The Other 23 Hours — Fitness Is More Than Just the Workout

Ever feel like you’re doing everything right—
You’re eating better.
You’re working out.
You’re drinking water.
You’re checking all the boxes...

But still not seeing the results you expected? Not getting stronger or losing the weight or the body fat?

You’re not alone. I hear it all the time—from clients, friends, even other coaches.

Here’s the thing most YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram fitness influencers don’t tell you:

Your hour in the gym is just the beginning. It’s the other 23 hours—what you do outside your workout—that determines whether your body adapts, rebuilds, and actually changes.

That’s not to say your training doesn’t matter. It does. But it’s only one piece of a much bigger puzzle.

Recovery, movement between sessions, nervous system health, sleep, stress load—it all counts.

The good news? You don’t have to overhaul your life or try harder. Instead, you can try aligning the other 23 hours with the work you’re already doing.

Here’s why it matters:

• When stress stays high, your body holds onto fat and slows down recovery.
• When sleep is poor, you lose the window where muscle repair and fat loss happen best.
• When hydration or nutrition is low, your body doesn’t have the building blocks it needs to adapt.
• When your diet is too low in nutrients or calories, your body doesn't have what it needs to grow stronger, build muscle, or lose fat—no matter how hard you train.
• When you're barely moving outside your workout, your daily energy burn drops—no matter how hard you train.

The results you want—getting stronger, leaner, healthier—aren’t built only during the workout. They’re built by the small things you do between them.

If you've been here a while, you’ve heard me talk about the power of small shifts—whether it’s in sleep, nutrition, stress, or mindset. Today’s no different. This is a reminder (and a reinforcement) that those same small things matter here too—and that they add up faster and more powerfully than we sometimes realize.

Let’s explore it.

How It Works:

Fitness is a system. It doesn’t live in isolation. It’s linked to everything else you do.

The 1-hour workout is the spark. But the other 23 hours are also where the real results happen—or don’t.

Here’s what shapes your strength, recovery, and body composition when you’re not training:

NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis):

NEAT is all the calories you burn doing everyday things outside of structured exercise—walking around the house, cleaning, gardening, pacing during a phone call, even fidgeting. It’s the energy you use to live your normal life—and it adds up fast.

In fact, NEAT is often more important for fat loss and body composition than the hour you spend working out.

According to research, people who maintain a healthier weight tend to have significantly higher NEAT levels.

Even small movements throughout the day—standing up more often, taking extra trips up the stairs, stretching during work calls, walking while you brainstorm—can create measurable changes over time.

Nutrition & Hydration:

No fuel, no repair. Not enough water? Your body cannot function efficiently. Muscles suffer. Brain fog rolls in.

A 2012 study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that even mild dehydration impairs cognitive performance and increases fatigue.

Examples:

• Prioritizing protein at meals.
• Drinking a full glass of water with every meal.
• Grabbing fruit, veggies, or real food first before processed snacks.

Sleep & Recovery:

Growth doesn’t entirely happen during the lift. It also occurs while you sleep.

During deep sleep, your body repairs tissue, regulates hormones, and restores energy systems—setting you up for strength gains, fat loss, and better performance.

A Stanford University study found that increasing nightly sleep to 10 hours significantly improved athletic performance, reaction time, and mood among collegiate athletes.

Examples:

• Aiming for 7–9 hours of quality sleep consistently.
• Turning screens off 30–60 minutes before bed.
• Creating a calming nightly wind-down ritual (reading, stretching, deep breathing).

Stress Load:

Your nervous system doesn’t separate life stress from training stress. It all stacks up—physically and mentally.

Chronic stress keeps your body in survival mode, making fat loss harder, recovery slower, and progress more frustrating.

Managing your stress load is part of training, whether it shows up on your workout tracker or not.

Examples:

• Taking 5 deep breaths when you feel overwhelmed.
• Scheduling “no work” breaks during the day.
• Moving your body gently when emotions run high (walks, stretching, yoga).
• Spending time doing something that brings joy.

Knowing what shapes your results is one thing. Changing it—one small habit at a time—is where real shifts can happen.

What You Can Try:

You don’t need a life overhaul. Just a few small daily upgrades to support your training—and your recovery.

Try one of these:

• Walk for 10 minutes after lunch. (Good for digestion, NEAT, and clearing your head.)
• Drink a full glass of water with every meal. (Muscles and brains are around 75% water. They NEED water.)
• Add a fruit or vegetable to every meal. (Small shifts in nutrition stack up faster than crash diets.)
• Stretch your calves or hold a wall sit while brushing your teeth. (Balance, flexibility, multitasking mastery.)
• Mobility flow (AKA stretching) during TV. (Hamstrings love Netflix and Hulu too.)
• Find something you genuinely enjoy and make time for it. (Joy isn’t a luxury—it’s fuel for recovery and stress management.)

Pick one. Make it stick. Then layer another when you’re ready.

A Touch of Neuroscience:

Your brain runs the show—even in the gym.

When you sleep, your brain consolidates motor learning and repairs tissue. When you're under-recovered, your prefrontal cortex (your decision-making and discipline center) runs on fumes.

And stress? It lights up the amygdala—your brain’s internal panic button—and suppresses recovery systems. Even a solid workout can backfire if your stress bucket is already overflowing.

Small daily habits—like walking, breathing deeply, eating more real food, and finding moments of joy—signal safety to your nervous system.

That’s what allows your body to recover, adapt, and grow stronger.

It’s not about “doing more.” It’s about creating an environment where your system can do what it’s designed to do.

Bringing It Home:

You’re already doing the hard part—you’re showing up.

What moves the needle now isn’t grinding harder. It’s making the other 23 hours support the one you spend training.

Because fitness isn’t just built in the gym. It’s built in your choices, your habits, and your recovery—hour by hour, day by day.

Train with intention. Recover with intention.

Take care of the other 23 the best you can, one small shift at a time.

You've got this.