When it comes to getting fit, most people are impatient. They want to run before they can walk, walk before they can crawl, then give up when they don’t see immediate results.
That all-or-nothing approach, according to A-list celebrity strength and conditioning coach Jason Walsh, is where most people go wrong with exercise.
Having trained half of Hollywood since opening his Los Angeles gym in 2005, the co-founder of plant-based protein brand RISE311 highlights New Year’s resolutions as a prime example.
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“It’s the wrong mentality,” Walsh tells Fit&Well, between training sessions with Jake Gyllenhaal for Road House 2 and Sebastian Stan for the next Batman saga.
“People go to these boot camps and training classes, but you have to prep your body before you can take it from zero to 60,” he says.
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As a result, “people get burnt out, hurt, and have to start the whole process over, telling themselves, ‘Well, screw it, we’ll see what happens next year.’
“That’s just the wrong approach,” says the 50-year-old. “Stop trying to go from zero to fit in a matter of weeks.”
The simplest thing you can do for your long-term health
Instead of annual resolutions, which are unlikely to last, Walsh prefers to encourage new clients to view exercise as a daily habit like brushing your teeth.
“You should want to do it. Even on the days you don’t want to do it, there should be a discipline [that makes it part of your routine].
“It becomes habitual. It becomes part of your life.”
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Above all, he advocates doing one thing every day if you’re truly determined to change your body composition and improve your long-term health: walk.
“In Los Angeles, people don’t walk,” he says.
“One of the easiest and simplest things you can do is get people to start walking. Then all of a sudden, they’re like, ‘Wow my back pain went away. All I had to do was start walking.’
“Go for hikes, get out in nature. It’s all there. You have the ability. The simplest thing you can do is just add movement. Just move. It’s so simple.”
How to put the advice into practice
It might sound oversimplistic, but the goal is to raise your baseline of activity and make movement—and therefore exercise—part of your routine so it no longer feels like a chore.
“If you don’t walk a lot, get out and walk. If you’re walking and you’re trying to change your body composition it’s one of the easiest and best ways,” he says.
If walking isn’t for you, Walsh says that’s not a problem.
There’s no “right or wrong” way to exercise. You might like lifting weights, or using a bike.
“It’s just moving and giving the body stress and adapting to that stress. That’s all it is. It’s a pretty simple process.”
Swimming is another option. “I trained Bradley Cooper for A Star is Born. Man, we did some pool workouts that were just brutal and it changed his whole physique.”
The bottom line: just move.
“Bike, walk, do recreational things. Just start moving. That’s the baseline. That’s it. That’s as easy as it gets.”
About our expert
About our expert
Jason Walsh
Strength and conditioning coach
Jason Walsh is widely regarded as one of Hollywood’s top strength and conditioning coaches, with more than 30 years of experience building resilient, high-performance physiques for elite athletes and A-list actors, models and musicians preparing for physically demanding roles. These include Bradley Cooper for American Sniper, Emily Blunt for Edge of Tomorrow and Matt Damon for Bourne Identity. Walsh trains clients one-on-one at his private training facility, RISE MOVEMENT, in West Hollywood, California. Walsh also develops individualized nutrition protocols, including his own protein formula, RISE311. He describes his methodology as equal parts science and art, one that prioritizes discipline, structural integrity and long-term athleticism over short-term aesthetics.