The Performance Triad: Sleep, Activity, and Nutrition
A body in balance is one positioned to perform at a high level. Created by the US Army, the Performance Triad, or P3, is a philosophy designed to promote outstanding performance physically, cognitively, and emotionally. The Performance Triad focuses on three key pillars: sleep, activity, and nutrition. Each of these elements is vital individually but focusing on all three components together optimizes performance. Here’s how the P3 can help you excel.
Healthy Behaviors in Balance
You can’t out-train a bad diet, goes the common refrain. Nor can you out-train a lack of sleep or try to make up for a lack of physical activity by eating well. To prime your body for optimum health and performance, you need to be mindful of how you’re fueling your body, exerting it, and letting it rest. When you get these three elements in balance, you’ll boost your readiness and resilience – no matter what life throws at you.
The basic tenets of the P3 are:
- Get enough quality sleep
- Move well and often
- Improve your nutrition
More granularly, the Army’s P3 targets are:
- Get 8 hours of quality sleep a day
- Aim for at least 10,000 steps (ideally 15,000 steps) daily
- Eat 8+ servings of fruits and vegetables a day
- Do 2+ days resistance training and 1+ day mobility training weekly
- Do 150 minutes (ideally 225+) aerobic exercise weekly
- Avoid caffeine 6 hours before bed
- Refuel 30-60 minutes after exercising
These targets and what they look like in practice may vary depending on your individual goals, needs, and preferences, and should be complemented with other healthy social, emotional, work-life, and physical behaviors.
Create a Foundation for Great Performance
The Performance Triad creates the building blocks you need to optimize your performance in all areas of your life. Moving, resting, and eating well positions you to work at your full potential, improve your vital stats, and boost your social and emotional wellness. When you’ve achieved a performance triad, you can further dial in your habits and routine to elevate your outcomes and strive for new goals.
However, modern life doesn’t always make attaining this kind of balance easy. Many of us are time-poor and overloaded with information. That’s why Optimum Human exists. A world-class human performance center, we offer state-of-the-art fitness equipment, recovery facilities, and individualized nutrition guidance to help you reach your performance triad simply and organically. Our holistic, science-led programs and recommendations are tailored to your individual needs, putting you on a path towards optimal performance across every facet of your day.
To explore what Optimum Human has to offer and see how we can help you achieve that all-important performance triad, give us a call or drop by.