Category: Project 4W/kg

Beating existing hierachical systems

I just got my pre-ordered book from Dan Bigham, Start at the end: How reverse-engineering can lead to success. Dan is the brain behind one of the most exciting and innovative sporting stories in recent memory; how four friends from Derby took on the world’s national teams at track cycling’s individual and team pursuit, and won.

In the book, Dan argues that…

‘Every hierarchical system based on performance contains some element of complacency, of lazy thinking and of vested interest. That means these systems can be beaten.’

Dan Bigham

Dan suggests taking the reverse engineering approach of committing to an ambitious goal, identifying precisely what it takes to achieve it, identifying where you are now, and creating a plan to bridge the gap.

Reverse engineering

Reverse engineering is a process that can be used to learn anything given enough time. The goal is to make a big jump in performance based on a target endpoint. 

  1. Set a goal
  2. Take it apart – know precisely what it will take to achieve that goal
  3. Assess your resources – what you have and what is missing
  4. Develop your tools needed to bridge that gap
  5. Set the plan into motion – creating positive feedback loops
  6. Deliver the performance

Once you have achieved your goal, and if you choose to stay in the same environment and team, you need to move to continuous improvement.

Continuous improvement

Continuous improvement is the pursuit of minor incremental improvements to keep you at or above your previous goal. A famous example of this approach is Masaaki Imai’s book Kaizen (Kai = ‘change’, Zen = ‘for good’):

  • Teamwork
  • Discipline
  • Organisation
  • Standardisation
  • Quality cycles

To make continuous improvement work, there needs to be a feeling of psychological safety. A culture of risk-taking and creativity is developed through the freedom for team members to make mistakes. This fearless culture empowers employees to contribute ideas and feedback, knowing they will be taken seriously.  

Have a plan to get lean, to get fast

Getting to a healthy race weight is a crucial part of performing well in endurance events. You need to have a target weight, a plan to get there, and then weigh yourself each day, adjusting the programme when required based on your weekly average weight. A simple strategy is to eat better and move more, but what if you need more guidance?

Researchers at the University of Oxford have created a list of 53 weight loss actions as part of their PREVAIL programme to help people make daily action plans. The weight loss actions are divided into seven categories:

  1. Eat in a structured way
  2. Avoiding or swapping specific foods
  3. Changing what you drink
  4. Creating a healthier diet
  5. Meal-time tactics
  6. Burn more calories
  7. Be more active as part of your daily life

The Oxford researchers carried out a study measuring the effectiveness of self-regulation on weight loss, allow individuals to weigh themselves daily in the morning and then create an action plan from the list for the day based on the result. At the end of the week, they evaluated the effectiveness of the actions chosen and their effect on weight change. Over an eight week study, participants, all starting with a BMI of over 30, lost an average of 4.18kg, 3.2kg less than the control group.

How to create a self-regulation intervention plan for weight loss

  1. Find your A: Weight yourself first thing in the morning
  2. Find your B: Set a target weight
  3. Weigh yourself first thing each morning
  4. Choose one or more actions from the list for the day
  5. Perform the planned action(s)
  6. Reflect on the effectiveness of the actions weekly
  7. Repeat until you reach your target weight

Aim for no more than 0.5kg per week, increase your protein intake, and do regular resistance training to avoid muscle loss. If you are continuing to train hard while losing weight, make sure you have a clear plan for fueling pre, during, and post workouts to ensure you have the energy to perform the planned activity and feed your body with what it needs to recover. This fueling plan should be differentiated for the various intensities and durations of your workout; fuel long and intense workouts but perhaps do some of the shorter, less intense workouts fasted.     

My plan

My current average weekly weight 83.7kg, according to my Withings Body+ scale weekly email. I have a target race weight this season of 78kg based on the Stillman height/weight ratio table and my current body fat percentage. I have signed up for the Maderia Skyrun, so I aim to hit my race weight for the 8th of October. This goal gives me just under 24 weeks to lose 5.7kg or 0.24kg per week. 

Each day this week, I will weigh myself immediately after waking up and pick at least one action from the PREVAIL study to focus on that day. My Witherings email summarising my weekly weight is sent on Mondays, so I will use that day to evaluate my progress. I prefer the positive actions where you add things rather than remove them. I will focus on these actions first, including burning more calories, drinking at least a litre of water a day or a pint of water before each meal, and using fruit and veg or a protein shake as snacks.

