Are you looking to make a change this year?
Ready to finally get back into the shape you used to be in?
If you are, chances are you have some form of plan to get you there.
The only problem is if you are like most people in this category, your plan is already setting you up to fail.
No I don’t like being harsh or blunt with people but based off the conversations I’ve had over the last few months with people looking to get back to their best shape yet, most of us start our plans from the wrong point.
We start by picking out the latest hard to follow trend diet and combine with double sessions per day of F45 or Crossfit when we have done very little dieting or training in the last few months. The worst piece is we create expectations that we will be able to handle it when realistically we probably can’t.
Imagine Steve Smith (Australian Cricket Captain, I shouldn’t need to tell you that because we were all watching the Ashes surely) turns up at your doorstep and tells you David Warners out and he needs you to open the batting in the next Test match.
I’d tell him he’s crazy and I haven’t played cricket for years.
Chances are if someone told you to follow a super restrictive diet and train multiple times a day you’d tell them their crazy too. But when that crazy person is you coming up with the idea, we generally forget about it.
So where should we start?
Well what I’m going to do for you is to give you the blueprint to achieving success in your training and diet for this year and it all comes down to a few simple things:
- Time
- Practicality
- Enjoyment
- Covering your bases
So let’s get into it
The Time Conundrum
We’ve all heard the 168 hours per week thing and I understand that 1 hour a day to exercise shouldn’t be that big a deal but let’s remember:
- 40 of those hours are at work (plus the accumulated probably 5 hours of commuting and lunch breaks if you actually take them)
- Hopefully, 56 of them are getting some much needed sleep… if not get working on bringing that number up
- That leaves 7 hours on a weekday left to spend time with loved ones, manage a household (cooking, cleaning, washing clothes and dishes), chasing after the kids, hopefully some downtime in there and on top of that trying to fit in exercise.
But here’s the thing, you can still make it work. You need to focus on the things that give you a positive return on investment. Most people would try to tell you that you have to block out an hour a day to train.
I only want you to block out 3 hours a week to start with.
That’s one hour on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Feel free to change the days to suit you but let’s just focus on trying to spread them out over the course of the week.
Can you do that?
Thought so, so let’s move on.
Make things easier, not harder for yourself
So the 3 hours we just blocked out.
Those are for your training, on the other days that I just saved you from the gym I want you to take an hour to focus on making everything else easier.
That’s preparing your lunches on Sunday for your work week ahead (buy a slow cooker, it will make life a hell of a lot easier). Saturday lets take an hour to get outdoors and do something active. Take the dog for a walk, play with the kids, go for a walk at the lake. Doesn’t matter just find what fits you and enjoy it.
So right now that leaves us Tuesday and Thursday. What are we doing with the extra hour on those days?
They’re your fire extinguisher days, what does that mean?
Went a little off your diet and feel like you need to balance it out? Go and hit an extra workout if it makes you feel better.
Ran out of healthy food around the house or need to prep a bit extra? You’ve got time to knock it out.
Work is getting crazy for a moment and you need to spend a bit of extra time on it? Feel free to stay back an hour here, just keep off facebook.
Nothing’s going crazy and your feeling good? Go read a book or watch Netflix you deserved it.
I’ve just left you with 6 hours every day to spend with loved ones, manage the household, cook your other meals and have some downtime.
Does that sound good?
Awesome, on to the particulars.
Don’t Forget To Have Fun
Now I’m one of those people who gets a real kick out of exercise, but if you’re not that’s ok too. There’s plenty of things you can do that will have you feeling better, losing weight and becoming your best self, you just need to find what pieces of it work for you.
I’m not much of a fan of traditional cardio, so I don’t go near it. I’d rather go lift weights, do some short sprint style conditioning and occasionally get out on my mountain bike for a few hours.
Most people though think they need to choose to do something they hate because that’s what they got told gets results.
I remember I worked with a client a while back who absolutely loved Karate. She would take her kids along, they would do a class first then they would play around the back of the hall while she took the adults class. Sure there’s probably a better weight loss method than the 5 hours of karate she was doing a week but the thing is she never thought about it being for losing weight once, it was family time and it was fun. We spent a couple of hours a week on strength training and some extra conditioning to support her goals but most of her time was spent at the dojo learning Karate and playing with her kids.
So take some time to figure out how you can find something that you love doing, gives you more than just exercise and can be tied in with spending time with loved ones. This is where you stack the cards in your favour and get better results without having to train more.
Covering your bases
So we’ve talked a lot about scheduling and being active without needing to train but let’s quickly touch on training and nutrition.
We said we were going to train 3 days per week. What will that look like?
Your best bet for most people is something around about the following format:
- Dynamic Warmup: 10min
- Metabolic Strength Training: 30min
- Conditioning: 20min
Stick to fundamental movement patterns like squats, deadlifts, presses, pulls, lunges etc. Keep the weights relatively hard for the rep ranges (change the reps up from time to time) and rest periods relatively low depending on the weight.
Try to superset or circuit exercises together to keep the session density high.
Don’t do exercises or lift loads that you are not strong enough or mobile enough for, to make sure you keep yourself safe.
Really don’t like the gym or training? Just pick the thing you thought of before that you loved and do more of that, depending on what it is you may need to just be a bit more aware of your diet.
Make sure to keep on top of niggling injuries before they become serious.
And for diet, eat mainly whole unprocessed foods, plenty of water and vegetables. Put extra emphasis on getting in high quality proteins and where your food comes from. Work on keeping caffeine and alcohol consumption to a reasonable intake and keep away from soft drink.
Slowly test different food types and macronutrient profiles and find what works for you. Just because it works for others won’t guarantee its success for you. Eat enough that it supports your goals but not too much that you put on body fat.
Every now and then forget the rules and enjoy a burger and a beer.
Taking Action Towards Your Success
So your calendar is scheduled out, you have a framework for your training, nutrition and free time. It’s time to get started on the plan and make 2018 your bitch.
First step… take action, tell people about it. Maybe a loved one wants to jump on board, you can kill two birds with one stone and get some family time while exercising or prepping lunches.
If you enjoyed this article, make sure to share it with your loved ones or friends looking to make a change in their lives this year!