Have had a few folks asking us about goals this week. Like the New Year it seems, September is a time for reflection and planning.
Here’s a program that is relatively simple to enact and follow. If you feel like you are floundering a bit in your gym attendance, diet, sleep, whatever, why not give this a try? If you feel like you are really floundering…I will bet you dollars to protein powder that if you do everything on this list consistently for the 2013-2014 school year, you will be amazed at what you feel, perform, and look like in June of next year. Who’s up for it?
1) Gym: You will get 3 upperbody and 3 lowerbody workouts in every 2 weeks. If you are a member of Team Woodshed, this is easy. Come to the gym 3x a week and do what’s on the board. If not, hit us up in the comments thread below or on Facebook under the post and we can make some suggestions (well, besides “join our gym”).
2) Cardio: You will pick ONE of the following three activities–Walk, Jog, Bike–and you will do it for 20-30 minutes 3 times a week on your non-gym days. Pace is unimportant as long as you aren’t being passed by llamas while you do it. Are llamas fast? Maybe I need a better animal. Anyways, don’t go wicked slow. Move.
3) Stretching: You will find a yoga, pilates, or tai chi class, dvd, or practice to follow along. You will do this on your non-gym, non-cardio day. Duration is unimportant so long as you are stretching, breathing, and it makes you feel good for most of the rest of the day.
4) Diet: You will eat 3 meals a day. Divide your plate into thirds (about the size of a big fist/palm). Each plate will have:
a) one-third protein (meat, meat, meat, meat, eggs, fish, cottage cheese, meat)
b) one-third carbohydrate (rice, oats, sweet potatoes, fruit)
c) one-third vegetables (green veggies are outstanding…boy, you can’t have too many of those)
Notes:
-Eat locally if possible.
-Use some olive oil, butter, nut butter, or coconut oil–a tablespoon or so–on or with any part of your meal if the meat you choose is a lean protein like chicken breast or tuna. If you are eating nicely locally sourced beef, eggs, or pork, you don’t really need to worry about extra fat.
-If you are hungry, add more protein and a bit more fat to each meal. You will figure it out. 3 meals a day.
5) Sleep: Get as much as you can.
6) Water: Drink more of it. A few glasses over every few hours.
7) Fun: Go out to eat or have whatever you want for dinner and dessert once a week. Don’t act like Caligula…have a good time and a good meal and then put it to bed.
8) Bullshit: Avoid at all costs. Here are some examples of how to avoid bullshit:
-Eat the protein. Most all of you don’t eat enough of it. Peanut butter is not a protein.
-Women: read the sentences above again. And again. I have never, ever worked with a woman on diet who came to me eating too much food. Ever. Y’all need to eat more, and more protein. Also, you should lift weights too. But we’ll get to that later if you’re not there yet.
-Men: You will be amazed at what three long walks a week will do for you. Head and body. I know you probably think it’s not hard enough. That is not the point. Walk. Your heart will thank you and you won’t be able to comb through old Spartan Race results on your phone for inspiration and distraction if you’re walking at a decent enough clip.
-Take fewer pictures of your own food and look at fewer pictures of other people’s food. Get better at just eating.
-You can go to bed earlier. You just can. You always can.
-Stop listening to people who don’t know you and/or don’t do this for a living and/or sound like lunatics. Because you will hear “protein will destroy your kidneys,” “you shouldn’t lift weights over ten pounds because it is unnecessary,” “Drop down to 500 calories a day but drink a green smoothie every morning,” and the like, over and over again. So be prepared to listen selectively. Because that stuff is usually bullshit.
In? Out? Questions? Why not give it a shot if you are looking for a new kind of kick? Let us know how we can help.
