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Fight Science Made Simple is for fighters and martial artists who want to train harder, recover faster, and stay on the mat for life.
Each week, we break down strength & conditioning, nutrition, recovery, and mindset into straightforward strategies you can actually use in training. Simple, practical, and backed by real fight science—so you can keep chasing your potential, performing at your peak, and becoming the fighter you’ve always wanted to be.
What is good? Welcome to Episode 9 of the Fight Science made simple podcast. If you're new, I'm your host coach Adam Snyder. I'm a lifelong martial artist and performance and recovery coach, and I'm an anime fighter. Should I affect a triple threat?So we're talking about I'm happy to have you here. We do this podcast every single Monday. We talk about certain conditioning, nutrition, recovery, mindset, everything related to performance and recovery for fighters, combat athletes and martial artists.My goal with this podcast, like the name of the podcast stage is to make five fight signs simple. All the exercise science, sport science, the strategies that go into performance and recovery for combat sports are [...0.6s] pretty confusing, and it's a lot.And so what I want to do is take these complex topics and subjects and turn them into something that's easy and digestible for you to understand, and then did turn it into actual steps that you can apply to your training, to your schedule, to your routine today. Um, and so [...0.4s] if you've been watching the podcast, thank you.We're in a ton of countries right now, which is really cool. And we just crossed the two month Mark of making these things, which is amazing. Um.If you're new again, welcome. The best thing that you can do to support this podcast is I'm planning on making these for as long as the internet will let me make things, you know, things change, whatever, but I'm locked in to make these happen to.The best thing that you can do to support this podcast to allow more episodes to happen is to first follow the podcast. I really appreciate you followed so you don't miss any of the episodes that are dropping.And the second thing is if you have any friends or teammates or training partners that you feel could benefit from what we're talking about in these episodes, then please share with them because it would mean a lot and it would help them a lot. And it's how we grow as a community of like communities, a beautiful community. Um. But this journey can also be a little bit challenging and a little bit lonely.And so the bigger community that we have, the bigger collective that we have, uh, the better we're all gonna be able to grow together. And also, if you don't know, I actually live stream these podcast episodes when I film them on Mondays over on my Instagram.So if you don't follow me on Instagram, athlete Science Collective, go over there and shoot me a follow. Um, I have a ton of awesome content which are most of my content goes out, and that's where all these episodes get live stream as well.So without further ado, let's jump in episode 9. Today is a great episode and a really [...0.6s] or in episode. We're talking about how to navigate the holidays.Holidays are right around the quarter, literally this week. In the US, Thanksgiving is on Thursday, and this time of year, I know is an exciting time of year, [...0.5s] but it also can be a challenging and stressful time of year.You have work deadlines, you have to get finished, friends, family events, parties that you have to go to. There's a lot of opportunities to eat some tasty food, um, [...0.4s] and it can just be a little bit hectic and chaotic and stressful.And a lot of people have a hard time staying on track with their fight, martial arts, combat sports, fitness goals [...0.4s] during this time of year. And it's kind of baked into our society, right?New Year's resolutions are kind of a scapegoat to allow you to fall behind, [...0.5s] lose progress, lose momentum, get off track and wait until the next year.That's why Fight Science Collective and you got my Jim Gracie pack, we call it separation season because this season the holiday season is an incredible opportunity to separate yourself from everybody else separate yourself from the competition.While everybody else is getting lazy, everybody else is falling behind, while everybody else is making excuses, we are staying dedicated, locked in and getting ahead. And that's what we're gonna be talking about in today's episode.The other side of that, which is really important is that, you know we have a really, really great opportunity to separate ourselves and get ahead in the competition. And at the same time, [...0.8s] the future isn't guaranteed. All that we have is right now, is this present moment.And so I'm a big believer in balancing being super focused and dedicated to our goals while also prioritizing our relationships and loved ones, and cultivating them and nurturing them and growing them.So we can still have an immense amount of connection and joy and fulfillment in the present moment while also pursuing greatness. Whether you're trying to be a pro fighter or you just wanna be the best possible protector for your family, [...0.5s] these are really, really big goals and important.We don't want to sacrifice too much of your time and connections and relationships and make those happen.Some [...0.7s] sacrifices need to happen because you're trying to do big things and [...0.4s] you can't have it all. But the holiday time, I think it's important that we find a way to balance spending time with friends and family, recharging, resetting [...1.2s] and getting ready to crush it in the New Year.And both things can exist or we can separate ourselves without losing momentum in progress while also simultaneously [...0.6s] connecting with our loved ones and enjoying the holiday season.That's what we're gonna cover in today's episode. And I think this is such an important topic for me because [...0.4s] I have lived on both extremes of spectrum.I have been the guy that has [...0.6s] sacrificed family time and honestly made [...0.9s] holidays miserable because I was so fucking dedicated to getting my training and being on top of my nutrition. I couldn't go to this party and like, I couldn't spend time with my family here.And I had to go to the gym at this time, and it was just it wasn't sustainable for my relationships. And honestly, it wasn't [...0.9s] in the long term, the net return on my progress [...0.6s] wasn't worth it. I was getting that much better to be just basically an asshole and sacrifice some of my family time.And so that wasn't working. And then I tried to do the other side of things where it's like, okay, I work so hard year round that I'm going to take the holiday season and just do absolutely nothing and recharge and spend time with family and, and just focus on that.And that didn't work because [...0.4s] I actually really like enjoying and training and nutrition and crushing my goals and working and coaching. Like I know a lot of you do.It's, it's my passion, it's what drives me. And so when I don't do those things, I start to feel a bit low and a little bit depressed. And I don't have the energy and I don't understand why. Then I get past the holiday seasons, like, oh yeah, fuck, I like training. I should have been training more.And so it's about striking that balance and finding that happy medium of spending time with your loved ones while also [...0.4s] crushing it with your training and separating yourself from the competition, right, separating two.So I'm gonna give you the exact framework that I use for this. We actually covered this in even more detail in our client only masterclass called the Champions Code, and to have our coaching program. If you like, the Fight Science made simple podcast.We actually do a live podcast with the Fight Science clients that we work with every single month.And this month we actually did my Coach Adams Holiday Survival Guide. So I'm not gonna go into all of the details of what we covered inside of the private master class, because that's [...0.5s] for the people that are on our program.But I am gonna kind of give you the framework and the outline what we talked about. And it's gonna be really, really helpful, especially with Thanksgiving right around the corner. Just a couple days, they'll be stay Archer.Okay, so [...1.9s] excuse me, I'm a little sick still, or at least coming over being a little sick. So I'm gonna [...0.8s] get a sip of water real quick. [...1.9s] Alrighty, let's jump back into it.Okay, so the very first thing in order for you to navigate the holidays successfully, stay on track with your goals to separate yourself from the competition and still enjoy [...0.4s] the holidays is your mindset. Like, everything, your mindset is the most important thing.You go into the holiday season thinking this is gonna be so stressful. I'm not gonna be able to do everything that I wanna do.Man, my family so annoying to be around. There's so much food. I'm going to gain so much weight. I'm gonna get set back on my goals. Blah, blah, blah blah blah blah if that's your mindset, then that's what's going to happen.Okay, so [...1.6s] first and foremost, it's really important that you are so clear on your mental, and you have your vision for what this holiday season is going to look like, and you're very intentional with the goals that you set during the holiday time.One thing that I felt guilty of is over estimating how much I can accomplish in a certain amount of time.So I think I can do everything, I can get these workouts in and I can get this training and then I can get this nutrition, and then I can get time with my family, and then I can meditate and I can cram all this in and then I end up [...1.0s] just playing catch up and feeling like I'm in a whirlwind.So you have to be really, really realistic with what your goals are and what you're trying to accomplish during this holiday season. Like [...0.4s] what equipment do you have access to? Right?Be prepared, have a plan right ahead of time. So you have the mindset like, okay, I'm gonna go in, holidays aren't gonna be that stressful. I'm gonna do the training that I can do. I'm gonna control the nutrition that I can control.And I'm going to be very intentional with spending time with my family and being present with them. So you have that mindset, you have those intentions set, and then you can start creating a plan around that. And the plan is, is very simple, right?Like, you know when your holiday events are, like, you know on Thursday, whose house you're going to, if you're going anywhere, if someone's coming over and you're hosting, you know what's going on.If you have multiple locations that you need to go, if it's happening over the course of multiple days, like you don't find out that shit the morning of Thanksgiving when you wake up or the morning of Christmas, right?Like, you know ahead of time, so plan ahead of time, like, okay, these are the family events that I'm going to, these are the parties that I'm going to, and, you know, where you have to be and when, [...0.4s] know your gym schedule, right?Your gym is either closed or they have a modified schedule, [...0.4s] right? If it's your weightlifting gym, they're probably you're