Flex F_UK_2018_April | Page 78

I work in excess of 50 hours a week. Having an appropriate work/life balance varies from person to person, and there are sometimes aspects of my life which take priority over others. However, my professional work can be very demanding due to the nature of what I do, and the emotions which come alongside working in the health sector. But I do enjoy it and I am passionate about helping people. These days I cope very well with the demands of my job. I suppose much of this has come with experience and confidence. In my twenties, I always used training as a way to vent my frustrations and release any negative emotions. But these days its more for enjoyment after work! Fortunately for me, coaching my clients is a pleasure and I don’t consider it work in any way. For this reason, when contemplating my work/life balance I consider this an enjoyable task, which is also very motivating, and I don’t see it as placing any additional demands on myself. Whilst I consider myself to have a good work/life/training balance, I do appreciate some people may not be able to contemplate this amount of work, especially coupled with competing at Pro level. But, I have had people in the past ask me how I manage to work at all when I also compete? I find this sort of question quite bizarre. If you are following a prep which doesn’t even allow you to function for a job, let me be frank…you are doing it wrong! If you are in a position to reduce your hours around show time however, this can be very helpful, as it allows you to conserve a bit more energy or train for a while longer. Gaining a Better Balance For those of you are struggling with your work/life/training balance, let me share some of my top tips to enable you to try to improve on this. 76 FLEX | APRIL 2018 MY TRAINING AND DIET SCHEDULE LOOKS LIKE THIS: MONDAY - BACK (includes chins, rows, deadlifts etc). TUESDAY - HAMS/GLUTES (hip thrusts, deadlifts, sumo lifts, goblet squats, glute ham raises, lunges, kick backs). WEDNESDAY - BACK/SHOULDERS (more lat training, plus dumbbell or military pressing, lateral raises, rear delt flyes/crucifix, upright rows). THURSDAY - CARDIO ONLY FRIDAT - QUADS/GLUTES (extensions, leg presses, lunges, hack squat, hip thrusts, sumo squats). SATURDAY - BACK/CHEST (more lat work plus, flyes and pressing). For back I’m using high frequency training although not training all out super heavy. I can’t tolerate this due to a slipped disc. SUNDAY - HAMS/GLUTES (similar to above but I change the rep range and tempo). These days I train more intuitively rather than sticking to specific reps, sets and exercises... I incorporate a lot of giant sets and drop sets. I’ve also been experimenting with super high volume training for legs.. this was largely influenced by Gian Enrico Pica. This is currently my breakdown whilst prepping.... and cardio 4 x a week 30 mins steady state. DIET MEAL 1 6 Eggs/Whites & 2 Whole. Half a cup of oats & berries. MEAL 4 6oz Chicken/5oz Sweet potato and veggies. MEAL 2 5oz Steak & 5oz Sweet potato. MEAL 5 6 Egg whites scrambled and half a cup of Greek yogurt. MEAL 3 5oz Turkey/5oz Rice/Veggies. 3) Work from home as often 1) Work Smarter as possible The most important aspect of I like to work from home as balancing my work life is ensuring I often as possible, because work smarter. In theory, this means being more productive and prioritis- I am invariably much more ing tasks. British people do have a productive at home. tendency to work a significant number of hours, some of the 4) Allocate times to various longest hours in Europe, but often tasks, making sure you stick the productivity isn’t necessarily that to them. high compared to the hours put in. I try to allocate time to various tasks and make sure I stick to what I’ve 2) Don’t get caught up in scheduled for myself. Trust me, this unnecessary meetings can be challenging when I have a I always try to ensure I don’t get tendency to strive for perfection. caught up in unnecessary meetings, I have a diary that I stick to, and which can be easily done in my line I fit my training and client work in of work. around this regime.