As a child you may have harbored dreams of becoming a superstar on the basketball court, winning the gold in Olympic gymnastics, or throwing a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl.
Then time passed, your athletic prowess never quite matched your imagination, and the dreams faded as you launched yourself into the adult world of daily work and family responsibilities.
But even if your vision of becoming an elite athlete failed to reach fruition, you can still improve your life by imitating a few training tips from those who did make it.
After all, when you're active and take care of yourself physically, you'll do a better job at work and in life because regular exercise also helps keep the brain sharp.
Before you start moaning that there's no way you can do what the elite athletes do, realize that I'm not suggesting you attempt a 20-foot pole vault or run a four-minute mile.
The fact is some of the training methods elite athletes subscribe to aren't that difficult to incorporate into your lifestyle — as long as you do them at your pace and not Usain Bolt's.
For example, one habit worth imitating is getting enough sleep. Elite athletes like to get at least eight hours of sleep and then wake up early to work out. (It's an elite athlete version of that old "early to bed, early to rise" thing.)
They also like to lift heavy weights, perform dynamic exercises and hire fitness specialists to keep them on track.
You could do all of those things with the same enthusiasm they muster, if not always with the same grace, style and strength.
Of course, many people come nowhere near imitating elite athletes. There is a world health crisis taking place and it's being caused by three main factors that are the exact opposite of what an elite athlete would do:
Poor sleep. Drive by a large office complex late in the evening or early in the morning and you can usually see lights on. In an effort to get ahead — or more likely just keep up — people sacrifice the sleep that's so important if they want to perform at the highest level.
Those who are able to get between seven and eight hours of sleep at night have a reduced risk of heart attacks, strokes and cancer. Good sleep helps strengthen the immune system, boosts problem-solving and creativity, reduces stress, builds muscle, regulates appetite and helps us manage mental and emotional health.
Lack of physical activity. A 2015 University of Cambridge study found that twice as many deaths may be attributable to lack of physical activity compared with the number of deaths attributable to obesity.
So it's important to add some physical activity to your daily regimen, such as walking, playing tennis or riding a bicycle. As little as 15 minutes of exercise per day has been shown to have tremendous benefits for your physical and mental health.
Poor nutrition. Poor nutritional habits can lead to short-term and long-term negative effects on the body. Those bad habits include under- or over-eating, not eating enough of the healthy foods we need each day, or consuming too many types of food that are high in bad fats, salt or simple sugars.
The short-term effects of these poor eating habits include stress, fatigue and illness, while long-term effects include tooth decay, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and even some forms of cancer.
Make sure that you focus on eating nutrient-dense foods, not calorie-dense foods. Simply eat more veggies and fruits, and have less soda and junk food. Micro changes add up over time and can make a huge difference in your health and performance.
With summer approaching, this is a great time to get moving on your physical fitness plans, while concentrating on maintaining a healthy sleeping pattern, getting physically active and incorporating healthy foods into your diet.
Just like that elite athlete you once dreamed about becoming!
Dr. Greg Wells is an authority on high performance and human physiology. Wells' latest book, "The Ripple Effect: Eat, Sleep, Move and Think Better," hit shelves earlier this year. Dr. Wells is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Toronto where he studies elite sport performance. He also serves as an Associate Scientist of Translational Medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children, where he leads the Exercise Medicine Research Program.