How's This for a Goal....

I want THIS dress in December

JP Fitness Second Half of '08 Challenge

Runs from August 1st to December 31st, must set between 3 and 6 goals and post monthly about your progress.

So here are my goals:

1. Weight goal - 175, I would like to be 165 by December 31st but I think that is an unrealistic goal.
2. Size goal - 14, I have a formal party to go to the first week in December and I would love to be able to look awesome in my dress. (a 12 would also be really cool! I think I may have been 12 last time I wore a 12, okay that may be a bit of an exageration)
   
3. Workout goal - I will incorporate one exercise in each workout that I hate. I have a tendency to avoid things I can't stand, namely single leg work and cardio. So BSS and lunges will be finding their way into my workouts.
4. Performance goal - 10 real push-ups. Right now I can only do them on my knees, I really want to work up to doing them on my toes.
   

Warp Speed Day 21

Weight - 223.4

I am calling an end to Warp Speed today.

Overall I really liked the program. It definitely did not provide me with enough recovery time. I will be revisiting the program at a later date and hopefully I will be in a better position to handle the lack of recovery.

I lost 7lbs and 2 dress sizes so I am thrilled with my results even though I didn't finish. Tomorrow I will take final measurements and maybe some pictures.

I will be adopting a TNT approach to diet and moving into a strength focused program. Because I am fairly new to weight training I should still be able to lose significant body fat. I am excited for a change of pace. I have been focusing on fat loss for several weeks now. Although I should probably continue to do so, I think it is time to focus on some new goals for a little while. It will also be nice to do pure strength training during the summer when it is too freakishly hot to do anything remotely cardio related. (To think, people actually vacation here!)

So here are my goals for the next few months.

By September 1st I would like to:

1. Drop below 190lbs while losing only fat
2. Deadlift my body weight
3. Do 5 "real" pushups
4. Be in a size 14 (last time I was 190 I was in 16 but I think this time around I will be smaller at 190)
   

Stop Working Out and Training!

Great post from the Simple Strength blog about failing.

This is where the "Practice" comes in. When we stop working out, stop training and simply "Practice" to do what we do better, more mindfully, the results come.

As long as we hold ourselves up to someone elses ideal we will fall short. And that failing might just be the thing that stops you making the effort to "practice" today.

So, make your own mistakes. Fail on you own terms. The end result will be your Path, your Way. How damn exciting is that!

This really speaks to me because I know I need to make my "workout" into a "daily practice". Instead of viewing the current training program as a means to an end, I need to start thinking of it as stepping stones on the path. That path includes "exercise" stepping stones, "food" stepping stones, "rest" stepping stones, etc.; all being an important part of my "Practice". Without using each and every stone, the journey down the path will be much harder and you run the risk have having to turn around and go back.

So here's to paying attention to each and every stone and not straying too far from the path!

A Blueprint for Goal Achievement

Strategies to Reach Any Goal

-- By Mike Kramer, Staff Writer

It was just a coffee table. A resting place for coffee cups and gatherer of used magazines. Normally, it would have no meaning for me. But because I invented this end table and scraped my knuckles raw for it…I was a proud papa.

This Christmas gift to my wife was more than a hobbyist’s diversion. It taught me how to succeed at anything in life. I’m now confident that I can achieve any goal I set my mind to.

Why did it have this effect? Because in the process of making this end table, I underwent a textbook case of how goal achievement is supposed to work. The whole project was full of lessons that can be applied to any goal:

A Vision
In my mind, I knew what it should look like. I got it down on paper right away. As I measured and cut, I continually checked my product against this vision.

A Plan
Before I did anything, I drew up a detailed blueprint on several sheets of graph paper.

A Timeline (and a Deadline)
Each workday was planned, including the steps I would achieve each day. Christmas Eve was the built-in deadline.

Action Steps
Each day I focused on only a few steps at a time—without worrying about the others. I trusted that if I created the legs first, then the sides, followed by the top, it would all come together according to my plan.

Motivation
It was for my wife. That (along with an immoveable deadline) kept me in the workshop at every possible moment. I didn’t procrastinate and didn’t need to be reminded.

Lots of Help
My dad helped me devise the plan. When I got stuck, my friend Chris gave me ideas, suggesting the perfect tools at the perfect times. In the end, it wouldn’t have been half as good without their help.

Good Resources
Woodworking depends a lot on time, patience, and having the right tools (emphasis on the right tools). Because I had all of these, my table making was less of a frustration, and more of a piece of cake.

Persistence
If something didn’t turn out just right, I moved around it and adapted. I didn’t let one step back stop me from moving forward.

Learning Curve
In the beginning, I had no idea what I was doing! I had never even used half of the tools (and I certainly didn’t know what a bevel was). But, by taking things one step at a time, I learned what I needed and grew more confident.

All of these strategies combined gave me a sense of invincibility. I became convinced that as long as I took my time, followed my plan, and used the right tools, there was no way I could fail. Now I’m also convinced that I can follow the same strategy with other goals in the future.

And I thought I was just making a coffee table!

March Goals

I didn't meet all of my February goals but that is mainly because I switched from BFL to NRoL4W half way through. I did get to both of the doctor's appointments, the boys and I have started biking, and I am in Week2 of my running program.

