I realized that I've been optimizing a weekly routine for the last few years. Once a week I set aside some time to plan when I can get exercise and what I'll be doing. A few years ago, all I could commit to do was 2 or 3 times a week. I'm more consistently able to do 5 days a week now. Part of that change is from having a more stable job. Part of that change is from experimenting with my schedule over time. I think you will have to experiment too.
Here's what is shaping my current thinking:
- I normally enjoy exercising after work, but the options I have at that time are crowded and work has a tendency to run long and cut into my time in the afternoon. To avoid crowds and be efficient with my time, I started exercising first thing in the morning.
- I like doing weights, and I found I needed to go at least twice a week to have an impact on my mood. Five times per week starts to be boring, so I think 3 to 4 times a week is idea.
- Training regularly fits in well with a regular work schedule, so I try to do training on work days. That leaves my days off for more varied and less routine activities like long hikes or bike rides, or other adventures.
- I needed to work out a rhythm to my work days, so they are built around training before the majority of the work day, and also leaving time for productive work in the mornings too. My most productive, decisive, and creative time of the day is also in the mornings, so I try to schedule meetings for afternoons.
- After I work out I'm usually pretty hungry, and the body is generally primed after training to take in nutrition and build itself better. Think of hunters and gatherers going to effort to get food, and then eating it afterwards.
A Typical Day
So here's a typical day for me:
- Wake up, do morning stuff, maybe have a cup of coffee
- Go work out. Or, do some work at home for an hour or two, then go exercise/work out
- Have breakfast afterwards. This doesn't have to be breakfast food.
- Do work
- Have some lunch
- Work for the afternoon
- Go home and maybe have a meal
- Wind down and wrap up stuff for the day, prepare for the next day
- Sleep
As I write this I'm heading back into a phase of working on getting leaner, so I'll be eating modestly sized meals for my first two meals of the day, and for my evening meal I'll focus on salads with protein, or I might skip the evening meal occasionally.
A Typical Week
As I mentioned 4x/week of weights is about enough for me, but I find it's helpful to still keep a consistent routine across the week, so 1 day per week I do something else. Currently that means I go do sunrise surfing on Monday mornings before work. I love this as an activity to kick off the work week and keep a broader perspective on the world. On Tuesdays through Fridays I do weights. As I mentioned elsewhere on this site, the important thing is to find an activity you like doing that you can do consistently.
On weekends I don't plan at the moment. I find I need the full weekend to get recentered, to catch up on chores, and to have some social time. I like leaving this unstructured time in my schedule, especially given the long days during my work week.
I plan my weight workouts every week too. Plan your exercises in greater detail if you have goals you are trying to accomplish with those activities. Are you trying to have fun, improve skill, improve speed, increase muscle size, maintain muscle size? All these factors will impact your variation, progression, and selection of activities, and I'll probably write more on these questions in the future.
Use Feedback
The process of weekly planning helps me reflect on the week to figure out what worked and what didn't. If you are trying to make changes for the long term in your life, you will need to answer these questions personally too. Ultimately you do have to take some control of what you are committed to doing. For years I went to gyms that provided group exercise programming because I wanted to delegate that to someone else in my life. But I still had to figure out what I would eat and when I could go to the gym. It took several years to make changes to improve my food choices and manage my time schedule better. If you want health in the long term, you will need to think about what you can do consistently and regularly. Always cutting out time for fitness and healthy eating will not lead to success in the long term, although you can always get away with less-healthy choices in the short term. If I'm traveling, I don't try to hold myself to these sorts of routines. But if I'm just living in the life I have set up for myself, setting up daily and weekly routines is a way of making sure that I have a chance of achieving balance between fitness and office life. Good luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment