My Schedule
What’s a day like in the life of Coach Wayne? I’m a fitness rockstar, the face of teamRIPPED, and Beachbody legend. It’s a quasi-celebrity lifestyle, right?? (I hope you sense my sarcasm!!!)
Well, I hate to disappoint you all, but NO! I’m a regular guy with a very blessed, but very ordinary life. No celebrity golf tournaments for me. No limo rides. No butlers, nannies, maids, or autograph sessions LOL!
My life is a very typical story of a guy trying to make life count, live on purpose, and make time every day for the things that matter most to me.
I do, however, get asked often, “How do you fit it all in?”. Basically, people feel busy (and they are), and they don’t know how they can fit health and fitness into their hectic schedules. But they see that I have done so, and wonder how I balance it all. I workout every day, plan all my meals, own my own business as an orthodontist, run teamRIPPED and coach thousands of people through their Beachbody workouts, have 5 kids under the age of 10 that crave daddy time, and am involved in school activities and church. Oh, and I need a bit of sleep each night LOL! Are there enough hours in the day??
Well, here’s a look at my typical schedule during the week so that you can see how I fit in workouts, BB coaching, my full time job, my wife, and my kids. (**Hint, you won’t see watching TV in this list!!! If your schedule has TV watching in it, I don’t want to hear you complain that you are too busy! That’s a lie!)
4:30 Wake up, quiet time with God’s Word to start my day.
5:00 Check on my teamRIPPED peeps, update the website comments, etc.
5:30 Workout!
6:30 Recover, get ready for work
7:00 Kids up — crack the whip for the next 45 minutes to get them ready, fed, and out the door :-)
7:45 Take kids to school on my way to work
8:00 Work
12:00 Lunch Break (AKA blog time, answer teamRIPPED emails, update website)
1:00 Work
5:30 Arrive home, play with kids until dinner
6:30 Dinner
Evening is more cracking the whip (baths, homework, reading to the kids, tucking them in, etc.). I usually spend a few minutes updating comments on my website as well in the evening, but keep it to a minimum to protect family time. Kids bedtime is 8:30.
Time with Momma from 8:30 to 9:30, then it’s off to dreamland for Coach Wayne :-). I need my 7 hours of sleep!
-So what stands out to you? First, notice, like I said, I don’t watch the boob tube. It’s a waste of time. I don’t have time to waste if I want to live on purpose! You’d be surprised if you are a TV addict — you can literally survive and function just fine in the world without watching the news, without watching evening TV, and without watching any gossip TV. I’m proof! I may have no idea who Selena Gomez is dating, who Brad and Angelina have adopted, or how many people got arrested in Tulsa last night, but guess what? If I missed anything earth shattering, the ladies at work will be talking about it the next day and I’ll get caught up to speed.
And this may sound absolutely bizarre, but I have never watched a single episode of House, 24, Gray’s anatomy, or whatever other popular evening TV shows are on these days. I already had to give up the evening couch potato days when I started having small children every 2 years (LOL!), and it wasn’t until the TV was off for a few months that I realized how much more productive my life was becoming without throwing away 2-3 hours every evening. Try it!
Second, you’ll notice I go to be early! I’m in bed by 9:30. That may sound nuts to you, but look at the trade off. Those of you who stay up past 9:30, what exactly do you accomplish during that time? Watch TV? Hang out? Surf the internet? Look at what I get done by getting to bed early — I have time before 7 am every day to read, coach you guys, workout, and get ready for work … all before my kids even wake up. Try it!
And third, you’ll notice I don’t spend my lunch break going to a restaurant and spending an hour to eat. I bring my lunch and eat it quickly while working on something productive (blogging, answering emails, etc.). It keeps me productive and it keeps me healthy, since I pack a healthy fresh lunch every day instead of eating high calorie restaurant food. Try it!
So … are my days packed? Absolutely. But do I have time for the people and the things that matter to me? Yes! And I protect my weekends as well. I love golfing but haven’t golfed in about 4 years because my kids aren’t old enough to do it with me.. I have made it a priority to invest in family activities on the weekends where we can unplug from the daily grind and hang out together. This may be the kids’ sports, going fishing together, going on bike rides and walks, going to the park, visiting the grandparents, etc. I really try to be totally engaged with the family on my weekends. It’s football season, and I’m a die hard Arizona football fan, so there will be some exceptions to my TV rule on the rare occasion that the UA games come on TV in Oklahoma :-). When they are on, it’s usually late at night because of the time zone difference, so I’ll have to structure my rest days for the next morning to make up for staying up past by bedtime. But you’ll notice that those times are exceptions, not the rule.
I’d encourage all of you to evaluate your schedule, look for ways to become more efficient, and not waste time. You’ll never get it back! We all get 24 hours per day to spend. Are you spending it wisely or throwing it away?
Related Posts:
Scott, pen and paper for me. I just keep a planner and put my daily to-do's in it.
