It has only been the last few years where I have noticed the importance of recovery and diet, and only the last few months where I am confident to say, that if you are trying to achieve the 1% in any fitness domain, 80% of your focus has to be dedicated towards your diet and nutrition, whereas in my view only 20% falls to the rocky cut scene of grinding in the gym, and punching the bag, being metaphorical for whatever exercise domain you live in.
Now these properties, assume that you have the essentials covered being:
- Consistency of working at your discipline (don’t mistake me, working your hardest is needed to achieve a high level of success)
But the allowance for you to push your hardest and reduce the risk of the dreaded injury and halting progress, is disproportionately important when competing at high levels.
I have referred to the mike mentzer style of training. If you want to check out the benefits I have recieved from the training style.
The 80% is built up of a bunch of 1% in your recovery and diet, which from a spectator looking at the final result, goes completely unnoticed.
I am not going to claim that my gym journey lead me to be in the 1%, but here are the things which I did, along with the activities of my friends who have achieved this feat.
DECREASING STRESS
- Sauna and Ice bath
This one was recommended by Andrew Huberman, and is a protocal which I have stuck with for many years. The extreme hot and cold exposures, have shown to kickstart the immune system and improve recovery. Here is some evidence to compliment by blabber.
- Leisure time
Distracting your mind in the form of play is how I like to define lesiure time, and this may seem to provide just a psychological benefit of improving your head space, in my experience participating in my form of leisure time, has carried over immensely to the biological benefits, one being most noticeable is a speedy recovery, as the body relaxes and allow the engineers living inside your body to fix whatever is wrong QUICKER.
DAILY NUTRIENT. AND AVOID CHEMICALS AND TOXINS
- No processed foods.
My friends view their bodies as machines which require the best fuel to operate at their maximal capacity, when filling up at the petrol station they opt for the 198 unleaded over the 192. That means skipping the breakfast cereals and donuts in the morning and reaching for whole food eggs, spinach and chicken, and even sometime participating in intermittent fasting.
- Sun
Get your daily vitamin D. This singular vitamin has proven extremely important for my energy levels throughout the day, I like to situate my ice bath right in the sun, where the light can beam downwards.
- Fruit and Veggies.
A trip down to the grocer is a weekly habit I have developed, but the work does not stop at the checkout, I strongly recommed giving your fresh produce, the best piece of real estate in your fridge. Here are some tactics I use:
- Displaying at eye level when opening fridge
- Showcasing a fruit bowl for all to see.
- Water intake
Living in an area, where clorine levels in water is quite high, water filtering is a top priority. I like avoid the consumption of these chemicals throughout all places throughout the home, by having a water filter for the home which has the ability to add healthy nutrients to the water, so you get to kill 2 birds with one stone.
WRAPPING UP
Their are plently more 1% you can find, to implement into your own fitness journeys, however I have not achieved such a feat, so I can only comment on the patterns in my life which align with those who have achieved the 1% in their domain.
All the best for your journey, and keep grinding (but focus some more on the 80%)