One of the things that I focus on with my clients is trying to find ways to make things simpler.
As a busy professional, it’s so easy to get overwhelmed. You’ve got memos to write, clients to serve, team members to lead, bills to pay and so many other things on your plate that it’s easy to feel like you’re in quicksand.
Well, you can’t build your Ideal Healthy and Fit Body that way.
You’ve got to simplify things so you can make progress.
Here’s one of the ways that I help clients do that:
We see our health and fitness as 5 Units.
The Exercise Unit – Moving your body
The Nutrition Unit – Supplying your body with the proper nutrients it needs
The Sleep Unit – Making sure you are getting adequate sleep
The Hydration Unit – Making sure you are getting the proper amount of fluids
The Self Care/Stress Relief Unit – Making sure that you give your body the proper amount of recovery that it needs.
That’s it.
Do those 5 things consistently and it’s going to be pretty close to Ideal.
Think about it…everything fits in those 5 Units.
It all fits.
So, seeing your health and fitness through the lens of those 5 units is my first step towards simplifying and moving toward your Ideal Healthy and Fit Body.
Next up, we actually have to Produce.
Building your Ideal Healthy and Fit Body is really a product of you Producing…or creating progress…on a daily basis.
In fact, I’d tell you that my clients’ successes are largely a result of accrued, small victories over time.
It’s easier to motivate yourself to conquer the challenge of Winning The Day than it is of tackling a bigger, often daunting task.
But Win enough days and you achieve your goals.
Now what does that look like in a practical sense?
Well, we need to make progress in all 5 Units.
It doesn’t have to be huge progress…but we need to make progress.
I look at it this way…
The Exercise Unit – did I move my body today?
The Nutrition Unit – did I feed my body properly today?
The Sleep Unit – did get enough sleep today?
The Hydration Unit – did I drink enough today?
The Self-Care/Stress Relief Unit – did I find to relax today?
Try to make sure my clients don’t ‘put up a zero’ in any of these 5 areas on any day.
They don’t all get equal attention every day…but they all are attended to.
For the Exercise Unit it may be as simple as doing a 5-minute movement flow.
For the Nutrition Unit it could be just making sure you eat enough protein.
For the Sleep Unit is often making sure that you go to bed at a reasonable hour.
For the Hydration Unit it could be a simple as making sure that you have a bottle of water with you at all times.
For the Self-Care/Stress Relief it could be a simple as setting aside 5-minutes to focus on your breathing.
I know that if my clients stack up 250 or so of these Winning Days in a year, their health and fitness got a LOT better…because that’s the minimum.
Some days they may do a lot more in one or two of those Units.
But the idea is simple…no zeros. Win The Day.
What are some things that would qualify for an offline business in each category?
Exercise Unit Examples:
- A 5-minute movement flow.
- A set of squats before you eat something.
- Getting in a 20-minute workout.
- Get up and move around for 5 minutes every half hour.
There are many more options…and the goal is simple: do some sort of movement every day.
If you have more time on a given day…do more. But no zeroes.
Nutrition Unit Examples:
- Plan your meals for the day.
- Write out a grocery list of healthy foods.
- Add another serving of vegetable to a meal
You’re doing some of this…so do more. Do it proactively rather than haphazardly or reactively.
And again…no zeroes.
Sleep Unit Examples:
- Set up a pre-sleep ritual.
- Go to bed 15 minutes earlier.
- Turn off your phone
Nothing outlandish…just make sure that you can get uninterrupted sleep. No zeroes.
Hydration Unit Examples:
- Drink a glass of water upon wakening.
- Fill up a bottle of water and bring it with you.
- Take a sip of water every time you pass a water fountain
Self-Care/Stress Relief Unit Examples:
- Meditate for 10 minutes
- Practice deep breathing for 5 minutes
- Take a hot bath.
If you plan your day the evening before (you should), then you just map out your 5 Daily BIG Wins…the #1 Win in each area…and make sure they get done.
That’s the minimum requirement to ‘Win The Day.’
Do more if you can…but don’t let yourself get derailed and fail to do those.
Plan your day and proactively do something in each Unit. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn’t work well enough…improve it or replace it.
Stack those Wins up and dial in each Unit so it’s working well and you’ll have your Ideal Healthy and Fit Body sooner than you thought possible.
Your Friend and Coach
Paul F Sweatt CPT
774-495-0055
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