Five Systems Keeping Me Consistent Right Now: Early Mornings, Habit Engines, Bulk Hydration, Smarter Sleep, and TUT

One of the biggest challenges for former athletes is losing the daily structure that sports once provided. The training block. The practice schedule. The accountability of teammates. When that disappears, motivation alone often isn’t enough to fill the gap.

That’s why in this Former Athlete Society Accountability Call, I break down five tactical strategies that every former athlete can use to regain consistency and keep progressing—even when life, energy, or discipline feels like it’s slipping.

What You’ll Learn in This Call

1️⃣ The 45-Minute Morning Move

Here’s the simple shift: go to bed 45 minutes earlier so you can wake up 45 minutes earlier without losing sleep. That quiet window before the house wakes up is gold—no texts, no noise, no rush. Use it to train, to get your steps, to prep breakfast, or to chip away at a deep goal like writing or learning.

I share how I stack the routine the night before so it’s friction-free in the morning: clothes laid out, coffee or hydration ready, workout planned, and a short list for what I’ll actually do.

It’s not about being a morning person—it’s about building a protected window where you can’t be interrupted. Over time your body starts to expect this rhythm and it gets easier to hold.

2️⃣ Systems Beat Motivation (Every Time)

Motivation feels great, but it fades. Systems stick. I reference the ideas you’ve seen in “Atomic Habits,” “The Power of Habit,” and “Thinking in Systems,” and then translate them for former athletes: set your cues, design your environment, create clear checklists for training and food, and decide once.

I walk through my personal system for staying on track when life gets chaotic: calendar blocks for workouts, standard grocery lists, a set warm-up flow, and automatic triggers like “when the shoes go on, I start the first set.”

You’ll hear how I remove decisions so the routine runs almost on autopilot. When you reduce friction and bake in cues, you don’t need a pep talk—the system carries you.

3️⃣ The Hydration Batch Hack (115 Ounces, No Excuses)

Tiny roadblocks kill consistency. If you’ve ever skipped electrolytes because you didn’t feel like mixing another bottle, this one’s for you.

I fill three bottles at home every time: a 50-ounce YETI Yonder that goes immediately in the freezer, a 25-ounce Yonder in the fridge, and a 40-ounce Rambler with a straw that stays in my hand. I mix the electrolytes in bulk so the flavor is set and I don’t have to keep measuring during a busy day. That gives me 115 ounces ready before noon and removes a hidden friction point.

You’ll hear exactly how I set it up, the timing that works, how I keep it cold, and why the straw lid helps me drink more without thinking. It’s simple, but it’s powerful because it makes the right choice the easy choice.

4️⃣ Sleep Tracking That Actually Helps

You can’t fix what you don’t notice. I show how I use Bevel Health with my Apple Watch to log sleep, but you could use Oura, WHOOP, or Ultrahuman.

The point is to journal behavior alongside the data so you can see patterns you’d otherwise miss. Late meals, stress from a tough session, screen time, hydration timing—these show up as changes in your readiness and sleep quality.

I explain the tags I track, how I taper fluids at night to cut down bathroom trips, and the signals I pay attention to in the morning so I adjust my training load. It’s not about obsessing over a score; it’s about learning your own body and making the next day a little cleaner.

5️⃣ Time Under Tension (TUT) When Energy Is Low

Cutting calories can leave you flat. On those days I trade heavy weight for controlled tempo: slow concentric, brief pause, four-to-five-second eccentric. Ten reps can deliver sixty seconds of tension.

That’s serious work with less risk. I credit Dante Trudel for driving this home: quality tension builds and protects muscle even when the gas tank is shallow. I share how I plug TUT into my main lifts, how I pick loads, when I shut it down, and how I pair it with breath control and tight rest periods.

This lets me stay consistent and avoid ego lifting when the body needs a smarter approach.

Who this helps: former athletes who want the structure back without living in the weight room, coaches who coach all day and still need their own training, and anyone who prefers simple systems over hype. If you try one thing, try the 45-minute morning this week and TUT on your low-energy days—you’ll feel the difference fast.

If this helps, hammer the like, share with a teammate who used to grind next to you, and tell me which system you’re going to run first.