Time is the only thing that we can’t get back in this fast-paced world in which we live. From school, work, family, and trying to stay healthy, there never seems to be enough time in a day. As a full-time, full-load college student with a lot of other activities on my plate, how is it possible to find time to prep and compete? It comes down to a delicate balance routine between sleeping, training, eating, working, studying, and playing, but not necessarily in that order. My time management has to be precise and calculated or I am not able to get everything in, in one day. I literally live out of my day planner on season, but off season I am a little more lenient. In this article I will give you tools and advice on how to manage your time as a student, so that you can be more efficient with your time and become more organized in order to accomplish your competition goals easier than you may have before.
So you have picked the date for your competition and it is in the middle of the semester…now what? Take a deep breath and relax because going to school, working and prepping for competition is possible! The first thing to do is get a day planner. You need to write everything down and at what times they need to be started and completed. This will alleviate some stress about not having to remember everything in addition to prioritizing your daily responsibilities.
The next thing to define and outline are your top priority elements that must be scheduled consistently every week. The first, and a definite must, is food preparation! Pick one day out of the week (mine is Sunday) to prepare all of your protein and carbohydrates so that you can pack and go without having to cook every single day. Also, put your daily food diary on your fridge so that you can refer to it when prepping. Things you might need are Tupperware, a big lunch box, ice packs for the lunch box to keep meals cold, and medicine droppers! Medicine droppers? Absolutely! Medicine droppers are an awesome way to store your flax oil and fish oil while on the go! This way you don’t have to carry the whole bottle around and you can just measure how many drops are needed for your daily dosage. Droppers are a quick, easy way to take your fats! Another suggestion, is to find a microwave on campus that is in the proximity of your classes so that you can heat everything up and still may it to class on time. Schedule your eating around classes so you can eat every 2.5 to 3 hours, but if you have to eat in class and your professors give you a hard time about it, explain to them why you are doing it and they will likely understand. If you are a trainer, sometimes this can actually lead to their interest in training with you!
Now that you no longer have an excuse for eating poorly, let’s discuss cardio. Schedule to do your cardio in the morning and in between classes if you have a time slot open. If you have a break in between classes, I find it easier to just do it then; especially since most campuses have a wellness center or gym. By doing this, you have time at the end of the day to do homework or study instead of having to worry about cardio. Or if you are like me and don’t have class at the same time each day, it is definitely worth getting a piece of cardio equipment for your home. I have an oold, inexpensive Schwinn stationary bike and I often set mylaptop on the handle bars and work on homework while doing cardio. It’s very important for me to do my cardio at or about the same time everyday in order to ensure I get it into my routine and I am not rushing.
The same idea applied to your training; scheduling around your classes, eating and cardio is necessary. If you need absolutely must, do your cardio after your complete your training workout.. This works well if you train at a gym and can’t get there 2 to 3 times a day. Dependant upon on your body, you may be able to cut down on your workout time and actually make more gains; I have found that my body responds better to weight lifting only 30 minutes per workout and just pushing till failure each time. Really getting in tune with your body and maximizing your time in the gym will not only help give you more time during the day, but may help you achieve more muscle gains! Find what days and times work best for you and stick to that schedule.. An important sidenote is to make sure you know what muscle groups and what exercises you are doing each day. This will help to ensure you don’t stand around looking at the weights, trying to figure out what to do next; you will already know and are able to save time by moving on to each exercise without hesitation. Even if you have a trainer, it’s still a good idea to know what you are working on so that you can schedule your eating accordingly.
At the end of the day it is always best to go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time, even on the weekends. This will keep you on track mentally and physically. During testing time and high stress days, if you miss a work out, cardio session, or cheat on your meals, don’t fall off the wagon and be too hard on yourself. Remember that tomorrow is another day and it is all cumulative. If you stay consistent and keep your head on straight, you will be very successful in your preparation. Be sure to find what works best for you and stick to it. It will all pay off in the end!
Suggestions that help with time management:
- MINUTE Ready to Serve Brown Rice (Easy Recipe: Combine the brown rice and Star-Kist Herb and Garlic tuna, heat and eat!)
- KC Masterpiece Honey Teriyaki marinade! Marinade thirty minutes or over night and bar-b-que or broil.
- If you can’t seem to get all your vegetables in, substitute with a super food such as Green Vibrance.
