I have come to learn that I need to be strategic to be successful. I have to plan out everything from my snacks to my workouts, or I will be at higher risk of unintentionally interfering with my own success.
How many of you have heard about meal prep? I love meal prep. I feel like it helps me to stay on track with my diet, and saves me time and effort during the week. I typically utilize Sunday as a cooking day, where I will make the meal(s) I have planned for the week. I start by making my menu, like this week I plan to have high protein mac and cheese or black bean burgers both options with veggies. I will get 4 servings from the box of noodles I have, which works perfectly since I will be in town for 3 days this week, so I can freeze one serving or use it as a second meal one of the days. I also plan out my snacks for the week. I bought some one protein bars, baked pork rinds, cucumber, cuties, apples, cheese, beef jerky and cashews for snacks. So I will measure out my pork rinds and jerky on my scale and put the serving sizes into baggies for me to easily grab throughout the week. I will chop and divide the cucumber into containers as well and season with my lime and tajin.
While I have slacked on this the past two weeks, and can tell by my results, I typically try to plan out my workouts as well. I have Zumba every Tuesday, so that’s one less thing to plan for, but I also plan on 2-4 more days of activity, making sure to make at least one session a weight training session. My goal each week is to do one day of cardio, one day of resistance training, and one day where I focus on flexibility.
If it is my weight training day, I write down the specific exercise I will do, the weight I will use, and the reps I am aiming for. I aim to do a warm up, three sets of four weighted exercises, and a cool down.
For example:
Upper Body Day
Warm up, 5-10 mins
Super Set:
Kettlebell Press, 10lbs, 10 reps/side
Bicep Curls, 5lbs, 12 reps
Tricep Kickback, 5lbs, 8 reps
W Lift, 5lbs, 8 reps
Cool Down, 8-12mins
I try to have this planned out by Sunday evening, because Sundays are typically always a designated rest day for me, so that I am ready to go into the week and crush my workouts. When I don’t plan this out, I am lost and forget what else I have already done that week. Writing it out helps me to make sure that I’m not burning out my muscle groups and causing myself more harm than good in the end. Don’t neglect warming up or cooling down. Warming up helps prevent injuries and cooling down helps to reduce stiffness, and to help bring your heart rate down gradually. It’s not good for your body to go from an elevated heart rate to stagnation.
Plan for the unexpected. I always keep an extra protein bar or some other snack in my bag in case I get caught up in a situation that I didn’t plan for and carry a small amount of cash in case I need to buy something at a place that doesn’t accept cards; I also keep in the back of my head types of drinks and foods I can have if I’m at a social event so that I don’t overdo it. If it’s a workout that is missed, can you use one of your scheduled rest days instead, or can you work in a mini workout in your office or in the elevator (or better taking the stairs).
Plan for the expected. I know I’ll be out of town with less access to my regular resources, so I am planning to bring my breakfast shakes, a blender bottle, and snacks that don’t need to be refrigerated with me. I am also planning to have active breaks where if I’m not in session I will walk around the building I’m in or do squats or something in our spare space so I’m not sitting the whole weekend.
Plan for the plateau. It’s inevitable. Work on your mindset so that you push through the plateau season. Know that it may take a change in workout or diet, or it could just be that your body still needs the same thing, and it’s just going to take some time to start making gains again. And that is okay. Keep pushing. You will make it past the plateau.
Intention Transform 