Yesterday we started our series on the Five Foundations by laying out the concept: that we can generally locate a new client’s most pressing health and fitness issue within one of five foundations. Taking this a step further, we might also understand that each foundation is a necessary step towards the next one up.

Today we’re going to talk about the most important of the Five Foundations: Foundation One, or your base. This is the foundation that represents what you need to get done in your life on a daily basis.

When we speak with a potential client for the first time–usually in one of our free No-Sweat Intros–we center the conversation around their goals and motivations for starting a new fitness routine. We want to understand why they sought us out and we want to make the best recommendation we can for their individual needs.

And more often than not, the motivations are directly related to what they do and how they feel on a day to day basis:

They want more energy to play with their kids or their grandkids.
They need to get healthier–they aren’t sleeping right or feeling well.
They want to have some gas in the tank for their leisure time.
They need things to feel easier–taking in groceries, doing yardwork.

No, these aren’t outsized athletic goals. But they’re incredibly important for exactly that reason–they form the base of who and how we are every day. And like all bases, they’re necessary underfoot if we’re looking to take next steps towards doing new things or taking up old pursuits we’ve been missing.

Put simply, Foundation One is about being. Being the person we want to be in our everyday lives, and feeling the way we want to feel while we go about our daily routines and tasks.

That’s where we start, and the great news is that the fixes are usually pretty simple: basic strength training, some walking or hiking, attention to healthy nutrition, and getting your rest. We don’t need a microscope or fancy tools in Foundation One.

We just need to get started. One step at a time, one day at a time.