6-Second sprint test

My approach to holding 4 watts per kilo for an hour (FTP) on the bike has been to get strong, convert that to power on the bike, and then work to hold it for longer. First, I built up my strength with weight training with a target of a one and a half times bodyweight squat, and now I am working on building my power on the bike. But how much power do I need before focusing on maintaining that power for more extended periods?

Dr Andrew Coggan developed a power index with numbers for 5s 1 min, 5 min, and functional threshold power (60 min) to reflect neuromuscular power aerobic capacity, maximal oxygen uptake (V02max) and lactate threshold (LT). The index The numbers equivalent to an FTP of four w/kg are:

5s1 min5 min60 min
17x bodyweight 8.3x bodyweight 4.7x bodyweight 4x bodyweight
Andy Coggan Power Index

For a weight of 82.5kg, that works out to:

5s1 min5 min60 min
1403w685w388330w
Power index at 82.5kg bodyweight

The 6-second sprint test

The 6-second sprint test is used by both the UCI World Cycling Centre to assess if a rider is more suited to sprint or endurance events and by the Janan Institute of Keirin as an entry exam.

The results of the test will give you an idea of your peak power and cadence. To perform the test, you ride as hard as possible for 6 seconds. You will get two figures, peak power over the single pedal revolution usually reaching in the first few pedal strokes and an average over the 6 seconds. 

You will recover from the test quickly and so the 6-second sprint can be performed fairly regularly before a normal workout.

This weeks training

An example of a current week of training:

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Bike30/15 – 3 sets of 11 reps @125% FTP60 mins between 62.5 and 75% FTP90 mins + 6 second maximal sprints30/15 – 3sets of 12 reps @125% FTP60 mins between 62.5 and 75% FTP 90 mins + 6 second maximal sprints Off
S&CMP 5x(2,3,5)
Snatch 3×7
Swings 3×7		Squat 8-6-4
Deadlift 120kg
Swings 10×7		C&P 5×1
Snatch 3×7
Swings 3×7		C&P 5×1
Snatch 3×7
Swings 3×7		Squat 8-6-4
Deadlift 120kg
Swings 10×8
Loaded carries		C&P 5x(1,2,3,4,5) Off
Core50 sit-ups
60-sec  plank		50 sit-ups
70-sec plank		50 sit-ups
80-sec plank		50 sit-ups
90-sec plank		50 sit-ups
100-sec plank		50 sit-ups
110-sec  plank		Off
Run20-25 minsHill sprints 3x 8 sec 20-25 mins
10 min warm-up
Surges 8x 20 secs w/ 40 sec jog
5 min cooldown		OffDrills
Hill sprints 3x 8 sec
20-30 mins		20-25 minsOff
StretchDead hang
Squats
Couch stretch
Indian knot
All – 3×30 secs 		Dead hang
Squats
Couch stretch
Indian knot
All – 3×30 secs 		Dead hang
Squats
Couch stretch
Indian knot
All – 3×30 secs 		Dead hang
Squats
Couch stretch
Indian knot
All – 3×30 secs 		Dead hang
Squats
Couch stretch
Indian knot
All – 3×30 secs 		Dead hang
Squats
Couch stretch
Indian knot
All – 3×30 secs		Off
Training plan for week commencing 22nd March

My main goal is to get to a four w/kg FTP on the bike and total around seven hours of riding on Zwift each week. As my main priority, the riding is done in the morning to make sure I don’t ever miss it. The schedule follows a polarised programme with two HIIT sessions per week. The 30/15 intervals involve repeats of 30 seconds at 125% FTP, followed by 15 seconds at 50% of that number.

The strength and conditioning workouts support my riding goal and is mainly maintenance. Swings are with a 40kg kettlebell (The Bulldog), the presses are with a 24kg kettlebell and a 32kg for the 5×1 clean and presses. The strength sessions are short and fit into a break at lunch on most days.

I am using the running to get some additional aerobic training, get out of the house, and prepare for the second half of the year when I transition to focus on getting to the next level of the distance runners progression 40 minutes 10km. I run in the evening after work.

My current morning routine

6:00 Wake up

6:05 50 sit-ups

6:10 Protein shake

6:15 Plank

6:20 Yogurt + berries

7:00 Bike

8:30 Shower

8:40 Stretch

8:50 Work

Polarised training

Polarised training (POL) describes an approach to endurance programming where around a small proportion of the training volume is High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). The rest of the training is at low intensity. The aim is to make the high-intensity intervals as hard as possible and then make the rest easy using a power cap of around 72% of Functional Threshold Power.

