Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Your 24 Hour Guide to Living a High Performance Lifestyle by Colby Knepp

What does “Living a High Performance Lifestyle” mean to you?

Is it waking up every morning, excited to get to work and crush the project your working on? What about going through your day with an organized, relaxed and focused state of mind that is free from the stress and anxiety that is all too common in today’s distracted, hectic and busy world? How about having great physical and mental energy and consistently making progress in the gym?

You’re free to decide for yourself, of course, but to me living a high performance lifestyle is all of the above.

It’s being a productive person and consistently getting the right stuff done. It’s having regulated physical and mental energy levels throughout the day. It’s feeling deeply connected with the work you do on a daily basis. It’s consistently achieving your health and fitness goals. It’s waking up excited to start your day and it’s leading a life that, for the most part, is free from anxiety, stress and meaningless distraction.

Is it even possible in today’s world? If you want it bad enough – yes, it is. And it’s probably a lot easier than you might imagine.

Here’s how to achieve it.

What To Do In The Morning

1. Get your ass out of bed and get the day started. You’ve got big things to accomplish today. Don’t feel like it today? I’m sorry. Do it anyway.
2. Drink 20 ounces of water. Right after you take care of the potty business, drink 20 ounces of cold water. You’re a CrossFitter and a busy person, so chances are you are dehydrated. Let’s fix that right from the get go.
3. Eat breakfast. This can be as simple as a protein super shake (2 scoops of protein powder, 2 tbsp almond butter, 1 cup spinach, 10-12 oz water and a couple of ice cubes) or a full on eggs n’ bacon type of meal. Pro Tip – this is a GREAT time to pack your lunch and a couple of snacks.
4. Drink some black coffee (or tea). I really like coffee though.
5. Journal. Don’t underestimate the power of self-reflection. Ask yourself these questions and answer accordingly – What are three things that I am most grateful for? What are three things that I most appreciate? What new opportunities do I have today? What three things did I get done yesterday? What are the three things that I am going to get done today?

What To Do In The Afternoon

1. Drink 20 ounces of water. Staying hydrated will not only help your performance in the gym, but also support your ability to focus and be a productive human. This is a good time to take your fish oil.
2. Eat a snack. Make this snack consist of protein, fat and veggies. Check out Steves Paleo Goods.
3. Take a break. It is literally impossible to sustain 100% focus and attention for a full 9 hour work day. Here’s what I do – for every 60 minutes of focused effort and attention, I try to take a 10 minute break. I’ll usually go on a walk, read something enjoyable or do some light mobility and stretching. The key here is to get up and move around and allow your brain to disconnect for a little bit.
4. Eat lunch. This meal should consist of protein, fat and veggies. I like to bring something along to read, and if I am with friends I make sure to leave the cellphone behind so I’m not distracted!
5. Plan tomorrow. Near the end of your work day, write down all the important things that you need to get done and set a time and place to get it done – personal stuff, work, errands, etc. Guess what this step does for you? It takes the indecision out of the situation tomorrow morning when you are planning on what to do. All the important stuff has a time and a place, so don’t stress about it anymore.
6. Drink 20 ounces of water. Yep. Again.

What To Do In The Evening

1. De-stress for 20 minutes. In order to kick start the recovery process, both mentally and physically, you need to disconnect for a little bit. I like to go on a short walk with my fiance and our dogs, but you could also take a quick nap, do some mobility work or read. Heck, even watching some guilty pleasure TV for a little bit isn’t going to hurt you (I’ve been known to flip on the Xbox a time or two…).
2. Eat a clean, delicious, home-made meal. I’ve found that taking 30-60 minutes to cook a delicious meal is deeply satisfying and is a nice transition from work mode into recovery/rest/relaxation mode. In need of some recipes? Check out PaleOMG or theGourmet Nutrition Cookbook (your welcome).
3. Develop a sleep ritual 
4. Sleep at least 7 hours.
5. Repeat MOST days. My goal isn’t perfection. Instead, I try to follow this plan more days than I don’t follow it. What does this mean in practical terms? Four days out of the week I follow this plan perfectly. The other three? It get’s messy, but that’s okay. Life is messy.

But wait… what about exercise? Isn’t that the most important part of living a healthy lifestyle? Yes, it’s very important – and while I don’t feel the need to preach about why regular exercise is important, I do want to clarify what you should be aiming for each week. Do CrossFit 3-5x per week with a high level of intensity. Take a rest day or two when you are feeling pretty beat up and tired or when you feel like you are unable to hit the WOD with a high level of intensity (being “lazy tired” doesn’t count, though). Make sure you’re recovering properly with adequate rest, hydration and proper nutrition habits and you are WELL on your way to a very, very high level of fitness.