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In today’s episode of Everyday Marksman Radio, I’m talking to an old friend of mine, Garret Glover. What makes Garrett interesting is not that he’s my friend, though. It’s that he has managed to strike a balance between his career as an active duty Air Force officer, planning a wedding, getting his second master’s degree, running a side business, and still competes as a bodybuilder.
So where does he find 36 hours per day to fit all of this in?
It’s all about smart time management and prioritization.
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Episode Summary
I’ve known Garrett for several years. We are both ICBM Operations Officers by trade. And while I’m no longer active, he is stationed in the DC area not far from me. We’ve been stationed together, taught the same courses, and gone to the same schools.
What’s always impressed me about Garrett is his raw discipline to keep up his healthy lifestyle in the face of a busy schedule and a career field that encourages destructive habits.
During our conversation, we cover three main areas. First, it’s all about building a solid foundation through nutrition.
Garrett reveals that the first thing he requires his personal training clients to do is track everything they eat for a couple of weeks and then formulate a good nutrition plan.
He won’t even set foot in the gym with a client before getting their eating right.
Most people simply eat too much of the wrong things. Most modern American diets are full of “junk,” and hidden calories.
The first step is to determine the amount of protein you need each day. For the average person, this means 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. Once the protein is dialed in, figure out how much fat to add to the diet, and then fill in the rest with carbohydrates.
Carbs, as he puts it, are the lowest priority item because it’s the only macronutrient that your body can survive without.
An important point is remembering that everyone has an agenda. Diet doesn’t need to be complicated, and there are a lot of “experts” out there pushing their program on you because they want to make money and get you to believe you can’t do it without their special sauce.
Fitness Programming
The second part of the interview covered workout routines. Garret again says that this doesn’t need to be complicated, but it needs to be intentional. Too many people spend too much time browsing social media and being distracted rather than actually working out.
The average person should prioritize strength training over cardio, even for fat loss. Cardio is good, but it doesn’t burn as many calories as muscle recovery and more muscle mass in general.
Cardio, when performed, should either be after a strength training routine or first thing in the morning before eating. This maximizes the fat burning effect due to a lack of glucose available in the blood.
Garrett lays out a three-day-per-week program that most people can follow. Combined with good nutrition, anyone should be able to achieve a great physique on three focused workouts per week.
Finding Balance
The final part of the episode digs into balance. Garrett, like you and I, is a very busy person. So how does he manage all of the things he’s doing?
The answer is in prioritizing things.
Not everything in life can be the most important thing all of the time. If that were true, then nothing would ever be truly important.
Instead, figure out the most important thing in your life right now and make sure you give it its due.
Each day, list out the things you need to get done whether that means it’s a workout, meal prep, homework, project for work, or anything else. Put it in priority order.
Then work down the list.
If you can’t get to the items at the bottom of the list, then forgive yourself for that and get to them the next day. It’s ok to not hit every item on the list.
