Who else can’t believe it’s already that time of year again! School is about to be back in session, and many of our schedules are about to go through an abrupt change. Kids will be getting up earlier, afternoon schedules will be packed with after-school activities and sports, and it can get overwhelming at times. With our combined 26 years of experience in this field, Tom and I have seen a trend develop in those first few weeks and we see a drop in attendance, effort levels decrease, and we sense a little more stress/anxiety in the gym than normal. My goal is to help alleviate some of that stress and anxiety by providing you with five simple steps to set you and your family up for another successful school year. Don’t be afraid of change!
“Change is the only constant in life. One’s ability to adapt to those changes will determine your success in life.” – Ben Franklin
Here is my suggested step by step plan for success:
- Step one might be the most difficult to accomplish, but I feel like it is absolutely the most important. GET 8 HOURS OF SLEEP EVERY NIGHT. Adequate sleep is the best supplement on the market and makes all things in life easier. GO TO SLEEP!
- Step two is to start a family calendar of events that both parents and children can easily see and make changes to. I know many of you already have this step in place (pat on the back if you do), but it can be a huge game changer if you don’t already do this. This can also assist with step one, as it helps to eliminate a major cause of stress… worrying about what you have to do the next day.
- Step three is prioritizing a healthy lifestyle. I’m not sure if we can harp on this topic more than we already have, but here we go again… Following a proper training routine and eating a well-balanced diet leads to a more productive individual. We also strongly encourage you to get 2-3 training sessions in each week as well as 2-3 20-45 minute “cardio” sessions each week. “Cardio” can be as simple as a walk, hike, playing with the kids outside, gardening, etc.
- Step four is meal prep. I’m not saying you need to prepare every meal for an entire week ahead of time, but I do find it helpful to at least have a rough outline of what foods your family members like to eat. If you want to have “theme nights” for dinner, like Taco Tuesdays or Soup Saturdays, that can help set the week for success. Also, this one is for the kids out there- pack up your lunch bag the night before so you make sure you’re getting the calories you need to keep that brain functioning at a high level and minimize the mood swings!
We have seen that individuals have the best results in training programs when they set time aside to prepare meals and log their nutritional habits. - Step five is time management. We have 24 hours in every day, 8 hours (see step 1) is for sleep, which leaves an additional 16 hours of the day to utilize to the best of your ability. If you find yourself in a rush all the time to get things done, you create unnecessary stress. Plan ahead and create space within a day, week, and months’ time to get things done without a rush.
I hope these five steps can help you hit the ground running, ready to take on another successful school year!
Until next week,
Nick and Tom