A 2014 study by Stöggl and Sperlich published in Frontiers of Physiology saw a 12% increase in V02Max and an 8% increase in Threshold Power following a nine-week 11 hour per week polarised plan in well-trained athletes. The programme involved three three-week blocks made up of two intense weeks and one recovery week. The intense weeks included two 60 minute High-Intensity Interval Sessions (HIIT), two 120-180 minute low-intensity sessions with 6-8x 5 second maximal sprints, each separated by 20 minutes, and two 90 minute low-intensity sessions. The recovery week included only one of each of the three sessions separated by a rest day.

The HIIT sessions in the study involved a warm-up followed by four intervals of four minutes at 90-95% of maximal heart rate. Later studies have shown that four intervals of 8 minutes or 30/15 workouts are more effective at increasing cycling performance and could be used instead. Ash Beech, who achieved an FTP of 5w/kg as an amateur cyclist, suggests in his book Blood Sport that you could increase the HIIT workouts to three per week, each followed by a low-intensity session the following day. One or all of the HIIT sessions could be replaced by Zwift races if all the training is indoors to ensure the intensity is high. Dr Martin Bonnevie-Svendsen suggests the total volume could be reduced from eleven hours by reducing the frequency of the low-intensity workouts.  

Creating a Polarised plan

  1. Work in three-week blocks with two intense weeks followed by a recovery week
  2. Schedule 2-3 HIIT workouts in the intense weeks and one HIIT workout in the recovery week
  3. For the HIIT workouts, use:
    1. Four sets of eight minutes at 102-107% of FTP
    2. 30/15 format at 120-140% of FTP
    3. Zwift races
  4. For the low-intensity workouts, aim for one to two 120-180 minute low-intensity workouts with 6-8 5 second sprints and one to two 90 minute low-intensity workouts in the intense weeks and one of each in the recovery week.
  5. Perform an FTP test every nine weeks in a recovery week in place of the HIIT workout.
  6. Plan in three-week blocks based on your performance and how you feel at the end of the recovery week. Frequent planning will add variety to your training and keep your routine interesting.

Time to dust off the running shoes

After a two month break and on the first sunny weekend of the year, it is time to dust off the running shoes. My current project 4w/kg programme runs until the 1st of May, and I want to be ready to move to a running focus once this goal is achieved. Preparing to run will involve gradually prepare my body for an attack on the next step in the distance runners progression; a 40 minute 10k.

The first job is to lose some body fat and get down to a body weight that is more suited to running fast. Losing weight while maintaining power is key to achieving the four watts per kilogramme needed for project 4w/kg, so this is already on the schedule. Running is a series of single-leg jumps, and the lighter you are, the less force is needed to perform each jump. The less useless weight, the less effort to go the same speed, and so the same effort will take you faster. Carrying a bit of extra weight (3-4kg) over the winter has been healthy, and I have enjoyed eating everything in sight, but with the winter coming to an end, it is time to get a bit leaner. Weight loss happens in the kitchen, and I know all I need to do to get down to my target of 80kg is to clean up my diet and stop eating all the treats.

The greatest need for all athletes is strength. More and more strength.

Percy Cerutty

While I am losing body fat, I also want to build a runners body. I am already doing a heavyweight session twice per week as part of my bike programme. Still, the frequency of my gymnastics and core work, stretching, and general physical preparation could be increased. Percy Cerutty’s 100 sit-ups first thing in the morning and a range of strength and conditioning four-minute movement breaks focused on the hips, core, and hamstrings will support the weight loss to prepare the body to run fast. Kelly Starret, in his book Ready to Run, provides twelve standards that will help build the runners body:

  1. Neutral feet
  2. Flat shoes
  3. A supple thoracic spine
  4. An efficient squatting technique
  5. Hip flexion
  6. Hip Extention
  7. Ankle range of motion
  8. Warm-up and cool down
  9. Compression
  10. No hotspots
  11. Hydration
  12. Jumping and landing

Most importantly, runners run, so I need to slowly get back into regular running. 5k Masters record holder, coach, and author of Fast 5k, Pete Magil, suggests that all runners should start with a run-walk programme to avoid injury and build strength in the key muscles. Brad Hudson’s short and intense hill sprints can also improve running form and condition alongside the run walks. Finally, G. Walter George’s 100-up exercise can be done once per day to develop stride length in place of going out for a run. 

