain and injury in my lower legs.

Moral of the story: Keep track of when you introduce new sneakers into your workout life with a note in your phone or on your phone’s calendar. Monitor how your body feels in those particular shoes for the workouts you do, and change out the sneakers at least a couple times a year to be safe. Also, make sure you wear the right shoes for the workout at hand, and you’ll hopefully notice a difference in your fitness performance.

2. Level up your workouts and recovery with smart supplementation as needed. And try not to wait too long after your workout to eat to refuel and repair.

I often tell my class members after our workout is complete, that if they aren’t planning to eat lunch within an hour, they should probably reach for a protein shake of at least 20 grams of protein to hold them over until they can eat a proper meal. Why? Because not only do you want to stay energized, but you also want to start the recovery, repair and growth phase that happens after a workout (specifically a strength workout), and that process is supported with protein refueling (and some carbs, of course).

If you’re someone who does a great job at fitting in your workouts, but you don’t do a great job of eating for performance and recovery, this could be where supplements help you out. You can sometimes use supplements to enhance your diet (not to replace food though, so let’s get that straight right now).

While I like to think I know what I’m doing with my nutrition, I still know I need more than food in my routine because of how active I am as a working group fitness instructor. In fact, over the last year or so, I’ve increased the amount of supplements I use to support my fitness endeavors, and it’s helping. I take creatine once a day, I have one protein shake a day, and I also take BCAAs once a day. Here’s what I take and why:

• NOW® Sports Organic Plant Protein Power in my a shaker (along with creatine) after my workout. Muscles need a lot of protein to function and recover after a workout.* This protein powder provides 21 grams of plant protein per serving. I have a few protein powders I rotate between, and this is one of them.
• NOW® Sports Creatine Monohydrate Micronized Powder in my protein shake, and I sip that protein shake directly after my workout. Creatine is a compound that occurs naturally in the skeletal muscles, and taking creatine monohydrate (the supplement form of creatine) in this way can help maintain muscle tissue, support the growth of new lean muscle mass and promote optimal performance during intense exercise.*
• NOW® Sports BCAA Big 6 Powder in my water cup when I exercise, and I sip it throughout my workout and after. BCAAs are branched-chain amino acids, and taking them in this way can support muscle retention and recovery.*

While you don’t need to load up on supplements, if you’ve been stagnant in your fitness routine for a while, it could be that supplements could help you along. I’ve felt stronger and a little more lean since introducing both creatine and BCAAs early last year.

Moral of the story: While supplements are a “nice to have” not a “have to have,” it could be a good idea to consider adding in creatine, a protein powder or BCAAs to your routine to see if it helps you improve either your performance or recovery. And also, don’t forget to refuel shortly after your workout, because that’s way too important to skip.

3. Take a good look at your weekly workout routine, write it down and assess whether it includes enough strength, cardio, flexibility and recovery.

Let me say this: If your only goal is to get moving (because you haven’t been moving), then anything you choose to do as your movement is a good choice. If you’d be on the couch if you didn’t take kickboxing every single day, then go kick away. And if you only have time for a 15-minute walk each day, then walk it out. This point about assessing your routine is for those who are a bit further along in their fitness journey …

Your workout week should ideally include a combination of strength training, cardio training, flexibility training and recovery. And I know that seems like a lot. For me, I’m able to combine many of those aspects into my group fitness classes, so my bases are mostly covered. But if you’re not into group fitness or don’t have access to it, you may want to find a workout plan to follow from a professional, to make sure you’re well rounded.

I’ve written a ton about scheduling your workout week intentionally before, but let’s do a basic breakdown here:

• Try not to do too many tough full-body workouts back to back on consecutive days, which can inhibit proper recovery. Your muscles grow when your workout is done, so neglecting rest days or recovery days could mean you don’t make as much progress.
• Try to lift weights two to four times a week. If you don’t have any weights, you can use your own bodyweight or even bands to provide a little resistance and help challenge your muscles.
• Take at least one rest day or active recovery day each week, which ideally is scheduled the day after a really tough full-body strength workout. Your active recovery day can always include walking or light yoga or other gentle movement. You don’t have to be totally still on a rest day.
• Write down your weekly workout routine and try to keep it fairly consistent from week to week. While the movements you do each day may differ, knowing that Monday is always full-body strength and Tuesday is always gentle yoga or walking is helpful.

Moral of the story: While fitting in any form of exercise is always commendable, if you’re looking to improve your fitness, you may need to look at exactly what you’re fitting in each week to see if it’s the right line-up of strength, cardio and rest in the right order to maximize your recovery and results.

4. Prepare for your workouts by pre-hydrating. Stay hydrated during your workouts, and consider adding in an electrolyte boost.

Did you know that if you’re even a little bit dehydrated during your workout, you can have a higher heart rate, more muscle breakdown and a decrease in strength? It’s true. 

While we often think to drink water after our workouts because we’re thirsty, if you’ve waited to drink until then, you’ve probably been quite dehydrated. While the general goal for most people is to drink about half your bodyweight in ounces of water (weigh 160 pounds, then shoot to drink 80 ounces) — that’s the bare minimum. You also need about 16 ounces of extra water per hour of exercise and even more if you’re a big sweater. I try to drink my bodyweight in ounces of water a day (145 pounds, means 145 ounces), and it’s a lot of water.

Sometimes water alone isn’t enough to replace what you sweat out, so it’s great to include a hydration product in at least one of those glasses of water you drink when you’re active. Ideally, you would want to drink the hydration product before and during your workout. NOW has a great option for you with its NOW® Sports Effer-Hydrate Effervescent Mixed Berry Tablets, full of minerals and electrolytes to hydrate your cells and keep you feeling good.*

Moral of the story: It’s not just about drinking water after a workout. Show up properly hydrated to your workout and see your overall performance and perceived exertion levels improve.

5. Appreciate your body’s ability to move, and learn to love the opportunity to exercise.

Okay, maybe this point seems a little fluffy, but I think it matters.

Here’s the deal: Some of the most fit people I know are people who love to move their bodies. They may not have always felt that way, but they took time trying a lot of different types of workouts and programs and found what works best for them. I’m one of those people too. I’ve tried so many things and landed on several types of group fitness classes that truly make me happy. While I’m not 100 percent motivated all the time, I have found a select amount of workouts that I really like to do and that certainly helps me stay consistent. And I know that being in a position to choose different types of workouts and move my body is not something everyone has — I’m lucky. So are you! 🙂 

Moral of the story: Remember, being able to exercise is a gift, and if you can get even a little bit of that concept into your mind (and heart), you may find that you’re more consistent and more energized every time you choose to work out.

Thanks for reading these tips to improve your fitness!

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That’s it for today, friend. Have a great day.

Disclaimer: Thanks again to NOW for sponsoring this post. While I was compensated, all of these opinions are totally my own. Thanks, NOW! #NOWWellness

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.