Every year inspires the opportunity to achieve new goals, with many people popularly electing weight loss and improved health as their primary resolutions. While body goals may appear daunting, Gerard “Coach G’ Burley, a wellness expert and owner of SWEAT DC, is sharing practical tips and insight to help people get moving this year.
Utilizing fitness to conquer his own weight loss goals and the emotional toll of various hardships throughout his life, Burley holds immense faith in the physical and mental health benefits spawned from investing in one’s health and fitness routines.
“It’s 2025 now. We are all going through challenges and struggles, but if you understand that fitness can be your tool — and look at it as a mental health tool, a confidence builder, a space where you can really pour into yourself — I think that you can achieve your body and weight loss goals,” Burley told The Informer. “Understand that this is something that’s bigger than just weight loss, that it’s your time to really invest in yourself.”
While an athletic or well-conditioned body might be a pleasurable by-product of working out and staying in shape, movement is critical for wellness.
A lack of physical activity is considered a risk factor for overall poor health, increasing risk of developing chronic diseases like: heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and osteoporosis.
Likewise, a sedentary lifestyle can also contribute to mental health issues including depression and anxiety.
Recent data presented by researchers from the World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with academic colleagues, revealed that roughly one-third (31%) of adults worldwide, “did not meet the recommended levels of physical activity in 2022.”
The trend of inactivity among adults is projected to grow even further by 2030.
“These new findings highlight a lost opportunity to reduce cancer and heart disease, and improve mental health and well-being through increased physical activity,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Intersection Between Nutrition and Fitness
While physical movement is an important piece to the formula, exercise cannot outwork a poor diet.
“Lose weight quick” diets, often called fad diets driven by popular trends in media and social platforms, are quite popular for many people seeking to rapidly lose inches and pounds. While some find success in them, quick diets are not always sustainable or healthy in the long term.
Among his many interactions with gym goers, Burley often sees the impact that popularized diet trends are having on people looking to lose weight. Along with his workout programs, Burley aims to educate people on how to sustain viable dietary habits and lifestyle to achieve their long-term goals.
“With a lot of people I work with, I’ve seen so much unlearning and not [enough] learning. We’ve been marketed to so much. You have to ‘low-carb it,’ ‘high-fat it,” ‘Keto it,’” he said.” There are so many things [promoted to us that] a lot of us are just confused, tired, [and] don’t know if what we’re doing is right or where we’re going wrong.”
Burley finds many of the barriers hindering people from sustaining optimal health often revolving around education, access, and financial stability. Likewise, cultural traditions can play a major part in setting the standard in dietary and lifestyle choices.
“How many of us grew up with a big jug of Kool-Aid in our home, and we thought that’s just what you drink, with all the sugar, but not understanding that you’re setting yourself up for diabetes, or you’re setting yourself up for obesity [and other issues],” Burley explained.
While people find themselves consuming fast food throughout the week, Burley emphasizes the importance of cooking food, clarifying the misconception that buying groceries may come at a higher cost than take-out, when in fact, it can save money and health.
“It doesn’t necessarily cost more money to eat healthier,” Burley told The Informer. “That’s kind of a misconception, but a lot of communities that are lacking economic opportunities tend to have foods that are cheaper and faster.”
The Magic of Strength Training
Strength training, also known as resistance training, can be a great way to stay healthy.
Consisting of a host of exercises to build muscle strength using weights, one’s body weight, and resistance bands, strength training builds lean muscle mass, prevents obesity, limits bone loss, and boosts metabolism.
Research shows that low muscle mass, resulting from inadequate strength training, is strongly linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases, underscoring a significant correlation between a lack of strength training and poor health.
Lack of engagement in strength training causes the muscles to naturally decline in mass and strength, leading to functional limitations in daily activities and increased risk of falls, especially in older adults.
SWEAT DC provides premier strength and conditioning-focused group training programs, and Burley emphasizes the immense importance of muscular endurance stressing the common notion “if we don’t use it, we can lose it.”
“Strength training is probably the most important training you can do. We need to maintain as much muscle mass as possible. And usually, like after you’re 30, your body starts to pretty aggressively lose muscle,” Burley said. “Especially if you have any elders in your family or your parents are starting to age a bit, getting them to keep their legs strong is extremely important.”
Strength training exercises often consist of exercises including squats, bicep curls, bench presses, walking lunges, push-ups, deadlifts, and overhead presses. Some exercises without gym equipment can also be utilized as strength training such as yoga, hill walking, climbing stairs, or even heavy gardening and yard work.
Finding the energy and inspiration to jumpstart a new fitness routine can pose quite the challenge for many people, but Burley stresses the importance of starting small and joining supportive communities to help foster a healthy lifestyle.
“Give yourself grace and just get started. So, whether it’s walking, or a community studio, meet yourself where you are. I watch a lot of people want the perfect plan, and they end up doing nothing versus just getting started,” Burley said. “Don’t overthink it. Once you get moving, it will get better as long as you stay consistent.”