7 Necessities to any Program Design - BLGs
This is part two in my series on 7 Necessities in Program Design. As a reminder here are the 7:
Intentions - What’s your why?
Lifestyle/Nutrition Habits - BLGs or Basic Lifestyle Guidelines
Alignment - Does this align with your Values/Priorities/Goals?
Tough Muscle Contractions - The Strength training
Breathing and Sweating - The Conditioning training
Progress Monitoring - Are you improving? What are the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?
Fun! - Is this enjoyable and fulfilling?
This post will focus on Lifestyle and Nutrition habits, or the BLGs (Basic Lifestyle Guidelines). OPEX CCP has opened my eyes to starting here even thinking about a dietary plan or the exercise routine. The BLGs are the basic rules and habits of being a human being. They are:
There are 24 hours in a day; apply work and rest appropriately.
The earth spins, and the sun and moon correlate with our energy patterns; we need sun exposure, we sleep with the moon.
You will one day die; get over it and get living.
Water, moving blood, and proper digestion are essential daily routines.
Water; drink ½ of someone’s body weight in ounces per day, as a starting point.
Recovery; Blood flow facilitates recovery and healing faster; get moving every day.
Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day maintains a great circadian rhythm.
Digestion; Food is a 36-44-hour investment, sit down, chew your food, enjoy your food, set the phone aside and have a conversation.
Credit to the wording of these 8 BLGs goes to OPEX Fitness, but the ideas behind them are as old as humans have been in existence. They basically boil down to:
Know your purpose
Daily rhythm
Hydration
Sleep
Nutritional Hygiene and Habits
Stress Regulation and Recovery
There will need to be an entire series of writings on these; but this is the first place I start with clients. Helping align someone’s BLGs takes time and a lot of practice (I am always working on my food hygiene practices and slowing down!), but over time these may yield the greatest results to a client. Exercise may be one hour 3-5 days per week, but the BLGs are every other moment in your life.