Week 2 of Body Transformation: Daily Movement, plus Nutrition (from July 11th)

Week 2: Daily Movement, plus Nutrition

Team,

First off, great job on completing Week 1.

The goal wasn't just to get everyone to walk five times over 10 days. It was to begin building habits that will continue paying dividends long after this challenge ends.

That first mission helped us:

·      Increase our daily step count.

·      Spend more time outside in the sun.

·      Create another opportunity each day to sweat without adding more wear and tear to our bodies. Forty to sixty minutes in the Texas sun creates the opportunity to sweat.

·      Increase our overall daily energy expenditure while still leaving plenty in the tank for Jiu Jitsu and strength training.

It wasn't about crushing yourself every day. It was about adding one sustainable habit that can make a huge difference over the course of months and years.

This week’s challenge will include a Meal Prep component.

My Experience

Back in 2014 to 2015, before I started training Jiu Jitsu, I had reached nearly 200-pounds.

My natural weight, both during my football days and today, is around 180.

A neck injury had kept me on the couch for a few years, and I needed a way to start moving again.

I began hiking the Ramapo County Reservation in Mahwah, New Jersey.

Those hikes were difficult and they helped me lose the weight that eventually put me in position to begin training at Silver Fox BJJ in Saddle Brook, New Jersey in June of 2016.

When I went back to New Jersey last month, I hiked those same mountains again.

It reminded me just how challenging they were. On one day, my phone tracked that I hiked up 46 floors of elevation and 68 the next per my Apple Health app.

It also reminded me that something as simple as walking—especially in the Texas summer—can absolutely be a workout.

You don't always need another brutal conditioning session.

Sometimes you just need to move.

Daily Movement

Move more throughout the day.

Everyone has heard the recommendation of 10,000 steps per day.

The reality is that research shows the majority of the health benefits are achieved before that. This week, our goal is to average 8,000 steps per day.

That might mean:

·      Taking another walk after dinner.

·      Parking farther away.

·      Walking while listening to a podcast.

·      Taking a phone call while outside.

·      Simply spending less time sitting throughout the workday.

Small increases every day add up.

I also feel like walking does an incredibly efficient job of opening up the relationship between the hips and lower back that oftentimes gets us bunched up.

A focus of future weeks will be on finding the times in the day to do some very basic, oftentimes just bodyweight centric or yoga centric, strength movements.

There is a guy who does strength training for just 20-minutes a day, but he does it every day. His Instagram handle is @dailyrepsguy. Check out the kind of results that simple consistency has created for him over the last year.

Consistency is the key to unlocking the things we desire, whether with our weight, our Jiu Jitsu, or elsewhere.

On this point, which we will come back to in later weeks, I’ve attached some basic exercises that don’t require any equipment. You can pick a few, do 5-10 reps per set, and move through them in a superset to get some work in after a walk or just as a standalone, movement practice.

·      Squat

·      Push Up

·      Forward Lunge

·      Backward Lunge

·      Side Lunge or Cossack Squat

·      Plank for time

·      Beast Pose or Plank with Shoulder Touches

·      Sit outs

·      Squat Jumps

·      Broad Jumps

·      Bounded Speed Skater Jumps

·      Crunches

·      Mountain Climbers

·      Glute Bridges

·      Beast Crawls

·      Crab Walks

·      Alligator Walks

·      Burpees

We can get into this again during a later week.

Don’t get too bogged down in all of that. You can go far with just the ones in bold. Those are the ones I focus on the most.

Just keep moving.

Optional Challenge: Add Some Weight to your Walks

If you already enjoy walking, consider adding a weighted vest.

I've become a huge fan of rucking over the past few years because it increases the training effect without requiring you to run.

Even a 20-pound vest can make a noticeable difference.

I personally use a 40-pound vest, but don't feel like you need to start there.

Start where you are. The links are attached.

Week 2 Theme: Meal Prep & Moderation

This week our focus is simple: Movement is key, but nutrition is the foundation.

One of the easiest ways to stay on track is simply deciding what you'll eat before the week begins.

This Week’s Challenge: Grocery Shopping Sunday

Do your grocery shopping on Sunday.

I don't even care if you use Instacart and spend a little extra, but either way, eating at home is the more financially viable option for yourself as well.

For many people, paying a few extra dollars is worth removing the friction that causes them to skip grocery shopping altogether.

A plan beats no plan.

Win the Front Half of the Week

Weekends can get busy.

That's okay. That’s good. I hope they’re busy.

Instead of trying to eat perfectly seven days a week, let's dominate Monday through Thursday.

There are 12 possible meals during those four days.

Let's aim to prepare at least 10 of those 12 meals at home.

Then enjoy some flexibility over the weekend.

Maybe Friday or Saturday dinner is with friends.

Maybe Sunday lunch is out after church.

That's completely fine.

Across the entire week there are roughly 21 meals.

Let's aim for 16 meals prepared at home.

If you practice intermittent fasting and only eat twice per day, that becomes even easier.

Now you only have 14 meals.

Let's aim for 11 of those 14 meals prepared at home.

Perfection isn't the goal.

Consistency is.

What I'm Doing

Here's what my grocery routine has looked like recently:

·      Yellow or sweet potatoes and vegetables with most meals instead of white rice, which was a normalcy for me.

·      Ground beef from Guerrilla Grocers. I’ve re-added more chicken into my grocery orders too.

·      Eggs from Hooter Flats via Guerrilla Grocers.

·      Hooter Flats Raw Milk in the rotation.

·      Keeping the ingredients simple enough that meal prep takes very little time.

·      Get your avocados.

Sometimes eating well isn't about buying expensive foods.

It's about having good food ready before you're hungry.

Week 2 Goals

✅ Average 8,000 steps per day

✅ Continue attending your regular Jiu Jitsu and Striking classes

✅ Prepare at least 16 meals at home this week (or 11 if you're eating two meals per day)

✅ Complete your grocery shopping before Monday

One habit at a time.

That's how lasting transformation happens.