Name: Jake
Age: 42, 43 in less than a month.
I’m a huge fan of the saying "discipline is greater than motivation." If I leave training and healthy nutrition goals up to how motivated I am, I will get off track. But discipline is different. Discipline doesn’t care how I feel or if I am tired. It doesn’t care if I have a super busy day or had a late night. Discipline lets my body know that my mind is the one in control. Training hard and eating foods that reflect my goals builds mental strength along with physical strength. Do hard things, you will not regret it.
MORNING:
Wake up by 7 at the latest. Throw on gym clothes and get a cup of coffee with creatine.
7:15am—Get the kids dressed and fed for school while my wife makes their lunches and gets ready to take them.
7:30-7:45am—Make my lunch, Get the kids to brush their teeth, and load them up into the car.
7:45-8:45am—Train.
For me, there is a difference between training and working out. Both are fine depending on your goal. I train. I train by following a progressive overload plan. This keeps me moving forward in both my strength and conditioning goals, and showing up with a plan just shaves time off of how much time I will be in the gym. Everything is planned down to rest time, so I know I won’t be training longer than an hour.
8:45-9am—Shower, dress, head to work. This is very quick and I am usually at work by 9:30am.
9:30-12:30pm—Work
12:30-1:30pm—I have an hour for lunch. Because I prep my meals, that gives me time to eat and take a slow walk. I shoot for about 30 minutes of walking after I eat.
1:30-6pm—Work
EVENING:
I leave work around 6pm depending on work-load. When I get home, my wife an I usually share dinner duties.
7-7:45pm—Family dinner
8-9pm—Get the kids prepped for bed. Brush teeth, shower, and PJ's. After that, we have a family tradition where we all pile in my daughter's big bed and read a story (or I tell a story). Then, we listen to songs with them every night until they fall asleep. I will do this as long as they want me to, I just know the day is coming soon that they will be too old for it.
9pm 'til tired—Time to hang out with my wife while we clean the kitchen and end up on the couch for a while before bed.
Q&A
Do you ever get overwhelmed?
I think we all do sometimes, but I really try to not worry about things that are out of my control. Every once in a while, life gets so busy that I miss a day or two of training and I can tell it really affects how I deal with stress. Sometimes after travel, or if life gets in the way of getting out to the gym, my wife will tell me to go outside and get a session in. She knows how much clearer my mind is when I consistently train.
How do you prioritize the relationship with your wife?
We make time to hang out every day after the kids are asleep—even if we are tired. Even if that's just talking about our day, watching a show together, or reading for a while side by side. We also try and go on one date per month, just the two of us.
What does your diet look like? Which foods help you perform?
My diet shifts depending on my goals. I always keep my protein intake to 1g per pound of my body weight. Then, carbs and fat fill in the blanks to hit my caloric needs. A high-protein diet helps me perform better, and I like to get the majority of my carbs from fruits and vegetables. I will have rice, potato, or pasta made from scratch. My main goal is to eat 90% whole foods, and currently I have cut out all processed foods and refined sugar. I just feel better both physically and mentally when I cut out the junk.
Is there anything in your day-to-day that you struggle with?
I love something sweet after any meal, and around 3pm every day. Most of the time, this is easily fixed by a small piece of dark chocolate. But on the months that I cut out processed food and sugar (like this month), I pack myself a bunch of strawberries or honeycrisp apples.
How do you instill the importance of confidence in your kids?
Kids are always watching... I try and lead by example. They know that dad trains every day, they know that I choose water over sweetened drinks. They even do water challenges throughout the day with me! I try and encourage them to try new things, and that failing is not a bad thing. If you haven't failed, you haven't tried. And lastly—praise. I tell them I am proud of them, and that I love them many times daily.
