the
Better basics
program
The Better Basics Program is just that, the Basics.
Let’s Break It Down.
eat. 
Eating is an essential part of our day. Consider your personal experience with eating and ask yourself the following questions:
• Do I eat for fuel and pleasure or cravings and buffering?
• Do I feel energized or tired after eating?
• Do I feel powerful and ready to take on the day or do I feel achy and inflamed after eating?
The Better Basics Program approach to eating will guide you to fuel properly so you feel energized, powerful, and satisfied – not hungry 30 minutes after a meal. Remember, eating should support your body composition goals, not hinder them.
Together we’ll use this basic framework to effect change when you EAT:
• When I Eat – to support my circadian rhythm and gut health
• What I Eat – to balance my macros and how they work together
• How Much I Eat – for my body composition and energy output
sleep. 
We spend roughly one-third of our lives sleeping or attempting to sleep. With so much time dedicated to this nightly routine, why don’t more of us work to create a better sleep system? Sleep is the most underrated performance enhancer of the Better Basics System. With a comfy bed and pillow that are just right for you, basic environmental factors will help you achieve better sleep. Your sleep environment should be: • Cool Beyond the bedroom, we’ll focus on three changes you can make throughout your day: • Set up your circadian rhythm for success. Take in sunlight, or bright light early in the day, and minimize exposure late in the evening.
• Dark
• Quiet
• Set an Electronics Sunset hours prior to bedtime. This will minimize stimulation in the brain and reduce exposure to artificial light produced from our devices.
• Improve gut function by timing when you eat and what you eat based on your bedtime.
move. 
In our modern world, a lot of our jobs are sedentary and don’t require physical movement. If we sit at our desk for 8 – 10 hours a day a hard 45-minute workout will not make up for the hours of not moving. As humans, we were made to move, that’s why MOVE is a critical pillar of the Better Basics Program. A better MOVE plan requires daily movement, often. This means getting up every hour or so, even if only for five minutes. If you missed your hour-long gym session before work, a 15-minute walk at lunch is better than no movement at all. As we work to develop the work out component of your MOVE plan, we’ll start with three core areas: • Functional Movement – whole body
• Weight Bearing Movement – resistance
• Cardio Movement – aerobic
think. 
Thinking is like breathing, we often do both without intention. If our mind is continually overwhelmed by thoughts, we are not able to focus on what’s important. When we take time to inventory thoughts running rampant in our minds, we are better able to manage what we notice. As we manage our thoughts throughout the day, we can take out the negative and input better. Thinking better takes time and work, but by shifting how we THINK, we will more easily achieve wins in other areas of the Better Basics Program. Take daily inventory of your thoughts by asking these three basic questions: • When do I find my mind wandering?
• Where do I usually go with my thoughts – Negative, Positive or Neutral?
• Am I picking the right thoughts?
eat.
Eating is an essential part of our day. Consider your personal experience with eating and ask yourself the following questions:
• Do I eat for fuel and pleasure or cravings and buffering?
• Do I feel energized or tired after eating?
• Do I feel powerful and ready to take on the day or do I feel achy and inflamed after eating?
The Better Basics Program approach to eating will guide you to fuel properly so you feel energized, powerful, and satisfied – not hungry 30 minutes after a meal. Remember, eating should support your body composition goals, not hinder them.
Together we’ll use this basic framework to effect change when you EAT:
• When I Eat – to support my circadian rhythm and gut health
• What I Eat – to balance my macros and how they work together
• How Much I Eat – for my body composition and energy output
sleep.
We spend roughly one-third of our lives sleeping or attempting to sleep. With so much time dedicated to this nightly routine, why don’t more of us work to create a better sleep system?
Sleep is the most underrated performance enhancer of the Better Basics System. With a comfy bed and pillow that are just right for you, basic environmental factors will help you achieve better sleep. Your sleep environment should be:
• Cool
• Dark
• Quiet
Beyond the bedroom, we’ll focus on three changes you can make throughout your day:
• Set up your circadian rhythm for success. Take in sunlight, or bright light early in the day, and minimize exposure late in the evening.
• Set an Electronics Sunset hours prior to bedtime. This will minimize stimulation in the brain and reduce exposure to artificial light produced from our devices.
• Improve gut function by timing when you eat and what you eat based on your bedtime.
move.
In our modern world, a lot of our jobs are sedentary and don’t require physical movement. If we sit at our desk for 8 – 10 hours a day a hard 45-minute workout will not make up for the hours of not moving. As humans, we were made to move, that’s why MOVE is a critical pillar of the Better Basics Program.
A better MOVE plan requires daily movement, often. This means getting up every hour or so, even if only for five minutes. If you missed your hour-long gym session before work, a 15-minute walk at lunch is better than no movement at all.
As we work to develop the work out component of your MOVE plan, we’ll start with three core areas:
• Functional Movement – whole body
• Weight Bearing Movement – resistance
• Cardio Movement – aerobic
think.
Thinking is like breathing, we often do both without intention. If our mind is continually overwhelmed by thoughts, we are not able to focus on what’s important.
When we take time to inventory thoughts running rampant in our minds, we are better able to manage what we notice. As we manage our thoughts throughout the day, we can take out the negative and input better.
Thinking better takes time and work, but by shifting how we THINK, we will more easily achieve wins in other areas of the Better Basics Program.
Take daily inventory of your thoughts by asking these three basic questions:
• When do I find my mind wandering?
• Where do I usually go with my thoughts – Negative, Positive or Neutral?
• Am I picking the right thoughts?
You’re in the right spot if you can relate to these types of conversations.
and drink a lot of junk to get
through my day.
mind won’t shut down and
I sleep like crap.
10K walk-a-thon.
move program is hard, we’ll
start so small there’s
I couldn’t think my way out of a paper
bag when it comes to improving
my personal performance!
to unlocking your
personal performance,
and drink a lot of junk to get
through my day.
mind won’t shut down and
I sleep like crap.
game changer;
10K walk-a-thon.
move program is hard, we’ll
start so small there’s
I couldn't think my way out of a pager
bag when it comes to imporoving my
personal performance.
to unlocking your
personal performance,
My Approach to Success
Recognize
Recognize
Identify where you’re at, measure at baseline
Acknowledge that you can do better
React
React
Identify where you’re going and how you will get there.
Start moving along your planned route
Review
Review
Assess your progress
Celebrate the wins
Repeat
Repeat
Your best becomes your baseline
… the most notable difference is how good I feel, all the time. I did not realize how run down and tired I consistently felt prior to working with Alex. Learning the power of dialing in my eat, sleep, move and think has been a major game changer…
… working with Alex and his first principles has changed my life…
…Alex has guided me to be more cognizant on the habits that are so important for good sleep, productive workouts, healthy eating as well as reducing and dealing with stress in our business and personal life. It has also translated to help guide my family and kids in to a better lifestyle…
Alex is THE health and wellbeing whisperer. He listens. He cares. His approach is bespoke. He stays current on the science of human performance. With his help, I reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro at age 62 (and, upon arrival, did a set of burpees just for him). More importantly, he gives me the best shot at an active lifestyle well into the future. There is only one catch…you have to commit to do the work.
