The Eo3 Elements: 9 Habits to Boost Recovery and Performance

If you’re only focusing on which workout program you’re following, you’re falling way short of your potential in the gym.

What if the secret to looking better, burning fat, having more muscle, or performing better was found in the 23 hours you’re not working out?

We’ve seen this to be true time and time again, with thousands of athletes, over the last decade.

But these aren’t the flashy things that grab your attention or sell workout programs.

If you look around social media, you’ll see influencers promoting fat burning workouts you can do in 20-30 minutes per day. Supplements or superfoods that ‘shed fat’.

Their marketing makes you believe you can look like them…but only if you follow their program or buy their products.

The first major problem is that these same influencers, with six pack abs, are rarely following the same programs they’re selling.

Arguably the bigger problem is that they’re leaving out all the things they’re doing behind the scenes to get the results that they’re getting.

Unfortunately there are a couple truths in marketing.

1. The sexy strategies and quick fixes will always get more views and clicks
2. The boring but simple solutions (that actually move the needle forward on your progress) don’t go viral

But we want our athletes to be better, smarter, and more effective than mainstream marketing or social media.

And to do that, it requires more than crushing your body at the gym.

The best athletes in the world treat their recovery as important as their practices and game.

Trying to only work harder, without taking care of your body, is not sustainable.

It's like trying to press down on the gas while also keeping your other foot pressed down on the brakes.

Here are some things that will catch up, sooner or later, when you push too hard while pretending recovery doesn’t exist:

• Your energy tanks (leaving you reaching for more caffeine or sugar)
• Your hormones suffer (poor libido, testosterone, irregular periods)
• Your performance takes a hit (you can’t push it as hard in the gym)
• Your body pushes back (you find yourself sick more often or with more nagging aches/lingering injuries)
• Your cortisol spikes (leading to more fat gain, less muscle built, and long-term health consequences)

You can get away with ignoring the elements listed below for a few days or a few weeks.
You can probably even get away with avoiding them for a few months (if you’re following a halfway decent program).

But eventually, this will catch up to you.

It has to me.
And it has to the majority of our athletes at one time or another.

Because consistently doing these is not easy.

Incredibly simple, but not easy.

If you’re like me, it can be hard enough to fit a workout in some days.

Being a good husband, dad, and business owner are demanding enough on their own.

But the cost of avoiding these things is too high.

Because it’s not just your health or fitness results that will take a hit.

It’s your ability to show up at a high level consistently…as a spouse, parent, employee/employer…and in your health and fitness as well.

So don’t fall for the trap of thinking you’re an exception to the rule.

You need these.
I need these…as much as I’ve tried to avoid it at different times.

If the best athletes in the world understand this, it’s probably worth paying attention to.

You don’t have to spend $1M per year on your recovery like Lebron does to get 80-90% of the benefits.

We’ve compiled a list of the most effective habits you can be doing, which we call the Eo3 Elements.

If you want your body and results to transform, do these 9 things daily, as consistently as possible:

1. sleep: 7+ hours per night
2. hydration: 50% of your bodyweight in oz of water
3. nutrition: meat+veggies in at least 2 meals
4. blood flow: 12,000+ steps or light activity outside of normal training
5. sun: 10+ minutes of sun exposure (even if it’s cloudy it counts)
6. digestion: chew food, slow down, limit liquids around meals
7. meal timing: 12+ hours fasting to give digestion a break (ex: 7pm to 7am)
8. warm-up/cool-down: 5 minutes of each
9. downregulation (a fancy word for mindfully chilling out): meditate, breathing exercises, journaling, limiting phones/tv/bright lights at night.

How do you stack up?

We’re big fans of gamifying things around here.

Maybe it’s just the way we’re wired, but we know competition (even if it’s with yourself) brings out the best.

See how many of these you’re consistently doing each week.

Consistently means 6 out of every 7 days you’re doing that habit.

First just see where you're at.
Then try and add one more until it becomes easy.

And another. And another.

If you’re hitting 7 or 8 out of these consistently, you're crushing it.
Challenge yourself to hit them all and see how you feel.

If you’re starting out at 0/9 of these habits, you’re not failing.
You just might have never been told how important these really are.

Just pick ONE you can do consistently, and don’t add another until it becomes easy.

Now you’re already getting better. Just keep going and don't stop.