Coach, I just wanted to comment how impressed I am with your commitment to your family. I also focus most of my personal time on spending time with my family. There is a huge distance in age with my two girls, but I really enjoy helping my eldest get better at soccer and going to her games. My youngest I am enthralled with because everything in the world is exciting to her and I enjoy watching her grow and learn. Anyways I just wanted to say that I have A LOT of respect for you for keeping family #1, but also keeping true to your personal goals. Your kids are very lucky to have a Dad like you.
Thanks Dallas!
Hey Coach, you have your day planned out with the exact timings. 1. How do I do that ? do I set an alarm for each of these times ? 2. Not everyday is the same for me, sometimes i have exams, sometimes i have vacations, so how do i MAKE a schedule fitting my varying days ?? 3. Considering my BIGGEST problem, INTERNET, facebook, twitter, chatting, watching online series, how do YOU control that ? do you get onto the internet at any time or on specific times ? how do you suggest I control that ?? Thats 3 questions for you. Sorry for all of that. Thanks :D. PS: I DID read your article thoroughly but didn't find exact answers to these questions.
It's all about PLANNING Khaled. Sit down and plan a schedule. Maximize your time. If you have a different schedule on different days, then PLAN a schedule for those days. No one can schedule your time for you. We all have different schedules. It just takes a PLAN!
Thanks for this post. It is something that we all struggle with.
I agree it is awesome that you spend time with Gods Word in the morning. Every morning I wake up at about 5:00 am so that I have time to read the Bible and do my workout before I go to school!!!!
Hey Coach Wayne, I just want to say this is very helpful and the best part about your schedule to me is spending time in Gods Word! nice to know you take care of your spiritual needs as well as your physical needs! and also time with the kids and wife! and NO TV! im still in the process of getting a schedule down.
here is my schedule tell me what you think. 3:30am wake up get ready for work make breakfast for the wife and i and eat. 4:30am get kids up leave for work dropping kids off at my moms house. 5:15am arive at work 11:30am lunch break 1/2 hour work untill 4pm drive home picking up kids. eat dinner take son to baseball practice 6:pm to 7:30pm 5 nights a week 8:pm work out p90x 9:30 shower and go to bed
Looks like a great plan Troy! Stick with it!
Is working out at the same time every day a must for the program? I ask, because my husband is deployed on a ship with the US Navy, and is never able to do them at the same time. Some days its 5 am, and others it's 10 pm. One added benefit, he can do Yogo in the middle of rough seas like nobodies business lol! Thanks!
Hey Sabrina, it's a benefit to your body to be on a predictable rhythm when possible, but no, it's not a must. Some people's schedules don't allow for it (shift work, etc). The key is to do your best and forget the rest! Keep bringing it!
You're a Wildcat fan!?! You coach awesomness just jummped up several rungs! Bear down!!
Bear Down TXLEO :-)
Hi Wayne, Thank you for writing this. Sometimes, I think, "Wow am I doing too much or am I setting unrealstic goals." Reading this post has given me proof that I'm not doing too much or setting unrealstic goals. I just need to tighten up my daily schedule a bit more. Thx!!!
I have a unique situation and I have no read all of the responses on here but I am on day 31 and so far so good. Thing is I work midnight shifts 11pm-7am. I eat breakfast around 2pm before I get my kids and then come home and work out while they play. I am following the nutrition as strictly as I can, but some days I have trouble sleeping simply because of the shift. It throws off my eating on some days because being up I end up getting hungry and water does not do the trick to quell the hunger pangs. I fear though that if I do end up eating I will fall asleep which is bad. I really hope this does not hurt my progress with muscle recovery.
Hey Will, read my article "shift work". That will shed more light on it than this one.
Fantastic Coach! No more TV for me now. I'm officially fulfilling my purpose in life and have to give it everything I've got!! Coach, I love my phase 2 chicken sandwich, and shakes, but am I the only one who feels the savour-the-moment moment goes by too quick? Do you immediately start counting down to the next time tomorrow? Lol, thnks
LOL Kim! I try not to spend too much time thinking about how I wish I could get to the next "thing" I want to do and just try to make the most of the moment I'm in. Good point though!
Great post coach!! kind of helps put things into retrospective for me. I think your absolutely right..less T.V being watched means more time for self and family activities which are important into keeping a healthy lifestyle.
hey coach wayne. i noticed on your nutrition zone you have greek yogurt before bed. so, do you recommend casein? since your body goes through catabolism.
Hey Daigo, casein protein before bed is a good idea. If you have some casein protein, go for it.
Coach, you're an awesome inspiration. I love that you're a man of God and that you know you first need to be healthy in order to raise healthy kids and have a healthy family. I just graduated bible school and moved into a youth pastor position - it could be really easy for me to become one of those tv/video game guys. I'm really excited to have found you, to get inspired and to inspire in turn! My Day 1 of P90x was today and after seeing you, I have high hopes for my day 90, 180 and 365!