The plan

  • Monday: run/walk am, light rite of passage workout
  • Tuesday: bike am, weight session with 8-10 second hill sprints pm
  • Wednesday: bike am, run/walk and medium rite of passage workout pm
  • Thursday bike am, 
  • Friday: run/walk am, weights session with run drills and 8-10 second hill sprints pm
  • Saturday: bike am, heavy rite of passage workout and optional run/walk pm
  • Sunday: bike am

Daily core, stretch, and strength routine as 4-minute movement breaks

  • 100 Sit-ups first thing in the morning
  • Planks directly before I start work
  • 75-150 kettlebell swings
  • 100-ups
  • Light Deadlifts: five sets of 10 reps @40kg

The plan might look a lot written down, but the only two heavy workouts are the Tuesday and Sunday bike sessions. The other activities are lighter and should not affect the next sessions. In the current training phase, the strength sessions are there to maintain strength rather than build it.

Project 4 W/kg: Strength Phase Complete

This year’s fitness goal is to reach a Functional Threshold Power (FTP) of 4 watts per kg. To be a fast cyclist, you need to be strong and my approach is taken from an interview with six times gold medal track sprint cyclist Jason Kenny; get strong, convert that strength into power, and then build the stamina to hold this power for longer. I have a decent level of cardiovascular fitness from my 2000 mile challenge last year and I want to try and reach the goal as quickly and as smartly as possible so getting strong first is the goal.

Phase 1: get strong 

Jason Kenny has a one-rep max back squat of 180kg, between 2 and 2.5 times his bodyweight. Chris Hoy had a back squat max of around two times his bodyweight and a deadlift two and a half times his bodyweight. These numbers are for the best sprint track cyclists to have ever lived, focusing on events lasting up to 60 seconds. A two-times bodyweight squat and a two and a half times bodyweight deadlift represent the absolute maximum leg strength level needed to where strength is no longer an issue.  

I am interested in my FTP or the power on a bike that I can hold for an hour. A two times bodyweight squat would be nice but is a serious level of strength that takes a long time to build; getting there would probably not represent the best use of my time. Any cycling event over 4 km (the record is just over four minutes) is classified as an endurance event and should require a lower level of absolute strength that the shorter events of the sprinters. I am also aiming for a decent amateur level rather than a world-class one, so what level of absolute strength represents a reasonable target?  

Trainer road has strength standards for advanced cyclists they say represent the point at which the effort and extra muscle mass required to get stronger is not worth the benefit delivered:

Deadlift: 5 Reps 150% BW

Back Squat: 5 Reps 125% BW

Bench Press: 5 Reps 90% BW

Barbell Row: 5 Reps 90% BW

Pull/Chin-Ups: 15 Reps

Military Press: 5 Reps 55% BW

Trainer Road

Converting these numbers into a one-rep max for each exercise at my current weight of between 82 and 83 Kilograms, phase one requires a 142.5 kg deadlift and a 120kg back squat.  

How I got strong

Before you read how I hit these two numbers I want to warn you that this is not the way I suggest anyone go about it. Heavy, low rep deadlifts and back squats can get you in trouble if you don’t know how to do them and you need to build up to it slowly with significant effort paid to mobility. The risk of injury is higher if you are also pushing your bike or running training. Learn to squat properly, work through the necessary progressions like goblet squats, and reduce your endurance training to avoid injury.

With that out of the way, I took a unique approach for three reasons: 

  1. I already have decent form and came to this project with reasonable strength levels from training under Jon Albon’s Coaching. 
  2. I have had strength levels higher than the target lifts in previous years (at a higher body weight) when I spent some time focusing on Olympic lifting.
  3. I was using strength programs that I had carried out before and knew I could handle- I also know the difference between pain and injury.

If you want to get better at something you should do it every day. I already had a 142.5 kg deadlift from my half-marathon training so I just had to maintain this and get my squat max up. So I squatted heavy every day, taking advantage of working from home and sitting down all day. On the first day, I reached a max of 90kg before my legs started to shake in shock and defiance, giving me a baseline. I will talk about this programme in detail in another post but the basic layout is as follows:

  • I squatted every afternoon at some point between 16:00 and 18:00 working up to a heavy single rep.
  • I trained on the bike in the mornings five days per week with Monday and Friday off.
  • My bike programme included weights on Tuesday and Friday so I used these two sessions as my ‘heavy’ days with back squats, deadlifts, and heavy kettlebell swings.
  • On the other days, I worked up to a heavy single on my front squat as these are slightly lighter due to being limited by upper back strength.
  • Monday was a rest day so I did lighter sets of front squats.

I started this programme on the 29th of December and hit my 120kg max on the 18th of February. The last two weeks of this programme included working up to a 115kg back squat on Tuesdays and Friday and a 100kg Front squat on the other days.

Building consistency and volume on the bike

I needed a bike programme that would focus on power rather than longer efforts in keeping with my strength, power, then endurance strategy. I found a five-month Individual Pursuit (the 4km track event mentioned above) programme on Training Peaks by Phil Kilpatrick, the head coach of my local track in Derby. The first seven weeks of the programme focused on zone three ‘tempo’ rides with lots of 30-second spikes of power. After seven weeks in transitioned to weekly Tuesday night racing, giving me a nice amount of time to hit my strength target.

In hindsight, choosing an advanced programme as an intermediate rider (detraining intermediate rider) might not have been the fastest route to progress but it did not have a power test after the first day so I decided that if I waited till my first race to get a second power test then I could handle it. I only missed three sessions in the seven weeks so I think it was not the worst decision but there were a few Wednesday morning 7 am starts that I felt nervous about getting on the bike after looking at the training session planned and feeling my legs from the heavy squats and interval bike session the day before.

I committed to the five sessions lasting between 6-8 hour per week and built up my consistency and volume after my absence from the bike for the last 6 months. All the sessions were completed on my WattBike Atom using Zwift linked to Training peaks to automatically load that day’s workout. I aimed to wake up at 6 am each day and be on the bike for 7 am ready for the one and a half hour rides but some days these were moved to lunchtime if I slept in or if my legs were a little sore and I needed a few hours to wake them up.

On the whole, the mix of heavy squats and tempo rides worked well. There is something about training twice per day that makes your legs less sore and the squats and peddling seemed to help the other recover. The last time I did the squat everyday programme I remember hating stairs but I was saved this time around. Phase 1 complete, I now have the strength for a 4 W/kg FTP.  

Phase 2: Convert this strength to power

Phase two is all about the bike. Tuesday evenings are now for Zwift racing and squatting is limited to twice per week, Tuesdays and Fridays. As I am aiming for power, and with the velodrome closed, I guess the next best thing is Crit racing. Check back on Tuesday evening for an update. For squats, I am going to use Chris Hoys suggested workout of using a weight you can lift ten times (90kg) and doing eight reps, adding 5% (95kg) to the bar and doing six rep, then adding another 5% (100kg) and doing 4 reps. I will stick to two sets of five reps with the deadlift and I have just got a 40kg kettlebell to continue with Andy Bolton’s swing ladder.   

Let me know on Twitter if you are working towards increasing your FTP and what you find works.

The fundamentals of bike training

To get the most out of your training, you should address the following principles in order:

  1. Consistency
  2. Volume
  3. Intensity
  4. Periodisation and tapering
  5. Marginal gains

The two most efffective high-intensity interval sessions:

  • 30/15 – 30 seconds high intensity (between 120-130% FTP) followed by 15 seconds low intensity for 13 cycles with three-minute recovery, repeat three times. 
  • 4 x 8 minutes maximal effort (around 102-107% FTP) with a two-minute recovery

The most effective training plan:

A periodized programme that follows three-week cycles, two intense weeks followed by a recovery week. The two intense weeks should have two of the above sessions and four low-intensity sessions. The recovery week should have one of the high-intensity sessions and two low-intensity rides.

To learn more visit wattkg.com.

Strength Standards and Assessments

I am currently reading Dan John’s excellent book Interventions. Dan John is one of the worlds top strength and conditioning coaches and presents his ideas in easy to understand and entertaining ways (think Yoda with dad jokes). The book lays out Dan’s approach when first working with a client, by first identifying a goal, then assessing where they are now, finally finding the shortest route between them.

