Work Life Balance - Shaun Stafford WBFF Pro

Staying in top shape takes more than just a well planned workout routine, and involves everything from consuming meals at the right time, to making sure your gym kit is washed, and ready to get dirty again!

Here are a few things that I do each week to stay on top of things, and take the stress out of staying in shape!

Know your food!

This refers to the basic stats and nutritional values that make up your meals; try and get a basic understanding of how many calories you should be consuming per day, and where these calories should be coming from. Create broad meal plans, so you know approximate quantities of different foods to hit the right nutritional values for your day.

It is one of those things that will take a bit of time at first, but once you get a grasp of it, it saves you loads of time and loads of stress, because you'll know what you can and can't have, and how much you need to fuel your body for results.

I could write a thesis on this topic alone, and will form the basis for future articles.

Shop online

It sounds lazy, but this is one of the best things to ensure my clients have the right things in the fridge; pull together a great shopping list of lean meats, fish, good varied vegetable sources and grains/legumes, and get it delivered to your door. Every supermarket does delivery now, so log on to their websites, and take the leg work out of shopping. Another handy tip is to save your list online and then punch 're-order' every few days to ensure you get fresh supplies.

Embrace tupperware

Very geeky, and not very rock 'n roll, but a new set of tupperware was top of my Christmas list this year! Why? Because when you are always on the move, and have a fridge full of fresh, healthy food, you need to kart it around with you. Trust me, once you have had a cheap box break in your bag, you will curse the day you didn't spend the extra 50 pence and plumb for the container with the lockable lids!

Get baking

I am a simple creature, so when I am cutting for a competition or shoot, I like nothing more than eating simple, no-nonsense food. I will eat my fish grilled, my veggies steamed, and the only thing to liven things up would be some extra herbs, spices and chillies. So when I am not in contest prep mode, I like to have a bit more fun, get the baking trays out and experiment. Right now I make a  fresh meatloaf every week, and a tray of home-made protein bars. The great thing is that they are super easy to make, super healthy, and super cheap, and both last for about a week in the fridge, so you always have a convenient snack available when you get peckish or can't be bothered to whip up a meal from scratch.

Train with your mates

One of the tough things about being consciously fit and healthy is that more often than not, your mates want to hit the pub for a few pints and a pack of pork scratchings, where as for you that is undoing all the weeks good work. Why not take control of the situation and organise something active to do before or after the pub session?

Why not meet at the park for a kick about, suggest a day at the local rock climbing centre, or better still, why not suggest an outward bounds or adventure weekend full of assault courses and other activities? This way you don't have to lose touch with your mates, and you can still put a bit of focus on being active and staying fit, and who knows, you may even get a few converts to your way of thinking!

Keep up to date with all my WBFF World Championships preparation on my Facebook Page at http://facebook.com/shaunstaffordfitness