Most successful people plan their work days to a tee. They check their “to do” lists frequently, and they are well aware of how every minute will be spent. They plan their meetings, work loads, and other tasks, and they complete them all in a timely fashion. Whether their career be mowing lawns or conducting heart surgery, they plan a detailed list of tasks, then they complete them.

Successful bodybuilders are no different. They realize that they have three major jobs to complete when it comes to bodybuilding. They must train each body part intelligently. They must give their body enough rest and sleep to recover and grow. And, they must provide their body the right nutrients at the right intervals. To complete these three jobs, smart bodybuilders will treat these tasks just like they would at any other job. They’ll write out their gym workouts ahead of time to ensure they are hitting all body parts correctly. They will plan social lives and family duties around sleep to ensure they get the 7 to 9 hours of nightly sleep their bodies require. And they will plan their diets so that they are receiving the right nutrients at the right times during the day, and so that their bodies never go into catabolism as a result of not having nutrients it needs.

In order to allow for the most growth, as well as to provide the most fuel for daily gym workouts, bodybuilders should plan on eating meals every three hours. This should be adjusted for fat content. Small, high-protein, low-fat meals such as a whey shake only take about 90 minutes to digest. Normal meals such as chicken or turkey (with some pasta or rice, of course) take the standard three hours for the body to use. And, higher-fat meals, such as red meat, take longer to digest. Therefore they can be consumed every 3.5 to 4 hours or so.

This information should be used when planning your day. Upon waking, consume a protein shake, then complete your morning tasks (shower, dress, address children, and drive). Ninety minutes later, you’ll be ready for a nice 3-hour digestion meal of chicken and rice. Another shake would fill the morning well, followed by some steak with lunch, which will digest slowly as you complete your afternoon tasks. Use shakes after workouts, and red meat for those times (possibly even before bed) when you won’t be near another protein source for a few hours. As with most things in life, timing is everything!

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