A foundation for strength and conditioning, ideally developed at school and before 18 years old should contain the following:

  • The kettlebell foundation: Swing, Goblet Squat, Getup—  
  • The Barbel foundation: Military Press, Front Squat, Power Clean, Bench Press 
  • General Movement and mobility: Hurdle Walkovers, Farmer Walks, Cartwheels, Forward Rolls, Tumbling, Shoulder Rolls
  • Final stage: Deadlift, Back Squat, Sled Work, Prowlers and Car Pushes 

Dan also recommends that everyone should learn to swim, ride a bike and tumble and play as many sports, games, and movements as possible. These are skills that you learn once should stay with you for life. If you cannot do anything listed so far, that is what you need to work on before moving on.

For most people, those who are not professional athletes or special forces soldiers, their focus needs to move to keep the body as young as possible for as long as possible. Building and maintaining lean body mass (less fat and more muscle) and joint mobility should be the focus. The challenge is to do what you need to do in the gym rather than what you want to do. You can use two tools to keep you focused on what you need to do; a coach and constant assessment. You should assess mobility via the Functional Movement Screen (FSM) or alternative once every six weeks and assess strength every two months.

Absolute strength is the glass. Everything else is the liquid inside the glass. The bigger the glass, the more of everything else you can do.

Brett Jones

Dan provides some strength standards for enough strength so that strength is never the limiting factor in any physical pursuit. The standards are relative to bodyweight and so are extremely relevant to endurance athletes like runners, cyclists, and triathletes. It is tough to get big and lean if endurance athletes eat intelligently and programming strength and conditioning on building strength rather than size, they will find that they end up leaner and faster than those that skip weights in fear of putting on size.

The book Interventions list the six fundamental human movements, push, pull, hinge, squat, loaded carry, and the sixth movement (everything else). A good strength and conditioning programme should include all six of these movements and target achieving the expected standards in each of the exercises first, and then working towards the gamechanger standards.

Dan John’s strength standards for men

  1. Push 
    1. Expected = Bodyweight bench press
    2. Game-changer = Bodyweight bench press for 15 reps 
  2. Pull
    1. Expected = 8–10 pullups
    2. Game-changer = 15 pullups
  3. Squat 
    1. Expected = Bodyweight squat
    2. Game-changer = Bodyweight squat for 15 reps
  4. Hinge
    1. Expected = Bodyweight to 150% bodyweight deadlift
    2. Game-changer = Double-bodyweight deadlift 
  5. Loaded Carry
    1. Expected = Farmer walk with total bodyweight (half per hand) 
    2. Game-changer = Bodyweight per hand 
  6. Getup: One left and right, done with a half-filled cup of water

For those of us who like to challenge ourselves with endurance events, the overwhelming message from top coaches including Dan John, Charles Poliquin, Percy Cerutty, and Pavel Tsatsouline, is a solid base of strength is essential to performance, health, and injury prevention. Start working towards the ‘expected’ standards for strength at a minimum and have a long term plan to reach the game-changer standards and you will find that strength is never the limiting factor in any physical activity you do.

Dan John has a weekly newsletter, a weekly youtube Q&A, many excellent books (I would start with 40 years with a whistle) and articles, and a workout generator website that allows you to enter the equipment you have available and the days per week you want to train, and it will provide you with a strength programme.

You can find the extended standards with regressions for additional milestones and the woman’s benchmarks on Dan’s website.

2021 daily routine.

My first blog set out my daily schedule, but since then, with all the writing and research I have done each day, I have updated my routine significantly. I have linked to the posts where I have written about any additional daily practice. This routine is the idea but is regularly altered based on the work I am doing that day. I have recently added several daily techniques to improve my sleep, making this list much longer than the original.

I put regular four-minute movement breaks throughout the day, including the 100-Up exercise, between meetings or after every 25-minute Pomodoro. My bike workouts are following a five-month programme to improve my four kilometres Individual pursuit power. My strength training is a mix between squatting everyday, heavy kettlebell swings, and the Rite of passage kettlebell programme.

6:00 Wake up

  • 10-100 sit-ups
  • 5-minute activity to wake up and get the heart rate going
  • Weigh myself
  • Protein shake
  • Granola

7:00 – 

8:00 – 9:00* – Get a coffee and start work

9:00 – Daily stand-up

9:30 – 12:30* – 2 hrs of deliberate practice (Work)

12:30 – Lunch

15:00 – 18:00* – Strength session

18:00 – Cook, eat, and spend time with my wife

19:00 – Daily blog

20:00 No more food

21:00 – Bedtime

  • Clean the kitchen
  • 10-100 sit-ups
  • Read in bed on the kindle Oasis 
  • Take ZMA

21:30 – 11:00* Sleep 

*Sometime within this period