Goal Setting: Part 2

One Step At A Time....

Last time I talked about the success I had with goal setting.

I had another success two years into my enlistment, when I decided to get serious about putting on some muscle.  Most of my teenage years as a young karate student I weighed about  175-180lbs at my full adult height of 6’2”.  I was extremely lean; about 9% body fat.  I didn’t really like being skinny, so I finally decided I would focus solely on putting on muscle mass.  I focused on eating more, training for strength and cutting back on my cardio.  In about a year and a half I was up to almost 200lbs and I still had my sixpack intact.

Before

175 lbs April 2008

After

195 lbs September 6, 2009

So what changed?  I had struggled with trying to put on muscle before but it didn’t work.  What changed was I had a single solitary focus, to gain muscle; before my energy and focus had been split too many times, between too many goals.  Now I had a single goal, I could focus all my attention on that one thing.  And like my karate days, when I had one goal, I stopped worrying about the details so much and just let the process happen.  I stopped micromanaging things, over-obsessing about my workouts, programing structures and all that stuff that can get so complicated.  I have maintained that muscle gain to this day and continue to whittle down the fat and build new muscle.  My current fitness goal is to complete the training program I am on right now.  That’s it, just stick with this routine.  It is a solid routine so I know if I stick to it, everything else will be fine.  Show up, work hard, and be kept accountable.

photo source:  http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/307623_10151305349982988_350305662_n.jpg

Actually my girlfriend is helping me out with that a lot these days.  She has been my accountability buddy.  With my schedule and where I live, it is impractical to have a workout buddy.  And my training is somewhat unorthodox so a lot of people wouldn’t be into doing my routine.  None of that matters when the person who keeps you accountable doesn’t train with you.  Like I talked about before, having a workout buddy is great for many reasons, but it isn’t necessary.  Just get someone who is close to you to check up on you.  Two more weeks and I will have completed a very tough and productive 10 week cycle.  I have wanted to quit a couple of times, but my girlfriend kept me on track and I’m glad she did.

photo source:  http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/380014_10151295207612988_157163933_n.jpg

Now for your goals, I recommend setting something meaningful to you, something personal and that you really want.  It should also be measurable, saying you want to get in shape isn’t measureable, how do you know when you get there?  And goals need to have a deadline, it needs to have some type of urgency so you keep working towards it and don’t stop.  Be realistic!  Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was the perfect body, so be reasonable.  And lastly, once you have your goal set, don’t fret and worry about every little thing.  I was a big victim of this, overanalyzing my routines, constantly changing them, not having faith in what I was doing, just don’t fall into that trap.  I eventually learned, one goal at a time, set it, and forget it! As Ron Popeil would say.  Get your goal, and stick with it for a set amount of time, I say at least 6 weeks.  After that you can reassess and tweak it if need be, but don’t keep changing it every week or you won’t get very far.  Take these tips and use them to your advantage, best of luck in your goal setting.