The Daily Hat Trick: Another System to Help You Become Awesome

 

My wife and I just moved in to our first home, so I apologize for the lack of content as of late. Life has been a little hectic lately and as a new homeowner I am beginning to realize that things are only going to get more complicated from here on out. Regardless of all the craziness, I am super excited to have begun this next step in our lives.

I thought the title of this post is appropriate given the NHL playoffs are about to start. I'm sure the Pens will continue to dominate regardless of the absence of Crosby.

I like to think in terms of what is simple and practical. Many of my clients are busy professionals that have several responsibilities like work, family and home maintenance that take up the majority of their daily lives. Among all of these responsibilities they have to find some time to enjoy life and stay in shape. They don't have time (or won't make time) for complex training and nutrition protocols that require counting macronutrients and calculating strength percentages every day. So over the years I have found that keeping things as simple as possible will yield the greatest results. Remove the fluff, isolate what works, and do it over and over again. So what forms the basis for my methodology?

Enter the 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule or Pareto's Principle is a concept that was developed in the early 1900's by Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist. The rule states that for most events, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. If you have read any Tim Ferriss' work, you might recognize this concept.

So how does the 80/20 rule apply to your health? If you take a look at all of the things that yield the greatest results (or lack thereof) you can isolate those elements and repeat them with consistency to achieve 80% of what you desire. So if you eat 10 different foods in a given day, there is a pretty good chance that 2 of those foods are dictating what size your pants are. In most gyms you see more people attending classes where you do endless sets and reps of several different exercises than people in the weight room performing deadlifts and pull ups. Usually the people doing the former look the same way they did a year ago, while the ones doing the latter are bigger, leaner and stronger then they were a year ago. Coincidence? I think not.

With this concept in mind I isolated all of the food choices, exercise, and life habits that I believe give you the most bang for your buck and made a chart.

Strength	Conditioning	Nutrition	Life
Squat	Walk 2 miles	Consume ½ bodyweight in ounces H2O	Say “I love you”
Press	Run 2 miles	30g Protein at Breakfast	Smile and Laugh
Hinge	Sprint 1000 yards total	Eat a pound veggies three times	Play with kids
Pull	15 minutes of self limiting exercise	Consume bodyweight in protein in one day	Be lazy for 20 mins
Olympic Lifts	Bike 4-6 miles	Consume ZERO processed foods	Practice breathing for 5 mins
	Row 5000 meters		Listen
			Choose a positive attitude
			Have sex
			Have Fun

Each day, choose one item from three out of the four columns. You can choose any combination of three to complete the hat trick. For example tomorrow you might choose one conditioning item (run 2), one nutrition item (bodyweight in  protein), and one life choice (have sex and last for longer than 3 minutes this time). The next day you can choose something different. If you are feeling ambitious, do all four columns or do more than one in a particular column. 

The biggest necessity here is to strive for improvement. Doing a few naked bodyweight squats in front of the mirror after you get out of the shower doesn't count. Pick up a weight and push yourself. Break a sweat.

The same goes for nutrition. "Hey I ate 30 grams of protein for breakfast so that means I can eat fries and doughnuts for the rest of the day!" I think not. Use common sense.

Before you scoff at this and hit the back button remember that I designed this with the busy professional in mind. One of the biggest problems that I see with people is that they lack consistency.

If you keep things simple and do what has stood the test of time, it makes it that much easier to maintain that consistency. 

This system might not get you down to single digit bodyfat or help you outrun Usain Bolt (unless you are a genetic freak), but I guarantee that it will help you achieve better health than 80% of the population. Considering that 66% of Americans are overweight or obese and only 20 of the remaining 33% are exercising and practicing sound nutrition habits, I think its perfectly realistic to think doing the above will help you achieve your goals. In closing I would like to share one of my favorite quotes by Bruce Lee.

"In building a statue, a sculptor doesn't keep adding clay to his subject. Actually, he keeps chiseling away at the inessentials until the truth of its creation is revealed without obstructions. Thus, contrary to other styles, being wise doesn't mean adding more; it means to minimize, in other words to hack away the unessential."