If working on your fitness is a priority for 2025, remember that doesn’t just have to be about physical training.
According to TV personality, author and podcaster Dr Alex George, mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness – and he’s keen to encourage all men to factor this into their daily routines.
“We all have mental health. What we’re talking about with mental fitness is the process of building that baseline of your health, in the same way physical fitness will build your physical health,” explains Carmarthen-born George, 33, who was appointed the Government’s first ever Youth Mental Health Ambassador in 2021.
“That’s exactly what mental fitness is designed to do. And I think it’s a really interesting term, because it slightly steps away from the negative side of things for a moment and gives people an empowering realisation that there are things you can do to feel better – and I think this applies to people anywhere on that spectrum of mental health and mental illness.
“I think in the past, people have said, ‘Well, what’s the point going for a walk or doing exercise – that’s not going to cure my depression, or it’s not going to prevent me struggling with anxiety’. It’s true that some of these practices are not going to ‘cure’ you from something, or they’re not the entire solution,” George adds. “But I don’t think there’s any mental health expert that would say that looking after things like your sleep and your diet and your exercise isn’t going to be of benefit.”
The Welsh former A&E doctor, who appeared on ITV’s Love Island in 2018, has become a leading voice for mental health awareness in recent years. This includes opening up about his own experiences of anxiety and being diagnosed with ADHD, as well as penning bestselling books – A Better Day: Your Positive Mental Health Handbook, Live Well Every Day, and 2023’s The Mind Manual: Your Complete Mental Fitness Toolkit (a pocketbook version is published January 2).
In late 2023, he co-founded Mettle with TV adventurer Bear Grylls, an AI-supported ‘mental fitness’ app aimed at supporting men. Meditation, breathwork and hypnosis techniques are key features within the app, which focuses on several core areas – stress, happiness, anxiety, confidence, energy, success and sleep – creating a tailored approach depending on users’ individual needs and goals and enabling them to monitor their mental fitness over time.
For George, it’s about building daily habits we can stick to. This is why he’s a big fan of ‘habit stacking’ – the practice of tagging another habit onto an existing habit you already do, in order to make things as easy as possible for yourself.
“Before you know it, you have a whole meshwork of stuff that’s going to keep you feeling good. For example, if you’re going to do your Mettle [meditation] minutes, why not do that after brushing your teeth? Because you’re going to brush your teeth every morning; people don’t usually require motivation or discipline to brush their teeth because it’s a core habit. So, if you attach your meditation practice to that, then you’re more likely to do it.”
He’s been applying the principle to his own morning routine now for some time.
“The alarm goes off, I get up, I brush my teeth first thing, do my Mettle, get in the shower – I have hot shower then cold at the end – get out, dry, grab a quick coffee, and I head out the door with my dog.
“That now is a sequence of events that just happens. I don’t really make a moment of choice; one thing just happens after the other. And I think if people can start small and just add one thing to the next thing and the next thing, before they know it, they’ll have a whole morning routine which sets them up for the day.”
As a doctor, he knows these things really can make a difference, which is why he’s become a fan of practicing mindfulness meditation: “I think even five, 10 minutes a day of guided meditation practice can transform the brain… It affects the neural pathways and can literally change the way electricity fires in your brain.”
George adds: “Another one for me in terms of mental fitness is really thinking about the food and things I put into my body. I cut out alcohol over two years ago, because that was having a negative effect on my mental health.
“So sometimes improving your mental fitness is about removing things,” he continues. “It might be alcohol, it might be people that are toxic in your life. But then it’s also, what am I putting in? Am I getting plenty of water and eating the right foods?”
He cites the Mediterranean diet (associated with lean fish and plenty of fresh veg, legumes, healthy fats and oils) as being a strong science-backed guide for healthy, balanced eating – as opposed to restrictive fad diets.
One of his biggest non-negotiables, though, is getting outside for a morning walk.
“Probably the biggest thing for me is going out for a walk every morning. I started my podcast – the Stompcast – because I believe connecting with nature, being outdoors, walking, is an incredible power for change. We know that being in nature reduces symptoms of things like anxiety, promotes good mood, it increases endorphins and dopamine in our brain and serotonin. [It] also relaxes our amygdala, so the fear response part of our brain, which is helpful for things like anxiety and worry. And it promotes a sense of positivity, being attached to the world and a part of the world.
“When you look at studies that look at running for example – running is great, even if it’s in the gym, it’s good for your mental and physical health. But those effects are compounded if they’re outside in nature.”
Mettle is available now on both Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Users get a 14-day free trial, thereafter subscriptions are available for £49.99 a year, £6.49 a month, or £125 for lifetime.
