Day in the Life – Adam Dejong
Day in the life posts have always fascinated me. I find it is the simplest way to get to the heart of who a person is and what matters to them.
Although I have deviated from it occasionally, it remains my favourite way to interview a person on the blog. You can see a past example here from pro triathlete, Kristen Marchant.
So when Adam and I discussed him appearing on the blog, I knew this is the format I wanted to take.
I met Adam at in the masters swim training program at Laurier. He was training for his first half ironman and I watched him apply a laser focus to a sport that was clearly outside of his comfort zone. Race day conditions were among the worst that I have ever seen in the water and he crushed his first half ironman in a time around 5:30:00. And that is a new sport where he is uncomfortable…
Through his training, we had gone for coffee and I had mentioned that as an endurance athlete, I was lacking strength training in my routine and wanted to join his gym Limitless Performance in my off season. They came on as one of my main sponsors for 2019 and the gains I have made in performance and integration into an incredible community has surpassed my expectations.
He and his wife Michelle Dejong have started a gym for athletes who want to perform at their highest level. There is ALWAYS a competition, a challenge or a time to beat either for yourself or with a team. It brings out the competitive fire and I am finding common ground with tennis, hockey and soccer players as we work together to get fit for our individual sports.
I believe it is the people who run a gym who establish the culture and both Adam and Michelle are incredibly elite athletes who are unrelentingly focused on their goals. Right now, Adam is competing in his first international Crossfit Competition in Miami called Wodapolooza.
On his flight to the competition, he wrote out a typical day for him as he prepared leading up to the competition, where his goal is to place in the top 10. (Which he is handily crushing with 3 of the 6 workouts completed).
As I sit here on the flight headed to Miami, I think about all the hard work, time and focus that I have invested into training for this event AND I wouldn’t change it for the world!
I truly love the day to day grind of training. I love the process of improving each and everyday. This weekend will be a great test and marker of my current level of fitness and a baseline for me to build off as I embark on future competitions, races and events!
Adam after his first full day of competing at Wodapolooza.
A typical day for me starts with a 3:45am wake up call and ends with a 7:45pm bedtime
I am a trainer, coach, motivator and business owner by trade but my real love is for training!
- 5-7am – I start my day most days with two hours of coaching from 5-6am and 6-7am. Although painfully early in the AM it is extremely motivating to see all the hard working men and women show up to get better every day!
- 7-9am – After coaching, it’s my turn to train. I train from 7-9am everyday. Typically a 30min Warm-up, 30min of Strength, 30min of Conditioning and 30min of Gymnastics “Skill” work each day.
- 9-4pm – Next up on the list is 1-2 hours of 1-on-1 coaching, combined with meetings, programming and other administrative work to manage over 200 Members that we have rolling through our doors each and everyday
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- 4-8pm – After all that craziness is complete, it’s time to wind down, rest and recover. Both physical and mental recovery is now a KEY component of my daily routine. Take CJ our puppy for a run (she runs I walk
), dinner, read, stretch, bath and sleep! Editors note: CJ occasionally makes an appearance to our Friday morning workouts and steals the show.
- Keys to Success – One of my biggest keys to success is my consistency. Training, eating, recovery and sleep.
- Training – 6 days/week x 2 hours/day
- Sleep – 7-8 hours/night 6-7 days/week
- Recovery – 1 hour before bed 4-5x/week (read, stretch, bath, chill)
- Eating, Nutrition, Fuel
What you out in, you get out!
- 430am – Toast, PB, Banana, 3 HB Eggs and Cucumbers
- 730am – Protein Shake
- 830am – BCAA & Electrolyte Shake
- 930am – Chicken & Sweet Potatoes
- 1230pm – Turkey Burger, Rice and Mixed Greens
- 330pm – Hummus and Rice Crackers
- 530pm – Fish/Beef/Pork and Brocolli/Cauliflower
- 730pm – Casein Protein, Almond Milk, PB
I grew grew up playing high level hockey up until I was 23 years old playing NCAA Hockey. I take it for granted all of the great skills like commitment, sacrifice, hard work, teamwork and routine that I learned innately along the journey.
Find a routine that works for you, your schedule, your passion. Surround yourself with like minded people. Find a coach to help you set goals, make a plan and hold you accountable. Don’t be a one-hit wonder, be a lifetime performer – Wendy Pauls
Limitless Performance is live streaming all of his workouts on Instagram so go cheer him on. He has one more today and two more tomorrow. I have every confidence he will reach his goal and continue to inspire the rest of us as we reach for our 2019 goals.
Go Adam!
