Tired? Find Out How I Maximize My Recovery.

It’s About Finding Balance

TLDR:

Follow a routine every day of the week. Plan in advance if possible.
Workout every day, focusing on alternating intensity dependent on recovery levels.
Follow a routine in nutrition, sleep and at times supplement to reach goals.
Apps that I currently use: Athlytic, Sleep Cycle and Carbon to monitor progress.

My Day:

I follow a loosely scheduled daily plan, prioritizing the most important goals for the day early. Currently, I am studying for my PM&R medical boards. I spend the first 1 -2 hours of the day reviewing or reading material, accompanied by a fresh cup of coffee. After that, I go to work. As a physician, our job usually entails 8-10 hours daily of primarily sedentary work; although highly mentally demanding, it has little physical demands. However, dependent on my nutrition and the previous night’s sleep schedule, I may experience a lull in my energy or focus that will impact my day.

Workouts:

I work out daily. It is about 1 hour 5 times a week of functional fitness and 30 mins to an hour 2 times a week of aerobic style workouts.

While Ideally, I prefer morning workout outs, currently, based on my goals, it is not feasible. Instead, post work, I start my workouts. I limit myself to 1 hour due to the adversarial demands it places on me. I have noticed that longer workouts negatively affect my ability to study or my energy levels the next day. My training follows functional fitness, a blend of weightlifting and cardio; CrossFitesque.

Supplementation:

Like most, I love coffee. However, I have noticed that the law of diminishing returns applies to my consumption. Rarely will I have a cup after Noon. Usually, my first and only cup is in the morning, around 5–6 am (not ideal). I also supplement with protein powder, a multivitamin (several times a week), and fish oil. I have also been experimenting with Animal PM twice a week, with good results (so far).

Nutrition:

My nutrition makes or breaks my performance. I follow a loose outline daily by meal prepping and favoring Protein > Carbs > Fats. Most importantly, I focus on providing high-quality home-cooked meals, 80-90% of my meals. I do let 10-20% of freedom to eat with friends at nonchain restaurants. Among the 10-20%, there is a 1-5% that I will consume chain fast food restaurant food. I average 3-4 liters of water daily.

Sleep:

I am currently working on improving this parameter. My bedtime is 9-10 pm daily. However, there is a +/- 1-2 hours on the later side due to various factors. I have noticed that, Ideally, 8+ hours is preferable for me to operate optimally. However, currently, 6-7 hours is what I can perform consistently. What helps during the weekend is 10 min naps when possible. Also, I try to follow a sleep hygiene routine, including keeping my room as cool as possible and my cell phone on silent. Limiting screens to 1 hour before bedtime hasn’t occurred as consistently as I would like.

Apps:

More recently, I have started using apps to track my progress. There is a saying that “what gets measured gets improved.” Currently, I am using the following three apps below. I have zero financial incentives associated with these apps.

Athlytic

Tracks information from my apple watch to track workouts, sleep, energy levels, and HRV to project my recovery for the day. I like how they calculate my sleep debt and provide recommendations for the intensity of that day’s workout. Currently, 29.00 USD per year.

Sleep Cycle

This app has changed a lot throughout the years. You can currently record data from your phone or an apple watch. The benefit of using it only on your phone is that you can record nightly noises, like snoring, for further insight into possible abnormalities in your sleep. They provide insight into sleep cycles, how efficient your rest is currently, and how it holds up long term (days, weeks, months) and can calculate sleep debt. Currently, 29.00 USD per year.

Carbon

This app is from Dr. Layne Norton. It not only tracks your food intake but also can make recommendations on caloric intake based on your goals. They use a proprietary algorithm to provide feedback and suggestions to assist you in reaching your goals. Currently, 80.00 USD per year.

Whether it’s weight loss, weight gain, or reverse dieting, this app may help.