Start Tomorrow Today: Why Success Is All in the Setup

Weekly Wisdom #68

“It’s all in the setup,” my father explained.

He was good at billiards. Had a knack for hustling.

“It’s not just about making this shot,” he tried to teach me. “It’s about setting yourself up for the next shot.”

Good luck with that. I couldn’t even make the current shot. But I got the point.

Though I never did develop any skill in the pool hall, I was able to apply this lesson to weightlifting.

What Weightlifting Taught Me About Preparation

I’m pretty good at cycling a barbell. While the majority of CrossFitters like the lift-and-drop approach, I prefer to cycle sets efficiently.

You can’t blame folks for focusing on the concentric phase. It is, after all, called weight lifting, not weight lowering.

Naturally, most people think the deadlift, clean, or snatch begins when the barbell is resting on the ground. That may be true for the first rep.

But the key, I believe, to cycling a barbell effectively lies in changing your perception of the lift.

A good lift does not begin on the ground but in the lowering phase of the preceding rep.

“It’s all in the setup.”

Get this right, and you can be safer, stronger, and faster.

Weightlifting is a skill. There are plenty of folks stronger than me who can’t hang with me when it comes to cycling a heavy barbell.

Good technique and efficient movement matter. Strength alone isn't always enough.

This is something we emphasize in our CrossFit coaching at Empower Every Body Fitness in Vancouver. Whether you're learning to lift for the first time or have years of experience, how you position yourself for the next movement can make all the difference.

But this lesson carries into life beyond billiards and barbells.

I think shifting your emphasis to the setup can have some profound implications for the quality of your day. And when you put days together into weeks, months, and years, for the quality of your life.

When Does Your Day Really Begin?

When does your day start?

When the alarm goes off?

That may be true by definition, but I’m not sure it is the most effective way to approach it. Not when tomorrow’s success is dependent upon what I do today.

Efficiency, I believe, is in the setup.

This is why I like to start my day the night before.

My Evening Routine: Setting Up Tomorrow's Success

Here’s the setup.

I try to wrap up my workday as close to 5pm as possible. This is also when I try to have my last meal of the day.

If available, I try to slip some carbs into this meal: bread, pasta, potatoes, popcorn, something starchy.

Why? Because carbohydrates influence cortisol and sleep, and cortisol is a stress hormone that can interfere with sleep.

Not a lot of carbs, mind you. Just enough to help me wind down.

I try not to overeat at this meal because I want to be done digesting before I head to bed.

I finish with my sleep-inducing cocktail.

I mix it in milk because I prefer the taste this way, and because milk may contribute to sleep quality.

A scoop of collagen and a scoop of unflavoured, homemade electrolytes. I've found this combination helpful as part of my nighttime routine, including reducing interruptions to my sleep.

I take my magnesium supplement and fish oil at this time because of their potential to improve sleep quality.

Of course, what works for me won't necessarily work for everyone. But I've spent a lot of time experimenting with ways to improve my sleep, and this is the routine I've settled on.

After dinner is my time to relax.

Spend time with family. Read. Watch Netflix. Listen to a podcast.

Nothing stressful or work-related.

I prepack my gym bag and my food for the next day. I lay out my work clothes and anything I might need so that everything is ready, and I won’t have to search for it in the morning when I’m getting ready.

These are small things. But small things add up.

Somewhere between 7 and 9pm, sleepiness hits me. That’s when I retire.

Sometimes I’ll read a book in bed until I get drowsy, but if I’ve done everything right, I’m too sleepy for that, and I’m out almost as soon as my head touches the pillow.

Tomorrow is already underway.

My Morning Routine: Reaping the Benefits of a Good Setup

Somewhere between 4 and 5:30am, I wake up.

Yes, I set an alarm just in case, but I am usually up an hour or two before it goes off.

Which is nice because it provides me with some quiet, uninterrupted work time that gives me a head start on the day.

My routine:

One Korean Duolingo lesson. Complete my gratitude journal. Write one thousand words. Edit a story.

Put on a podcast and listen while I throw in the laundry and prepare breakfast.

If the sun is up, I work outside on my deck to catch those early morning rays of light, which help regulate your circadian rhythm.

Because: setup.

Morning light helps signal to my body when it's time to be awake, supporting the natural rhythm that will help me feel sleepy again in the evening.

Even my morning routine is setting up the next night.

After breakfast: brush my teeth, do the dishes, bring in the laundry, and spend 10 minutes on rope flow while I listen to music on my headphones.

Rope flow is a bit of movement practice that helps me work on coordination and mobility. It's also a pleasant way to get moving before the workday begins.

I’ve got a lot on the go.

I’ve done more work before most people wake up than some folks get done in a day.

And then, I start my workday.

Each day is a big lift. And a successful lift requires a good setup.

The Difference Between Starting Prepared and Starting Behind

For most folks, waking up looks like getting startled out of bed by the alarm and then scrambling around, feeling like they are already falling behind as they race against time to get their life in order to face another chaotic day.

What a way to start.

And how much of that morning chaos could have been avoided with a little preparation the night before?

I'm not suggesting everyone needs to wake up at 4am, write a thousand words, or adopt my particular evening routine.

The point isn't to copy my schedule.

It's to recognize that the way you finish one day can determine how effectively you begin the next.

This applies to fitness, too.

If you've decided to start strength training, improve your mobility, or make exercise a regular part of your life, success often depends on what happens before you ever set foot in the gym.

Packing your gym bag. Planning your workouts. Making room in your schedule. Getting enough sleep.

None of these things requires extraordinary strength, discipline, or athletic ability.

But they make it easier to show up consistently.

And consistency, whether you're learning to cycle a barbell or working to maintain your strength and independence as you age, is where much of the progress happens.

Start Tomorrow Today

I never did manage to learn how to shoot pool, but I did develop skill in cycling a barbell.

And cycling days, too.

Because there are a lot of them back-to-back, and the more skillfully we handle them, the easier they are to get through.

And it all really comes down to a rather simple perception shift.

Your morning becomes easier today if you think of your day as starting yesterday.

Try it out.

When you go home tonight, think of this evening before you go to bed as the start of your next day.

Make all the necessary preparations. Set a plan for what your morning will look like.

Start tomorrow today.

See how it changes things.

If you get this skill down, with a bit of practice, shark that you are, I bet you’ll be running the table on life in no time at all.