Habit #7: Empower Your Thoughts

When you’re tired and want to quit, what are the thoughts going on in your head? Think about the last time you were in the middle of a long workout. Did any of these thoughts go through your mind?

“Oh crap. My legs hurt so bad!”

“Gosh, I hate running so much…”

“No one will even know if I skip a couple of reps…”

Would a trainer ever say something like that to you in the middle of a workout?

Heck no!

The trainer is in your face saying, “Let’s go baby! Looking good! You’ve got 10 more reps to go!”

It’s time you reframe the whining and complaining voice inside your head. You are your own best (and worst) trainer. It’s time your thoughts start acting like one.

Habit #8: Meet the Workout Stimulus

If you’re supposed to finish each round of an EMOM with :10 to spare, do you allow yourself to go to the end of the minute?

If you’re supposed to finish today’s workout in 8:00 but you know it’s going to take you 10:00, what do you do?

The key here is scaling. You must scale every workout either up or down in order to meet the stimulus for the workout. You can do this by doing less (or more) weight, shortening (or lengthening) the distance, or performing fewer (or more) reps every round.

Don’t think it’s that big of deal?

Take this example: Assume I run 400-meters three times. The first time I run it in 2:00. The second time I finish in 1:30. And then the third time, I finish in 0:59.

The truth is that my body will respond very differently to those three intervals. The first 400-meter interval is an aerobic-based jog. The second is a working-set where I’m probably working on running technique. The third is an anaerobic, max-effort attempt. These three unique runs will elicit a different training response on my body.

In short, listen to the coach as he or she explains the intention (“stimulus”) of the workout — then meet it. There is a science to the programming when the workout is executed properly.

Habit #9: Eat a Vegetable at Every Meal

Meats, nuts, seeds, whole-wheat starches, and fruit are amazing and should be eaten regularly. But we all fall short of vegetables. You can never eat too many of them.

The meal that most often gets forgotten about for vegetable consumption is breakfast. Simply throw some spinach into your morning shake, cabbage or carrots into your eggs, or drink some water with a couple of cucumbers chopped up into it.

The habit here isn’t to try to eat a lot of vegetables (although more is better). Instead, it’s to eat them more regularly throughout the day.

Not only will you feel more satiated, but you’re body will begin to thrive. Real men and women eat plants!

Habit #10: Go to Bed At The Same Time Every Night

Without a consistent bedtime, you throw your body’s internal clock out the window (circadian rhythm). In fact, Harvard Medical School published a study in 2017 stating that, “going to sleep and waking up at approximately the same time is as important as the number of hours one sleeps” (Dr. Andrew Phillips).

This landmark study found that a consistent bedtime allows your circadian rhythm to stay in a routine, thus improving cognitive and academic performance. In other words, Harvard students had a higher GPA if they stuck with a consistent bedtime.

Studies since this have correlated consistent bedtimes with professional basketball player performance. For example, the less consistent you are at going to bed at the same time, the more you’re going to turn the ball over. The more consistent you are with your bedtime, the better you will shoot from the free-throw line… etc.

This is the last habit and one that will improve all facets of your health: emotional, intellectual, social, and physical.

Takeaway

It’s worth saying again: Consistency. Consistency. Consistency.

Nothing great was ever achieved without it and it’s manifested in your habits.

I can promise you with no doubt in my mind that if you adopt these 10 habits, you will find yourself in the best shape of your life before Christmas. Yes, I mean literally the best shape of your life!

Start with habit #1 and go for 18-days straight. If you mess up on Day 15, start over. If you get to 18-days, move to habit #2 while maintaining habit #1.

However, if you keep messing up, schedule to sit down with me in-person or schedule a call with me here. Between Mark and I, we do close to 50 of these every week. Together, we’ll get you back on track and crossing off those New Year’s Resolutions!

Tyler