just open in the morning hours, okay?If it's your martial arts gym, they're probably like closed on Thanksgiving and running an open that on Friday, right? Like, know if there's a modified schedule, know if they are, your gym is closed and have a plan for that.Don't just wake up in the morning like, oh fuck, like, the gym is closed, thought I was gonna train today, or oh man, like, I love train today, like, what can I get in when? Like, know what your gym schedule is, and then correlate your training around the gym schedule.It's pretty simple. Okay, so have that all set and napped out. And then the next part about planning is like knowing your personal goals with your fitness, with your training, with your fight career, with your performance. Right?If you are [...0.6s] out of camp, [...0.5s] okay, you don't have any fights coming up, you're not trying to make weight, you don't have any specific weight goals, then [...0.4s] it's a good idea just to maintain your weight.If you know what your off camp walk around weight is, and you're sitting at your off camp walk around weight, then [...0.4s] don't go over your off camp walk around weight. Like, maintain that weight if you are in a camp.Like, I know a lot of people are trying to close up. You're strong and there's still a couple fights to cap out the air, and that's amazing you're getting after it.You're gonna have to be a little bit more disciplined with what you're doing. You have to know, okay, I eating this many calories every single day. Like, know your calories, know your macronutrients, how much protein, how many carbs, how much fat are you eating?Have that locked in. So then when you do go to your family events, you can plan it out. All right, I can only eat this much Turkey, I can eat this many potatoes, I can have a little bit of stuffing, I can have a bite of pumpkin pie.It's not going to kill you as long as you know what your nutrition is, so have that plan ahead of time. Okay, so you have the mindset, [...0.5s] you have your intention, and you're not gonna be too stressed out about the holidays.You have your intention. If I'm gonna get some training in [...0.5s] under control, everything that I can control humanly possible with my nutrition.But I'm also going to be present with my friends and family. I'm be filled full of joy. I'm going to leave the energy right, like, you, you have all that mindset and intention set, then you can start playing. These are the sessions that my gym has available. This is when my gym is open.These are my calories that I can eat for the day. Okay, and you, kind of, map it out, diving into the nutrition a little bit more detail, one thing that I like to do.If you are [...1.4s] on a strict [...0.6s] weight goal that you're trying to hit, maybe you're really serious about going up away class, or you're really serious about him being in the middle of a cut right now. You getting ready to fight, or you just wanna lose some body fat.I would plan out your nutrition the night before, so I would look, okay, this is how many calories I can eat tomorrow. These are my macros for the day look into tomorrow. These are the events that I'm going to all right. And then throughout the day, make sure that you're actually eating normal meals.I'm a big believer in the 80: 20 rule. So 80% of the time you're locked in, and 20% of the time you can, kind of, be off track a little bit, and you'll still be okay. I don't even wanna say off track, it's just not gonna be as dialed in.So if [...0.6s] eighty percent of your food and calorie intake throughout the day is locked in and dialed to your plan, then 20% of your intake can be a little bit off the plan.And you're going to be fine for a day or two for the holidays, not going to fuck you up, and every other day super dialed in. If you're fucking lazy and not disciplined, and making excuses, and not following your shit every other day of the year, then this doesn't apply to you. Like, you have to figure out how to lock in.If you're already locked in all the time, then you can be a little bit more relaxed in. This day or two is not going to fuck you up, unless you're, like, fighting next week.Okay, if you're fighting next week, then [...0.4s] sorry, you gotta be fucking disappointed. You can't have pumpkin pie, you gotta fucking make weight. But other than that, [...0.7s] you can probably be a little bit less.So if you're, if you're just for a little bit 20%. So if you're looking to the next day, the night before, what I typically like to do is first and foremost smash your protein goal, one gram of protein per pound of body weight.So you can look into the day. Okay, this is what I'm training. These are the meals that I'm gonna have before my Thanksgiving meal. I'm not going to starve myself the entire day. I'm gonna make sure that I hit my protein goal, and then this is what I'm going to have at Thanksgiving. Some Turkey, you know, mostly protein gonna get my veggies.What I like to do when we [...0.5s] create plates for our athletes. We call a performance plate, and so half of that plate is typically carbohydrates, a quarter of that plate is protein, and a quarter of that plate is vegetables. And so you still wanna make your plate look [...0.5s] very similar to that performance plate.Maybe our carbs are just a little bit lower, cause you're gonna be having more carbs throughout the day, throughout the evening, throughout the family event, throughout the party.So maybe during dinner, you know, you have less carbs. But for the most part, like, protein heavy whole food sources [...0.6s] getting a lot of vegetables in. And then you can have it, like a little cranberry sauce in there, you