Coach- Loved the artical on your schedule. Shows me that "busy" shouldn't be in our vocabulary. I have to take a second to brag. It's your motivation that has created a monster in me. I live in the Northeast and we were just crushed with an October snowstorm. 100 percent of my city and those surrounding are without power and have been since Saturday. (it may be until Sunday until we get it back!) in between searching for gas for the generator, trying to heat the house, and feed my family, I have not strayed from my diet. I hooked up my computer to the generator and was able to bring it!! every day since. I have pushed harder because my circumstances are pushing back...No time? I don't want to hear it......Bring it!! Team Ripped=No Excuses
I'm a proud member of MisFits:). Just wanted to thank you Coach Wayne for the inspiration:). Tomorrow I'm off, so after I wake up and work out and have my Shakeology - I'm going to spend one hour planning on how to restructure my day and spend less time on-line and more time doing smth productive :)).. Thank you again. Really. THANK YOU!
Hey coach... how do you manage to make your workouts under 1 hour everyday? What about abs?
Hey Scott, to reiterate what I just told Dustin in the comment above yours (who asked the exact same question), look at my hybrid schedules and youll see! They are in the "workout zone" tab.
I didn't see time to comb your hair. When do fit that in LOL. Love ya coach ;)
LMBO Lance!!
U of A fan? I'm very diappointed to here that you have picked the wrong side of Arizona to root for. Being a fan of them must be rough. You might want to invest in an NFL team to make watching football worth while lol.
How do you squeeze Ab Ripper X in if you're only allotting an hour for a workout? Seems to be my biggest issue.
Hey Dustin, look at my hybrid schedules and youll see! They are in the "workout zone" tab.
Great post Coach! your discipline and purpose explain your success!!! you are an inspiration! thanks
Awesome post coach, my schedule is basically the same. Just missing the coaching part because I live in Canada. I still watch a hour of TV after the little one goes to bed but that's a huge drop from what i used to spend watching. Thanks coach for keeping all of us motivated.
Great discipline coach. Although for me work starts at 8:30 am and on average goes till say 11pm with working dinner. So sleeping by midnight and getting up at 6 becomes painful But have been doing it for past 80 days ...no breaks and will keep going with drive from you all!
Very inspirational post, thank you!
I'm up at 445am and off to work buy 615am, and as far as tv with small kids who can get it away from them,lol but that's not to say we don't get outside also and time for worship...Deuteronomy 4:4-7 Thanks for the reminders as to what's important!
...and, I gotta stop playing Call of Duty...
I guess I see discipline and perseverance when I look at this. You make it look easy, although I suspect it's not (or at least wasn't until you chose to make a change 550+days ago.) I think people have things we feel we will sacrifice and miss if we replace them with something else. But, I believe, once we make that switch, while initially difficult, the thing we switch it with, (fitness, raw spinach and broccoli, quality family time, spiritual development, etc.) will then become the thing we no longer want to sacrifice for something else. BTW, for the record, you do have days where things come up you don't plan for like the rest of us? Sick family member, power outage, extra time at church for events, etc.
Sure Nathan, life happens for all of us. It may mean I get less sleep that night but I make it work (read my article "just do it period" for more about dealing with "life" :-)
awesome article coach! yep that family time is crucial! thanks for the remind.
Go U of A, although it has been a rough year. I did get to go to the UCLA game!
Thanks for posting this Wayne. I have always wondered how you manage it! One of my main weaknesses is time management and it is good to see how the busiest guy in America balances everything :)
Ahh that explains a lot Wayne. I was convinced that your 24 hour period was longer then the rest of ours, ha ha. I'm not buying the no autograph session though :)
Now I guess your gonna tell me that there is no Teamripped jet now too! Keeping to a consistent schedule is important it is one of the keys to being successful. I read this article and can appreciate personally how living consistently and makin the small changes for the best build up over time, quite quickly actually. Like that book The Slight Edge. Good article. And thanks for giving us real insight on how living with consistency works. Now there is a Teamripped limo right???
TR Limo LOL!! :-)
Hey Coach, great post. .....do you actually still play the DVD's for each and every work out now? Or do you just go through the workout schedule in your own time?
Hey Paul, I still play the DVD for 90% of the workouts now to monitor my pace. A couple of them I prefer to just go off the sheet and listen to a podcast or music.
Dr. Wyatt?? haha I'm always used to referring to you as Coach Wayne, or "the man" Awesome post coach and always an inspiration with the way you fit health and well-being into an already busy lifestyle. This just PROVES to all of those peeps out there that you are never too busy to BRING IT!!!
my P90X Results Video
my p90X2 Results Video!
Most Popular Products
This is an extremely helpful post and I'm spending today working on how I can better map out my time like you have. Came across this quote from John Maxwell today where he says "Success is found in your daily habits". You are sure example of this. One question I'm struggling with and wondering how you do it. Planning time. Are you as intentional in planning your daily to do's? If so when do you do this and how? Old school paper planner or new school iPhone iPad? Seems when stuff is digital for me it's gets lost whereas paper to do list everyday keeps me focused. Wondering how you do it. Thanks Coach. Scott
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
Like