March Goals:

Exercise goals:

• Continue with and stay on target with NRoL4W.
• Complete Week 3 of my running program.
• Work on gait training daily.
• Continue biking with the boys.
• Start roller blading with the boys.
  

Specific NRoL4W goals:

• Increase squat weight to 75lbs.
• Reduce push up angle to 30%
• Increase bent row weight to 75lbs.
• Move to the bench for step ups
• Increase dead lift weight to 95lbs.
• Increase shoulder press weight to 15lbs.
• Increase pullover to 20 lbs.
• Add weight to lunges
  

Food goals:

• Start pre planning and pre cooking dinner meals, utilizing OAMC techniques and the crockpot.
• Prepare breakfast foods in advance each week on Sundays.
• Increase the amount of protein each day.
  

Goals for the end of NRoL4W Stage 1 (ends April 6th):

• Goal weight is 205, but more importantly I would like to drop a dress size. I have a bunch of 18s teasing me in the top of my closet!
• Reduce my BF% by 3%.
• Reduce my over all measurements by 10"
  

Goals for the end of the year:

• I want to run a 7 minute mile.
• I want to look so hot at my hubby's Christmas party people wonder if he got remarried! LOL
• I want to be in a size 14 and have to buy a whole new wardrobe for Christmas.
• I want to finish the Autism Society Walk in May in under 45 minutes and I want to finish the Breast Cancer walk in October in under 30 minutes.

Why am I Doing BFL?

My over arching reasons...

• To learn how to balance my protein, carb and fat intake. Since I don't eat much meat I know I have been eating too many carbs. I also know I use the excuse , "but it's a good fat", a little too often.
• To develop a workout discipline that will allow me to make significant gains and lean muscle mass and significant losses in body fat. Not that I ever plan on entering a Miss Olympia tournament, but for the longest time I have wanted to have muscle definition; and a bit more than the average woman would be grand!
• To follow a plan that's sole focus is not on the food I eat. I do find the BFL food plan to be restrictive, especially since I can't have dairy and most of the food I eat is considered a carb. But it will force me to think about what I eat, develop new strategies for meal planning and examine my desire to avoid meat.

My immediate reasons...

• To kick start my lazy ass into do something about how fat it is! Seems harsh but it is true!
• To lose weight. I know that really isn't the focus of BFL but I also know enough about human physiology to know that at 240 pounds, eating right and working out is going to make the weight start falling off. I also think that with BFL, I will develop habits that will make that weight loss continue past the 12 week period.

My goals for this 12 weeks...

• Get down to a weight of 205. I really want to be 200 but I think that is an unrealistic goal. Losing two pounds a week, I would hit 211. I also think goals should be set a hair higher than you think you are capable of achieving. As you have probably read in my previous post, I am a scale hater, so if I don't hit the exact number I want, I will survive. I don't know what to expect measurement wise so I chose not to try to come up with a measurement goal. However, if I can get into the the stack of pants in the top of my closet at the end of 12 weeks I will be ecstatic.
  
• Start training for a 5K. Right now I am doing a modified version of Couch to 5K but by the end of this challenge I want to begin an official training program. I want to finish the Autism Society Walk in May in under 45 minutes and I want to finish the Breast Cancer walk in October in under 30 minutes.

My goals for the rest of this year

• I want to run a 7 minute mile.
• I want to look so hot at my hubby's Christmas party people wonder if he got remarried! LOL
• I want to be in a size 14 and have to buy a whole new wardrobe for Christmas.
• I want to complete one more BFL Challenge, officially this time.
  

C25K and other Musings

Originally posted 2 - 4 - 08

I have come to the realization that a runner I am not! However, I will be one! LOL Dammit!

I started C25K Week 1 and it totally killed me. Partially because I have never run before and partially because I have this yet undiagnosed chest thing (probably asthma). So instead of quitting (which I probably would have done last year) I have decided to do two "warm-up" weeks prior to starting C25K Week 1 again. So I will do two weeks of very short run intervals and work up to the 60 second intervals in Week 1. Right now I am doing what I call "C25K Week -1" where I am running 30 seconds and walking 2 minutes and repeating for 20 minutes. I do that for one more day and then start "C25K Week 0" where I will run 30 seconds, walk 90 seconds, run 45 seconds, walk 90 seconds, repeat for 20 minutes.

I decided to pull out my Weight Watchers stuff again. This time around is a bit more difficult. Since I can't have dairy anymore all of the good low point stand bys are out of the question. For instance, there are a number of 1 point breads out there but I can't eat them because they all have whey in them. The only store bought hamburger buns I can eat are 3 points each. I considered Core but since I eat almost no meat I find the no pasta, no cracker, no bread rule a bit confining. So I am sticking with points but I am not being militant about them. That may come back to bite me but I would rather make healthy choices than low point ones.

So now for my February goals...

C25K
Ideally: I would like to finish Week 2.
Realistically: I will finish week 1.

Push-ups
Ideally: I would like to be able to do 10 real push ups in proper form.
Realistically: I will do 5 real push ups in proper form.

Biking
Ideally: I would like to see the boys and I go biking three times a week.
Realistically: The boys and I will schedule one day a week to bike and follow through with it.

Medically
There is no ideal goal here. These will get done.
I will see the Podiatrist and find out exactly what is wrong with my feet.
I will see the Pulmonologist and find out what is wrong with my lungs!

So there they are. Feel free to call me on any one (or three) of them!!