habits for a stronger, healthier you
I am committed to making sure you guys have the best year ever so I am here to give you the tools I use to be stronger, healthier, and have an overall positive outlook on life and training. We are going to level up together!
I will be doing a “BTE” YouTube series to go along with our BTE program on Team Unchained. These videos will cover daily habits and nutrition to help you reach your strength goals. Make sure you follow “Coach Christy” on YouTube!
The first video of the series is about daily habits to set you up for success in and out of the gym! This is not a “Millionaire Morning Routine” video. None of the habits here are sexy, but they are doable, realistic, and sustainable!
Below is a summary of the habits I go over in the video!
Morning Sun
Stepping outside shortly after waking can help reset your circadian rhythm! Sunlight signals to your body what time it is. If you cannot go outside first thing in the morning, take a break from your computer screen at least once during your workday to get some fresh air!
Spending more time outdoors during the day can help regulate our internal clock and is the first step towards a healthier relationship with sleep.
A morning walk is also a good way to get a jump start on your steps for the day! We will talk more about step count later on.
Nutrition
Nutrition plays a crucial role in both health and performance. I will be posting a "What I Eat in a Day" video that will offer you ideas on how to consume REAL food for optimal gains. In the meantime, here are some essential habits that I believe are important for good nutrition.
Meal Prep
Failure to plan is planning to fail.
Choose one day a week for meal prepping! I promise that meal prepping will save you both time and sanity throughout the week. Hold yourself accountable to this designated day each week.
Having healthy snacks available, eating enough to fuel your body, and having a plan can help you feel more energized while also reducing the likelihood of binging.
Protein Every Meal
To feed your meat sticks you must supply an even stream of protein throughout the day. We want to aim for .8-1.2g per pound of body weight a day.
If you are someone who completely opposes tracking macros, I still recommend figuring out how much protein you need in each meal throughout the day. Many people think they consume enough protein; however, those individuals often only consume less than 100g/day, which can hinder their gains.
Here is an example of how to split your protein if you eat 165g /day
Breakfast: 40g (150g eggwhites, 2 eggs, 50g beef)
Lunch: 40g (150g cooked chicken)
Snack: 20g (175g greek yogurt)
Post Training: 25g (Protein Shake)
Dinner: 40g (150g cooked ground beef)
While it’s important to include fats and carbs in these meals, this example focuses on the protein split.
Pairing carbohydrates with protein and fat can help stabilize your blood sugar levels. While quick carbohydrate snacks can be beneficial for training or competing in strength sports, generally, combining these macronutrients to meet your full nutritional needs is a good rule of thumb.
Take Your Supps
Just like meal prepping, you should supplement prep! I can get lazy with taking my supplements, but if I have them all in an organizer ready to just pop in my mouth in the AM, then it 's easy to be consistent!
Regarding supplements, what you should take depends on your individual needs. However, there are a few that I believe every athlete should consider:
Creatine: Creatine provides energy to your muscles and is taken by many people to help build strength and support brain health. Your body naturally produces creatine, and it is one of the most research-backed and affordable supplements available.
Protein Powder: Although it’s ideal to obtain most of your protein from whole foods, achieving your protein goals can be challenging without the aid of protein powder.
Walks
How many steps should you get in a day?
8k…10k..15k?! I don’t think there is a magic number. Studies differ, but you should be shooting to be more active in general.
If you walk fewer than 5,000 steps per day, you are considered inactive. A 10-minute walk can add 1,000 steps to your daily count! To increase your daily step count from 5,000 to 7,000, you only need to take one 20-minute walk or two 10-minute walks.
If you fall into the inactive range, I challenge you to add an extra 2,000 steps to your daily total! Even walking less than 10,000 steps can still positively impact your health.
Additionally, it's beneficial to incorporate movement throughout your day, especially if you train after work. Sitting for long periods can make it challenging to feel like a well-oiled machine when you hit the gym for a 5x5 back squat.
Post Meal Walk
Talking a walk after meals has so many benefits! Even just 10 minutes can help improve digestion, reduce the risk of heart disease, improve blood-sugar management, help maintain a healthy weight, and promote better sleep patterns.
If you have ever heard the words prediabetes, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, this little habit is part of the lifestyle that sets a healthy foundation so that you can prevent yourself from having to go on medications or at least be doing the things to help try to reverse the reasons why you are on them.
Lowers Blood Glucose
Walking activates your muscles and uses glucose for energy, which reduces the amount of glucose in your blood. This can be part of warding off prediabetes.
Increases Insulin Sensitivity
Walking helps your body manage blood sugar more efficiently. As an athlete, you want to be insulin sensitive because that hormone moves glucose from your blood into your muscles to be used as energy!
If you can’t walk right after a meal, just do some kind of movement for a couple minutes! You can walk up and down your stairs, do some push-ups, air squats, or even some isometrics like wall sits/planks.
Helps Digestion
I hear that Gen Z-ers call this a “toot walk”. Walking helps speed up the digestion process and can relieve acid reflux, bloating, and constipation.
Cue Yourself
A meal is also a good reminder and timeline to walk or get some activity. If you have 3 meals a day, that is three opportunities to get more active!
Mentality
Have you ever felt down on yourself because you don’t measure up to your friends or competition? Well, stop it! That attitude is taking all the fun out of what you're doing. What if, instead, you focused on the fact that you are BETTER THAN EVER?
Learn From Mistakes
It’s not about being the best in the world but being the best you. If you have a bad day, ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?” Failures are an opportunity to learn and be better. Also, have a short memory; forgive yourself for being a baby if you didn’t handle it as well as you’d like.
Have Personal Goals
Know what your personal goals are for a training session, cycle, or show/meet. Your success should not be based on how much better or worse someone did than you. Even the best in the world have days where they know they could have done better- win or lose.
Finding the Light in the Darkness
It’s also about finding where you are better than ever. We can’t always be the strongest we’ve ever been.. But maybe you handled a situation better, were more consistent, or finished a training session without a fail. Those are all ways you are leveling up to become better.
Read more on how the BTE movement started while in Nationals Prep
Focus
I use automatic focus modes throughout my day to keep me on task. These are very important, especially regarding my training and sleep.
I don’t want to get an Instagram notification from a troll while I am about to go for a PR. Or get distracted by memes and take a 1-hour workout and make it 2 hours.
Sleep
The gym we break ourselves down, when we rest we get stronger. If you haven’t been getting enough sleep and start to get more, you will realize how much you missed out!
I know that it’s easier said than done if you have a 3-year-old at home, but there are still ways you can optimize the sleep you do have!
No Phone
Stop doomscrolling at night! The phone stays on the nightstand. This should be a nice break from technology. Maybe cuddle instead!
No Light
Keep your room as dark as possible when it’s sleepy time
Read a Book
This will become your ritual and your body will know it’s sleepy time!
progress not perfection
Better than ever is not about being perfect, but it is about holding yourself accountable and giving it your best shot.
At first, some of these habits may seem inconvenient, but I promise they make your life easier and better in the end.
Get off the hamster wheel and start doing things the way that sets you up for success. You deserve it.
We will be starting the Better Than Ever program on Team Unchained 2/3/25. This program encompasses all of what helps you become BTE: strength, conditioning, and mobility,
Let’s make this year better, and stronger than ever together!
In Strength,
Christy Senay