One of the most basic measures of your health and fitness regimen is your daily performance. You’re not going to achieve anything without a plan, and that plan is probably going to involve tracking what you do on a day-by-day basis.
This doesn’t mean you have to do something every day. Rest days are just as important as active days in maximizing your achievements. You need to find a pace that suits you and where you are at the moment while enabling you to pursue what you want in the future.
When you first start a new routine, it’s hard. Your body and mind protest, and you might just take any excuse to skimp on what you’re supposed to be doing. If you can make that initial push, however, you’ll quickly find it becoming a habit once you get going. Before you know it, you’ll miss it if you skip your morning run or your balanced meals.
A good day starts from the moment you get up. You might want to grab an extra hour in bed, but that extra hour is full of opportunities to do more. Make sure you have a proper breakfast; no one works at their best when they’re hungry. If you want the energy to get through the day and all the things you want to achieve, you need fuel.
It’s not just breakfast, either. Every day, you need to schedule regular meals and snacks to give you energy, build muscle and make sure you have all the nutrients you need. You don’t have to cut out chocolate or alcohol, but you do need balance and moderation to keep your body – and therefore your daily performance – in its prime.
When it comes to exercise, start small. Shorter, less intense sessions are fine if they’re all you can manage, as long as you push yourself to improve. Take it one day at a time, and soon you’ll realize that you are getting better. You’ll run for longer without getting out of breath. You’ll lift heavier weights. You’ll stretch further than you ever have before. That’s all something you can measure on a daily basis, as long as you have the routine established.
By the time you’ve been through work and school as well as your preferred exercise, you’re probably going to be pretty tired. Yet another way to maximize your daily performance is to make sure you get enough sleep. Go to bed at a reasonable time, preferably with a wind-down period beforehand when you start to relax. Put your phone and other screens down. If you want tomorrow’s performance to be better than today’s, you need to prepare in advance.
As your physical condition improves, so will your mood. You’ll feel more positive and energetic, which in turn means you’ll be empowered to continue your physical routine. Physical and mental health are closely linked, so maximizing your daily performance is a way to help both aspects.
If you have any doubts about your daily routine, especially if you have an injury or other health condition that might limit your performance, always consult your doctor or another professional. They may even be able to help you make an effective daily plan.
