In today’s go-go world, it’s easy for health and hotness to fall by the wayside. While most of us have good intentions on the path to victory… shit happens.
There’s an emergency at work that has to be addressed, and you suddenly realize it’s 5pm and you haven’t eaten yet. Your kid got sick and you have to get him from school, so you skip the gym for the fifth day in a row. A post-work drink turns into seven post-work drinks, and you don’t get to bed till 2am, even though you need to be up at 6am.
As always, I want to make this shit as easy as possible for you. By setting up a weekly and daily schedule, you’ll give yourself some structure to nail down the big rocks of health and hotness. If you DON’T have any sort of schedule… odds are life is gonna have no problem seducing you away from healthy food choices and fitness adventures.
Remember… to fail to plan is to plan to eat shit and die!
(or something like that.)
Don’t eat this. It’s poop. That’s disgusting.
Nutrition Plannin’!
For most folks, eating right is not very easy if you haven’t put some thought into strategy. As soon as you’re hungry, you’re probably fucked if you don’t have some sort of plan.
The first step is to figure out how many meals per day you’re gonna want. I like three to five meals best for most people, but do what works for your goals. If you’re a smaller human looking to get leaner, three to four may be better. If you’re looking to add some beef, five or even six meals may be necessary.
Once you’ve got your ideal number of meals, it’s important that you have some idea of what you’ll eat and when you’ll eat it BEFORE you start your day.
If you’re busy as fuck (and… since you’re reading still, you probably are), you’ll need to put it in your schedule. Do it!! Plan out breaks throughout your day where you’ll have a moment to feed yourself. Then stick to it.
Additionally, make sure you have some idea of what you’ll eat when. If you prepare a lot of your own food, this is super easy. If you eat out a lot, develop a repertoire of go-to restaurants and meals that will support your fitness goals!
Trainin’ Plannin’!
Just like nutrition, training can easily fall to the wayside without making some sexy schedule magic. Although nutrition is generally best planned on a daily basis, training tends to be better addressed on a weekly basis.
Based on your current goals, figure out how many times a week you plan on working out. For most folks, three to five times per week will do the trick when looking to do some physique-transformin’.
If you have a super busy week, don’t sweat it! You can maintain most health and hotness qualities with one or two workouts per week if need be.
Once you’ve got a handle on how often you’ll work out, be sure to account for commute time. Put that shit in your calendar and STICK TO IT. Treat it like a super important appointment. Because it fucking is!!
If you find life derails you a lot, consider morning workouts so you reduce the risk of life interfering. Get that shit done and move on with your day!
(And if you’re seeking optimal fat loss and not sure how best to use your workout time, be sure to reference Fat Loss 4 Idiots For Training so you can use your time wisely.)
Recovery Plannin’!
Recovery planning?? I know, we are getting fucking CRAZY in this post!!
But for realz, you’ve got to make sure you plan in your recovery as well. For a certain personality type (MARK COUGHS LOUDLY), this über-important category can fall to the wayside.
Make sure you’ve actually given yourself enough time to sleep. If you’re striving for seven to eight hours, you won’t have a lot of success if you don’t have at least that many hours in your bed before you have to wake up!
Other important and underappreciated recovery elements will also benefit from scheduling. Mediation, foam rolling, low-intensity active recovery workouts, and even long sexy walks on the beach are key for long term health and hotness.
For super Type A folks, you may need to go so far as to plan in relaxation time. In addition to taking vacations (you are taking those right??), you’ll need to plan in some time during the week to chill the fuck out. If you’re a chronic hustler, be sure to block off chunks of several hours per week where you are forbidden to do work.
Since part of the health and hotness game is hormonal, don’t underestimate how these acts of self love and kindness can add up!
Plan For the Unexpected
While the above are some great strategies for setting a framework of fitness glory, make sure you have some contingency plans prepared!
Don’t be afraid to get in a 30 minute workout (CLICK HERE!) if that’s all you have time for. Make sure you have some emergency health and hotness snacks in case life fucks up your planned meal times. And if you lose one of your predetermined blocks of chilling-the-fuck-out, just go back to the ol’ schedule and find another one!
Remember, you will benefit from not only have a framework, but from cultivating the flexibility to riff when needed.
It’s not about perfect, it’s about BETTER.
Now I want to hear from you! What are your go to strategies for planning your fitness activities into your busy ass life?
***