WIN THE DAY: Making A Fit Life Together

A little over 11 years ago, my hubby (Eddie) and I met at the gym. While fitness has always been a big part of our life and relationship, a few years back, we both decided to take our nutrition and training to the next level. Now, I’m thrilled to say we are both IFBB Pros (Men’s Physique and Bikini). While it is certainly an exciting honor, it can be challenging to keep up with all of our life responsibilities (career, family, training, meal prep, marketing, etc.) while still saving time and energy for our relationship. We are definitely not perfect, but we have been able to create a lifestyle that works for us and have had fun in the process.

No matter where you and your special someone may be in your fitness journeys, you probably face the same time and energy deficit as we do. To help you keep your relationship healthy while pursuing your fitness seriously, here are a few of our “secrets” to making a happy, successful fit life together:

Make the food prep process simple and efficient. As you know, preparing 5 – 7 clean meals a day takes a lot of time and planning. Any free time we have, we would prefer to spend doing things we truly enjoy. (This does not include cooking chicken breasts). Over the years, we have tried a variety of cooking methods and tools to make the whole food prep process less of a burden. Here are some of our favorite tools and a few food prep tips from our kitchen:

1. Crock-Pot: This is the solution for no-fuss, perfectly cooked, moist chicken. In addition, the Crock-Pot allows you to prepare large quantities at once (we cook about 7 lbs at a time). It’s very simple: Just throw the chicken and seasoning in the pot and press “start”. Voila! Here is our typical chicken recipe:

“The Baird BIRD”
7 lbs of organic, all natural chicken breast
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup lime juice
1 TBSP garlic powder
1 TBSP onion powder
1 TBSP Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Salt-Free Seasoning (This is a FAVORITE in our household)

Cook on low for 7 hours. We turn it on before we go to bed, and the chicken is ready first thing in the morning.

2. Rice Cooker: We cook about 6 cups of brown rice at a time, which will last us about 2 - 3 days. If you want to make the rice more exciting for those following less strict meal plans, try mixing in these simple, easy to prepare items before you serve rice:

- Sautéed onions and fresh garlic
- Fresh diced tomatoes, crushed basil, 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
- Toasted almond slivers and raisins or dried figs

3. Asparagus Steamer: This steams about 2 typical grocery sized packages in about 5 – 10 minutes.

Find fit activities you can do together. For years, Eddie’s and my contact in the gym would be limited to occasional chats between sets or the drive-by butt slap. When we both starting training for stage, our time devoted to fitness increased considerably, causing us to realize that we needed to make more of an effort to enjoy the activity together.

From time to time, we will train back or shoulders together, but differences in our goals and style make it difficult. However, we have had a lot of fun doing plyometrics and HIIT-type cardio together. Instead of just plodding through our cardio, we will make our sessions together somewhat of a competition, calling it the “Fit Couple Challenge” (I know, we’re geeks). We look at each exercise as something we are competing to win. We really push one another and aren’t shy about trash talking.

Here is a “Fit Couple Challenge” you can do with your other half outdoors:

Warm-Up: 10-min fast-paced walk (Use this time to begin trash talking and maybe catch up on the day) Speed Challenge 1: 40-yard sprints (10 total with 1-min rest in between) Endurance Challenge 1: 1-minute stationary high jumps (Count how many you each can do in a minute) Team Building 1: 10-min jog Speed Challenge 2: 100-yard sprints (5 total with 1-min rest in between) Endurance Challenge 2: 15 burpees (See who can finish first) Team Building 2: 10-min jog (Brag about winning and plan your next “Fit Couple Challenge”)

Be a Team. Pursuing a fit lifestyle is a very individual undertaking. However, for it to work in a household over the long-term, it’s critical that neither person get too wrapped up in his/her individual needs that his/her partner is neglected. For example, I could easily eat the last chicken breast and not worry about replenishing supplies, or I could choose to not take interest in his day because I am tired from early mornings and two-a-days. However, this selfish behavior would get really old after a while and could cause a rift in our relationship. In addition to being very conscious of how our actions impact the other person, we actively look for opportunities to support each other when one of us is having “a day.” For example, Eddie has abandoned his workout to train me when I was struggling, and I have prepared his meals for him when he was having a busy workweek. Of course, we are not perfect and exchange eye rolls from time to time, but for the most part, we are successful at being Team Baird.

Fitness can serve as glue to keep you connected over a lifetime. If you are not already, take the time to invest in creating a fit life with your special someone. Our “secrets” may not be right for you, but you can certainly make it work your own way. I would love to hear how you do it, so please connect with me on Facebook and Twitter to share how you have made a fit life with your love.

Until next week, WIN THE DAY!

Your sister in fitness,

Jaime Baird
IFBB Pro
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