A Warrior Lifestyle for Back to School Season
This fall, bring a warrior mindset to your daily activities amidst dropping the kids off at school and balancing work and home life.
“It is important, as your kids go back to school and work gets increasingly busy this time of year, to sort out your own personal fitness schedule so you’re running your days consistently,” said I Defy Fitness Community owner Scott Sonderman, DPT. “That includes making time for proper meals, fitness, sleep, and hydration.”
Standing firm on these “pillars of health,” as Sonderman calls it, and keeping a regimented health schedule will give you the warrior mentality you need to conquer each and every day.
“It’s all a lifestyle, so the better the body functions, the better everything goes including weight loss,” Sonderman said. “Just because you work out doesn’t mean that no other part of your life needs attention. If there are other stresses in your life—you’re not eating properly, getting enough sleep, or not staying hydrated—you’re creating a lot of inflammation and stress in the body and that’s when your body tends to hang on to more unhealthy weight.”
Setting a Sleep Schedule
Sonderman advises keeping a consistent sleep-wake time as the foundation of your overall health. Your body works in patterns and can be thrown off easily if you don’t get a consistent, balanced night of sleep—a minimum of seven hours each night.
“Your brain needs to repair and recover at night and when you don’t get enough sleep, the ‘pillars of health’ in your life crumble,” Sonderman said. “Studies show that people tend to lose much more weight from their muscle than they do from fat cells when they get less than seven hours of sleep a night—it also raises your blood sugar and plays with your hormones.
In a nutshell, not getting enough sleep makes the hormone for hunger fire more, and the hormone that makes you feel full fires less. You feel like you need more energy throughout the day when you’re tired, resulting in craving more unhealthy carbs.
Planning Meals & Keeping Hydrated
Sonderman suggests putting alerts on your phone to remind you about eating throughout the day and planning your meals accordingly.
“If you don’t know what you will be eating on any given day, it will be more tempting to reach for that unhealthy fast food item,” he said.
A high protein diet is best for staying in warrior shape throughout the year. Stay away from artificial sweeteners, limit carbs, and incorporate many vegetables in your diet.
“Also, you should be drinking half of your body weight in ounces; water keeps away the ‘brain fog’ and a healthy gut,” Sonderman said.
Working Out Like a Warrior
Forming a structure that works for your day is key to living a healthy life. The more planning you do, the less stress there is in your life because your day has already been formed for you. This includes your workout.
“Your workouts should be right up there on your scheduling with your meetings and picking up your kids from school,” Sonderman said.
Sonderman also suggests finding a way to quantify your workouts to track progress, especially when you’re working out on your own and there is little outside accountability. Also, keep it varied. Have designated days for different muscle groups. Try different exercises too.
At “I Defy Fitness,” Sonderman uses tools like battle ropes and steel maces instead of regular dumbbells or barbells, because these tools use more muscle per movement. It’s also more fun!
“These unconventional tools have been a complete game changer for me and my clients,” Sonderman said. “You’ve never experienced anything like them before, so come out and give them a try!”
A tactical fitness and personal health schedule that challenges you and keeps you engaged will be the battle armor that you need to “defy” the mundane and mediocre, empowering you to live the life of a warrior.
For more information about I Defy Fitness Community, visit www.idefyfitness.com
