What are your fitness goals and what's your plan to attain them?

[ZenLefty]

I'm a big believer in having good goals and a good plan. Goals keep you focused, and a plan gives you a path to get there. Good goals are specific, reasonable, and measurable. A good plan is simply something you can expect yourself to do. Consistency is key. You get better results by consistently following a mediocre plan than you would if you occasionally followed a great plan. That's why it's best to keep your goals attainable, and your plan realistic. If you know you're not going to be able to run six days a week, don't plan on doing it.

Without goals and without a plan, you risk wasting a lot of time and getting frustrated at your lack of results. The professional term for this condition is "fuckarounditis." Avoid this condition at all costs.

So here is where you can share your goals and your plan with the rest of us. Writing them down is a great way to keep them in focus. Or make them anew if you currently have none. If desired, I can offer free and (mostly) non-stupid advice. Starting with the advisement to NOT wait until 1 January 2012 to set goals and come up with a plan and call it a New Year's Resolution. Fitness goals should be revisited periodically, say every 8-12 weeks or so. Fitness plans should be revised similarly, if for no other reason than to change things up and avoid getting into a slump.

So I'd love to hear your goals and your fitness plan and even help out with them if I am able.

[ZenLefty]

1. ZenLefty's goals and plan

My current fitness plan takes me through 1 January. It's very leg and core intensive. I've been wondering what I'd like to do next and I think the answer is to take 12 weeks to pack on a little more muscle and develop more overall strength. I'd also like to focus on cardio endurance a bit.

Time period:
12 weeks (2 January through 24 March)

Goals:
Gain 3-5 pounds of muscle
Squat 385 pounds 1 rep max
Improve run time to an 8 minute mile (currently about 9:20)

Plan:
Lift weights three days per week. Run at least twice per week. Continue to stretch and practice yoga.

Monday - Rest, light stretching
Tuesday - Weights
Wednesday - HIIT sprints + core workout
Thursday - Yoga
Friday - Weights
Saturday - HIIT sprints + core workout + punching bag (optional)
Sunday - Weights

Weight routine: Full body drills. Squat, deadlift, calf press, bench press, dips, overhead press, shrugs, cable row, lat pulldown. On Tuesday, start with bench press. On Friday, start with shrugs. On Sunday, start with legs. Keep it balanced.

HIIT sprints: Start off with a warmup and then a 10 minute run. Rest, then sprint 1 minute / walk 2 minutes for 20 - 30 minutes.

Core workout: Incline sit ups, cable pulldowns, side bends. 3-4 sets of 10-20 reps.

Punching bag: 12 rounds at 3 minutes on / 1 minute rest. This is a good endurance workout that I work in for fun.

Diet plan: 3,000 calories per day, 200 grams of protein.


Yeah, I keep a detailed fitness plan. I know, I'm a freak, I admit it. I'm pretty confident that 12 weeks of full body drills will turn some of those calories into muscle. I've done them before and they are my favorite way to gain overall strength. I'm not as confident about improving my run time this way, but I'll work towards improvement and see if that brings any success.

I totally welcome comments and criticism.

[petronius]

5. How do you know how much muscle you've added?

Is it just an estimate from looking in the mirror, or do you assume that say a 3# weight gain during a stretch of training must be muscle, or is it something more complicated?

[ZenLefty]

8. That's a very good question

They say that strength is made in the gym, and muscle is made in the kitchen. Since muscle fibers don't materialize out of thin air, you gotta eat an excess of calories to make gains. The general rule of thumb is that for every 2 pounds gained, 1 pound will be muscle and 1 pound will be fat. This is assuming you're getting an appropriate amount of protein and consistently lifting an appropriate amount of weight. I shoot for .8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass.

The only way to know for sure is to calculate your lean body mass, which essentially is your weight at 0% body fat. There are ways of doing this, the degree of accuracy being inversely proportionate to the cost and inconvenience. I use a combination of things, but primarily I look in the mirror, I use a bioelectrical impedance scale, and I use a measuring tape. I measure around the upper arms, upper legs, calves, chest and waist. If in 12 weeks I've gained 10 pounds and still have a 36" waist and good definition, AND I'm stronger in key areas I'm working on, I'll know I'm on the right track. Conversely, if my clothes are fitting too tight then I'll know I'm on the wrong track.

In the end, because all of these methods can be wildly inaccurate, it's really about knowing your body. Personally I don't care so much about body fat as long as I gain strength and endurance, but I try not to get too thick in the middle.