can put a little bit of gravy on top of your mashed potatoes. You know, you can have a bite of the sweet potato with marshmallows, right?Like, you can put a little bit in there as long as you fit it in, which is really important. Okay, so have your mindset have your intention set for how you're going to spend your holiday time, then plan ahead of time.Know when your gyms are open, know what training sessions you're going into, know how much you're going to eat, what your calories, protein, carbs, fats are for that day. Plan it out the night before, prioritize protein, drink a fuck ton of water. Like those things are going to set you up to have a lot of success.The next thing which is really, really important for you is [...0.4s] your recovery. Like, [...0.5s] for whatever reason, I used to do this all the time.When the holidays will come around, my recovery would 10. Like, for whatever reason, I would stay up late, I would sleep in late, I wouldn't train as much, I would eat like shit, I would drink a little bit more, I would drink less water.Like all of my habits unraveled and went out the door, just because I wasn't on the same schedule that I was following for the rest of the year. A little bit of chaos and disruption to my schedule, and everything unraveled and fell apart. And this doesn't have to be the case.We just have to be a little bit intentional, and you have to have a plan. And [...0.4s] the beautiful thing about being a human is, like, you have consciousness, and you have control. You can [...0.4s] choose to stay on top and discipline to all the things that you can control in your day. Like, if you take daily supplements, just because it's a holiday, don't skip your daily supplements.All right, if you're hydrated as fuck and drinking a gallon of water every single day, don't stop drinking that water just because it's the holidays.If [...0.5s] sleep is an important thing for your recovery, which is don't stay up all night. Maybe you'll be up a little bit later, cause you're hanging out with Uncle Joey, talking about fucking football, whatever, but don't let it turn into an all night thing.Really be as [...0.5s] on top of your regiment as possible, and as consistent with your normal routine.80, 20 rule, right? Like, if 20%, your little bit off, it's okay, but control as much as you can possibly control the other thing that's going to factor into your [...0.5s] recovery is going to be alcohol consumption. If you drink, [...0.5s] and you may drink a little bit more than normal during holidays, like this happens. I'm not anti alcohol. Um, I, I've been known to have a drink or two and enjoy my time. I'm in a non drinking phase right now.I probably go through phases with alcohol of, like, [...0.7s] drinking for a month or two, and then not drinking for a couple months and then drinking for a month or two, and then not drinking for a couple months I know a lot of you like to drink during the holiday times. I, I think like anything, it's intentional.First of all, foremost, if you're in a fight camp, or you're getting ready for a competition, don't fucking drink. That shit is not gonna serve you. Okay, that's just poison and tanking your recovery.If you're in an off camp, you don't really have anything coming up for [...0.4s] the, until the next year, really.And you do like to enjoy some alcohol, [...0.5s] then, then I would drink a little bit, you know, enjoy some time with your families, but again, being intentional with it, like, if you're drinking to get lasted, if you're drinking to get fucked up, that's probably not the best reason to drink.For me, drinking is [...0.5s] a big [...0.8s] factor in experience in connection, so I like going to places and experiencing new drinks or experiencing new places, or connecting with friends or family or loved ones.And so that's typically what my intention is when I do drink alcohol. Okay, I'm not drinking this holiday season, but if you drink, make sure that you have a good intention behind it, don't go overboard, right?Like, have a couple drinks, drink and then water drink and then water right alternate your alcohol consumption with your water consumption, so you're not [...1.2s] completely blasted and you're not getting too dehydrated. Um, don't fucking drink all day.Like, these drinks are not going to be beneficial for you in the long run, so have a couple drinks at your holiday time. Don't stay up too late and hammering and smash bringing a ton, like, that will set you back.It'll bleed into the next couple of days, especially if you're pretty locked in your round, and you don't drink a lot, and you get blasted, that shit is going to bleed over into the next couple of days.So if you do [...0.6s] choose to [...0.6s] consume some alcohol and have a couple of drinks during holiday seasons, totally cool. Make sure your intention is good, don't go overboard on it, and drink a lot of water to, kind of alternate with it. Okay, um, but but the key here, like anything is moderation, right?Like, I think it's really important that the number one thing is being aware and being intentional and having a plan. And by the way, like, this, these things shouldn't just be for the holiday season.Like, you should always be aware, you should always be intentional, you should always have a plan everything that you do, from what you eat to who you talk to, to the words that you say, to the workouts that you do to how you dress, how you move through life, should have intention [...0.4s] behind it, should have awareness behind it.I think too many of us just move through life unconsciously, and are not aware of why we are doing things that we're doing, why we're saying the things