3….2…..1….. Happy New Year!
Everyone drop the glass of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to head over to your Tupperware of broccoli and chicken! It’s time to get ready for swim suit season!
Just kidding.
But with the new year quickly around the corner, we have to be aware of our habits and what we can do to work towards our goal.
What are the habits and routines you currently implement in your day to day life?
Is it a bowl of Captain Crunch every night before bed?
Taking Thursdays and Sundays off from the gym?
Perhaps simply adding 10 minutes a few times a week to work on a specific skill like pull ups?
These small things definitely add up over time, and building sustainable habits is the best way to make change and maintain it.
We all have certain goals, whether it is to get your first pull up, run a doozy of a distance, or lift some weight. The habits we have with our training will determine the results we see. Consistency will always win over perfection.
I remember there was a final exam in school and I sat in a Caribou for an entire day reading over pages of notes. The exam went by and it did not go as well as I had hoped. I was walking out of the class with my friends talking about the results and I remember saying something like “Man! I thought I was so ready for this test. I spent an entire day looking over this stuff.” The teacher ended up being right behind me and he said “Five 20 minute sessions over a few weeks time will solidify the material much more than a one day cram session.” The same rules apply to our nutrition and training 🙂 You can have a perfect day hitting your macros (protein/carbohydrates/fats), but if it’s only 1 day out of the 7 in a week, and the rest of the week is filled with bowls of eggnog and cookies, you won’t make much progress.
Here, I want to specifically touch on building successful habits with your nutrition and composition goals.
What is sustainable for you?
What helps you move towards your goals but still keeps you happy and involved with your friends?
This doesn’t have to be restrictive and small consistent changes will definitely pay off in the long run. Start small- incorporate protein with every meal you have throughout the day.
Already have that piece down? Add some veggies with each meal or a handful of greens to keep it simple.
The same rules apply to your training at the gym- find days that work with your schedule that you can consistently go. Eventually changes like this become new habits, then we can coast on autopilot through these sections of the day, because it’s normal for us. We don’t have to think about the days we train, what foods we will eat because of habits we have set. Things like prepping meals in bulk for the weeks ahead are a huge way to stay consistent with your nutrition. Throwing 5lbs of chicken in a crock pot, baking some sweet potatoes, or making miscellaneous veggies in bulk will make it so much easier to put quality meals together. The more quality meals we add throughout the week, the more consistent we become and we will see more success.
What about other lifestyle pieces that fall outside of nutrition.
How is your sleep?
Are you stressed to the max?
Are you consistent with showing up to the Athlete Lab to move a little throughout the week?
If these are out of line, it doesn’t matter how many spinach leaves you eat, or burpees you do, your body will not be doing so well. I know it’s been said time and time again but sleep and stress are huge. Try hitting ~8 hours of sleep for a week and see how you feel. Super stressed? Take 10 minutes and just focus on getting some deep breaths. 8 count in, 10 second count hold and 8 count out is a great way to activate your parasympathetic nervous system and you will feel relaxed.
Build small habits over time. Get those small wins and then build off of those. Consistent, little changes will be the foundation of the big impact you are hoping to make.
Feel free to reach out with questions any time.
-Jesse
jesse@theathletelab.com