The Summer Baseline Starts Now

Summer is closer than many of us would like to admit (for those here in Texas, arguably already here) and with summer comes the inevitable shift in schedules. Whether this shift is your actual schedule, kids schedule, change in traffic patterns, or just the shift in sunshine these can all create new challenges for any routine. And while we can't prepare for every possibility, setting up a solid routine now sets you up perfectly for a successful and enjoyable summer.

The challenge with keeping your health and fitness goals with this shift isn't a lack of motivation or knowledge, it comes down to a lack of structure. Now this structure doesn't have to be a completely rigid box but having some sort of defined baseline will help keep summer on the rails and continue moving towards your goals.

This is the perfect time to do a self audit and understand what in your schedule is working, what isn't, and then identify what you know will change in the next month or so. With this information, you can develop this baseline which are the minimums you want to target:

• nutrition targets

• sleep duration

• exercise goals (strength, endurance, or both)

• recovery both short term and long term goals.

• schedule review/evaluation period

The goal isn't to create the perfect schedule or routine but to help reduce the number of decisions you need to make when the chaos sets in. With these goals, you can also have defined your anchor(s) that you want to protect which also simplifies that decision process.

What does this look like in reality? Start with targets you feel you can realistically hold based on what evidence you've already gathered and build out what this plan looks like. So based on the items I listed above, it might look something like this:

• Protein with breakfast, maybe as simple as a glass of milk (chocolate is my favorite)

• getting to bed by 10pm at least 4 nights a week

• 1 workout broken into smaller 10 minutes chunks 3 times a week

• at least 2 evening walks during the week

• 10 minutes Sunday morning to review

Then this next month becomes a testing ground to see how those targets hold up. Take time each week to evaluate how you're doing, whether your box is too rigid, and what tweaks need to be made for the short term, and which ones will need to shift for the summer.

You do not need a perfect summer plan. You need a baseline strong enough to keep you steady when life gets busy and routines get tested. Set that foundation now, and you will have something to return to instead of something to rebuild. If you want help creating a realistic baseline for your training, nutrition, sleep, and recovery, book a call.

To get you started with this process, what is one schedule anchor you want to protect this summer?