The Coffee Shop & Bus Stop - Nutrition & Training Concept

A Coffee Shop is a great place to relax, chill and spend large quantities of time enjoying your own and others company. There’s generally no deadlines or expectations.

The Bus Stop is visited when you’re aiming to get somewhere specific. You expect the bus to depart and arrive at a set time and location. Therefore you plan accordingly. We aim to spend the minimal amount of time at Bus Stops, they’re simply the means to an end. 

We use this concept to explain nutrition strategies and training challenges. 

Nutritional Concepts

Coffee Shop Nutrition

Habit based, sustainable, long term nutrition strategies should be the aim for 9-12 months of the year. These might include 5 portions of fruit & veg per day, 2 liters of fluid, consume sugar and alcohol in moderation, eating vegetables only for 2 meals per week.

Coffee Shop Nutrition is built over long periods of time, through trial and error, without deadlines or high expectations, though most will achieve their goals simply with this approach. This is the approach which most should begin with.

Bus Stop Nutrition

Detox diets, ultra-low carb, calorie restriction, strict meal planning are examples of our Bus Stop Strategies. We expect these to provide a fast result, but understand they’re not sustainable.

Bus Stop nutrition strategies are perfect for deadlines such as weddings & holidays or standing on stage, but can also be used during intense training blocks. Furthermore they can be used to kickstart or refresh when motivation is waning.    

The keys to these strategies:

- The start & end date are planned upfront
- You expect the result you’re after...fast
- You’re aware you won’t retain the final outcome indefinitely
- The strategy will involve intense planning, preparation & execution
- The time & effort commitments are large,
- Therefore, certain life aspects maybe put on hold (social events mainly)

What this means for you?

Having a clear picture of the 2 nutrition approaches allows us to plan ahead. You may have a deadline or time period coming up when you’d like to dedicate 3, 7, 14, 21 days etc. to an intense dietary regime (we call these ‘diets).

Want to design a nutritional bus stop challenge? Read this article for more info ===> Nutritional Challenges

Training Concepts

​These same principles can be applied to training scenarios. Large quantities of time should be spent crafting an exercise routine that you can perform, without fail, daily and weekly.

Coffee Shop Training - The Recharge Club

Coffee Shop training sessions or workouts are beneficial but enjoyable, they don't all have to be vomit inducing, they improve our foundations, general fitness, strength and flexibility. In the strength & conditioning world we call this phase General Preparation. You generally prepare yourself for the Bus Stop.

Training variety is not only helpful but essential. Making things social, engaging, light-hearted and fun will ensure the coffee shop is a fun place to be, at stay for the long term.  

The Recharge Club is classed as a Coffee Shop Training Plan. Honestly, the Recharge Club or similar plans are all most people will ever need. 

However, every now and again we just want to let loose, challenge ourselves and see what kind of result we can achieve. 

Bus Stop Training - Challenges & Blocks

Bus Stop training plans are more commonly called Challenges or Training Blocks. The same principles and concepts apply to training challenges as to nutritional challenges. To recap:

- The start and end date are planned upfront - we normally pick a relatively quiet non stressful time. 
- The duration of the plan is predetermined, commonly 5,7,10,14,21 days for a challenge
- Training frequency is planned - normally at least 1 training activity daily, but can also be 2-3 activities per day
- Each challenge chases a specific goal - fat loss, fitness, strength, preseason prep, flexibility etc.

What this means for you?

​Once again having a clear picture of the 2 training approaches allows us to plan ahead. You may have a deadline or time period coming up when you’d like to dedicate 3, 7, 14, 21 days etc. to an intense training regime or challenge.