Putting 25 pounds (Heck 10 pounds….) on your back squat personal record.
Losing 50 pounds of excess body fat.
Running a marathon.
Performing your first strict pullup.
What do each of these items have in common?
They are all goals.
We all need goals in our lives, be they professional or personal. The only problem with goal setting sometimes is that smashing that long sought after PR or sliding into that new dress requires hours, months, and in some cases years of focused and dedicated work. That’s a tough sell for the majority of society who wants success and happiness yesterday…
Given the fact that you are reading this, I’m guessing you aren’t one of those people. You realize that work must be done, but chances are you don’t know where to start.
Do start with a goal in mind. However, it will be the daily habits you nurture and abide by that must be your true focus.
Instead of fixating on washboard abs, examine what you are doing everyday OUTSIDE of the gym first!
Here are 3 Simple Daily Habits of Success to help you reach your goals:
- Go to bed early and get 8-9 hours of sleep each night. According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2013, nearly 40% of Americans do not get the required recommended amount of sleep per night.
- Quality sleep means quality recovery means quality training means quality results.
- Eat and hydrate appropriately.
- Baseline hydration standards: 1/2 of your bodyweight in ounces of per day of plain old water. If you exercise, you probably need more. A hydrated body improves energy systems’ efficiency, allows soft tissue to move with less restriction, and improves mental clarity and focus.
- Eat a diet that is rich in whole foods. Include a VARIETY of veggies (cooked and raw), fruits, nuts and seeds, dairy (if you can handle it), meats (chicken, beef, pork, wild game), fish (especially wild caught), and fermented foods (kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut, etc). Consider a grocery bill of quality food your weekly contribution to your own health insurance policy. Illness and injury through poor diet reduces your time in the gym. Less gym time means fewer steps in a positive direction towards your goal!
- Cultivate effective breathing.
- Getting the nervous system to ramp up is possible through a specific breathing pattern (long inhales with short exhales in and out through the nose). However, we can’t walk around always ramped up. Important to recovery is a calming breath and mobility protocol. To speed recovery, focus on taking quick inhales with long slow exhales in and out through the nose. (We’ll be sharing a video on Immediate Habits for Improved Recovery next week!)
There are a 168 hours in a week.
Your in-gym training is about 8-11% of that total time.
Clearly, what you do outside of the gym has a much bigger influence on the attainment of your goals. The case for success through quality daily habits such as the big three above is clear.