Workout of the Day:
Three sets of:
Front Squat x 4-6 reps
Rest 90 seconds
Knees to Elbows x 8-12 reps
Rest 2 minutes;
and then,
Three rounds for time of:
Hang Power Cleans (155/105 lbs.) x 6 reps
Box Jumps (24″/18″) x 12 reps
400 Meter Run

This is what success looks like for me.

Plan for Success
Written by C.J. Martin

Success is never simply a result of good luck.  It is a product of preparing and putting yourself in the right position to benefit from opportunities and lucky breaks, or it is a product of taking advantage of opportunities you created.  This is particularly true when it comes to your nutrition.

Eating clean for a full week takes a lot of work.  Most of us are not so lucky as to be surrounded during the day with lean proteins, organic vegetables, avocados and nuts.  It’s more likely that your workplace has an abundance of preservative-rich, highly processed gems like Hostess donuts, Sun Chips, candy bars, and soda.  If you’re lucky, your office treats you to catered donuts and bagels for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and/or Chinese food (with all manner of fried goods) for dinner.  And of course, no work environment is complete without bowls of sugary treats – mints, chocolates, butterscotch, etc. – scattered all over the place.  So how do you expect to succeed in that environment?  Do you have a plan?

Avoiding the temptation of grabbing a free donut or Hershey Kiss is much easier if you have a healthy meal available to you and you are maintaining your blood sugar levels by eating balanced meals throughout the day.  But if you’re like me, you don’t have time to come home every night and prepare meals for the next day.  So, Sunday and Wednesday are my meal preparation days.  Here is my four-step process to ensure that I eat well throughout the week:

Step One: Review my CSA email.  I subscribe to a Community Supported Agriculture program that provides me with a box of locally grown, organic vegetables and fruit every week.  They send out an email early in the week informing their members what produce will come in their box.  I like using everything they give me because (a) I am cheap and don’t want to waste it, and (b) locally grown organic produce tastes one hundred times better than anything I have purchased in a store.

Step Two: Plan my meals.  I figure out what I am going to eat at each meal, for each day of the week.  I have a long day, so I break mine into 6 meals – early a.m. (5:30), breakfast (8:00), late a.m. (11:00), lunch (2:00), Dinner (5:00), late evening snack (9:00).  Here’s what my geeky spreadsheet looks like.  (Tough to see, so I will elaborate tomorrow.)

Step Three: Grocery shopping.  Based on my meal plan, I can shop effectively for the ingredients I need (and only those ingredients so I don’t waste food).

Step Four: Food preparation and packaging.  Bust out your pots, pans and a truckload of Tupperware.  Once the food is cooked, portion it out into the serving size in which you will enjoy it.  (Pictured above from left to right, early a.m., breakfast, late a.m., and lunch for Monday through Wednesday – tomorrow I’ll explain why dinner and late evening is not pictured.)

Finally, I must note that I have a LOT of help with this process.  Whether you have a significant other or not, recruit some help.  Make this a social event with friends and family.  Prepare enough food for everyone involved and it makes spending a couple of hours together fun and productive.