that we're saying, why we're eating the things that we're eating and this is where it becomes, [...0.7s] kind of damaging to your success, whether you're trying to win fights or get in fucking amazing shape, because [...1.0s] you're not even aware of, like, going into the cabinet and grabbing a bag of chips and fucking eating chips. Like, it's not even a conscious decision, and it's an unconscious decision.And so what I wanna challenge you to do this holiday season is just have a little bit more fucking awareness, okay, have a little bit more fucking intention. Know your plan for the holiday season. Know if you're gonna train, great, when are you gonna train?If you're not gonna train, okay, is that a line, like, your goals? Is nothing wrong with that? If it's not, but don't be upset about it, and don't be stressed out about it if you're not getting your training in. Know what you're eating and why you're eating, and, and be intentional with what you're eating. Communicate about it with your family too.Right, like, if you are [...0.5s] choosing to be more strict with your diet this holiday season, or more strict with your time this holiday season again, there's nothing wrong with that.If there's alignment with what you wanna accomplish, and who you are, and what your values are, but talk to your family about it.Hey, Auntie Karen, I'm not going to have your incredible [...0.6s] chocolate chip cookies this year, because I have to lose 20 pounds in the next five weeks to fight a human being in the cage.Like, [...0.6s] have that communication with your family instead of aged assuming them to understand or be, like, being pissed off or upset. Like, when [...0.5s] people are aligned with what you want to accomplish, communication is so fucking important. Okay, so communicate with your family.Um, [...0.5s] I think that's everything that I got with this episode, though it's a short episode, but I think it's an important concept. The same concept applies really to anything. Like, I have one client right now.Her name is CJ, [...0.4s] and this year is a pretty busy time of the year for her, her birthday and then Thanksgiving.She was a multiple families house for Thanksgiving and then rolling to the Christmas time. And so it's back to, back to back to back parties and events [...0.4s] and celebrations and going into the month.And this is why having coaches so great, because going into the month, she communicate with me, like, hey, like, coach, this is what's coming up, and I'm a little bit nervous about my ability to stay on track. She's been on a weight loss journey. She's lost so much fucking weight so far.She's looking amazing. She's amazing. She's a jiu jitsu [...0.4s] and Muay Thai athlete. She's crushing it. She's like, I don't want to lose my progress, but I also want to enjoy my time a little bit. So the framework that I ran through today's episode is the same framework that I ran her through.And what's great about CJ's that she's always showing up, she's always communicating, and we even took her workouts. Like we modified her workouts around the scheduled.She had to make sure, like, if you're traveling a little bit and you'll have normal access to equipment in the gym, well, we're gonna do these workouts instead. And that's the, [...0.5s] that's the power and that's the beauty of having a coach. And so these podcasts are 100% going to help you be better.This is definitely a different kind of episode versus our typical like science breakdown and applying into your training. This is more of like a [...0.5s] practical [...1.4s] organizational tactic into [...0.6s] succeeding during everyday life.Like something holidays. You can definitely get a lot of value and level up by just watching these podcasts. But if you want some help taking things to the next level, then coaching is 100% the way to do it. Um, I would love the opportunity to work with you.We are the best at what we do in terms and conditioning, nutrition, recovery, mindset coaching for fighters, martial artists and combat athletes.We've been doing this thing forever. We were with hundreds of athletes since 2,019 from pros amateurs obvious. And I just fucking killing it, getting a ton of wins, looking amazing, feeling better, crushing it [...0.4s] on the mats. And because I'm not doing it alone.So if you want some help, I'd love the opportunity to help you. The best way to do is to DM me on Instagram. So if you don't follow me on Instagram, I'll put a link [...0.4s] in the show notes on the podcast episode.If your live stream on Instagram, shoot me a DM if you want some help, and we can create a custom plan for you so you don't have to figure all this shit out on your own. You have to guess about it, you have to be uncertain of what you're doing is actually working for you or not.What we'll do is we'll talk about your biggest challenges, we'll talk about what your number one goal is, and then we'll give you a fucking clear roadmap made for you to get you from where you wanna be, get you there as quickly as possible.So if that's something you're interested in, you can check out our Instagram down below.There's more information about I love to help you out. Watch the episode a couple more times. Like I said, that's a short episode today, um, getting back to basics with this in the last ones, a bit longer. So thanks for hanging out.As always, I appreciate you being here. Drop any questions on Instagram, you can drop them in the comments down below.Make sure you follow the podcast, share the podcast with friends, teammates. Enjoy your Thanksgiving if you're in the US and you're celebrating, and until next time. I'll catch you later. [...0.1s][...0.1s]