[Hotler]

19. One way to tell if you are gaining muscle is if....

you are progressing in your strength training. Are you adding reps and or weight to your workouts? An example: I do HIT strength training (high intensity training) slow reps to momentary muscle failure (4-seconds up, 4-seconds down) one set. No less than 6-reps per body part and not much more than 12-reps, and when I hit 12-reps in a workout for an area I add 10%-15% more weight at the next workout, that drops my reps back down to about 6-8 reps and I try for more at each workout. The goal is to add 1-2 more reps each time you train till you reach 12-reps. You should always lift till you can't lift anymore and fight it for a few seconds and the weight pulls you down. Stopping because you hit a certain number of reps doesn't cut it. The last repitition that you can't get is the one you are looking for. It helps to write your workouts down, that way you know from one training day to the next if you are progressing. One thing to remember is that muscles are 70%-75% water just like the world (70%-75% of our world is covered by the oceans). Drinking a gallon of water a day helps keep your muscles volumized and helps with weight loss. In order for muscles to grow they have to have a day off. If you are training 6-days a week you could be over training and the results could come slow. Rest is when your body builds muscles, heals wounds and fights colds and flu. The workout is just the stimulus.

[ZenLefty]

20. Funny you should mention colds and flu

I've been laid up with a particularly nasty flu for about a week now. Finally I feel like I've turned the corner on it and am almost feeling like a person again. Haven't seen a squat rack in days, which makes me sad. If I just have a mild cold I've been known to battle through it and keep working out (sorry gym-goers, those viruses were left there by me, yeah) but if I have a fever I just go into Turtle Mode and hunker down on the couch and watch hockey.

At the start of the year I was doing 5x5 squats at 275 with the feeling I could go heavier. Just before the flu took me out I was doing 315 almost to 5x5 (5,5,5,4,3), with a 1RM around 355 (had to cheat a little but I got the lift). I'd say that's progress. I know what you mean about working to failure. I've heard strength trainers say "you succeed by failing" and I think "cool, how zen is that?"

Been working on rows and shrugs quite a bit too, trying to get away from the straps I got addicted to when I had flexor tendinitis. I lost a lot of grip strength then, but it's coming back.

Closing in on my 8 minute mile too. Best time so far is 8:30. I know that's nothing for normal people but for me that is so freaking huge I can barely believe it. I'm sure I'll have some ground to make up when I finally get over this flu and get back to the iron. Hopefully my body liked the unexpected rest.

Gallon of water a day? Heck, I almost drink that much in milk.

[Hotler]

22. Food for thought from Ellington Darden, Ph.D

Hard: Each exercise should be carried out to utter failure, where no additional movement is momentarily possible. You should find it necessary to sit down for a moment after finishing a heavy exercise. If you merely feel like sitting down, then the exercise wasn't hard enough. You should have to sit down to keep from falling down. Author Jones used to say "If you don't feel like throwing up after a set of barbell curls you haven't hit it hard enough.".

Breif: It is almost impossible to work TOO hard, but it is easily possible to work TOO much. In nearly all cases, if the intensity is high enough, one set of any exercise will produce better results than will two or more sets. A workout should not exceed a total of 45 minutes in length. 30 minutes per workout is a better goal. The number of exercises per workout should very from 10-20, depending on the equipment available.

Progressive: Always try to do one more repetition. When you can do 12 reps increase the resistance by 5% at the next workout.

Slow: It's very easy to perform a repetition to fast. It's difficult to perform one too slow. Reduce the speed of all your repeitions and you'll involve significantly more muscle fibers and radically decrease the probability of injuries.

Infrequent: Restrict your training sessions to not more than three whole-body workouts per week. Too often split routines lead to overtraining and a depleted recovery ability.

If you keep your rest between sets to no more than 0ne minute, with 30 seconds best, you can get 80% of your cardio in at the same time.

[ZenLefty]

13. Progress update

Nothing, and I mean nothing, exhausts me like full body drills. Haven't done them in a while and now that I'm a few workouts into this routine I'm well reminded how they feel. By the time I get to my last exercise I'm ready to crawl out of the gym. Or just sit in a corner and stare at the ceiling. Muscle soreness head to toe is a good kind of hurt.

My last running pace was 1 mile in 8:49. That's phenomenal for me. I'm really not a runner. Some runners say they get to a point where it just clicks, and they can just run tirelessly at an even pace for long stretches. That's never happened to me, and I don't expect it to. I've had to fight claw, tooth and nail just to run a mile under 9 minutes. My goal is 8 minutes flat.

HIIT sprints are fun but I can tell that doing weight training with legs 3 days a week is going to make these harder. I won't be able to do as many sets or sprint as fast as I'd like. Which is fine, I'm putting my body through a lot this winter.

The only thing I don't like about punching bag workouts in the winter is my bag is out in the garage. My detached, unheated, uninsulated garage. When it's 7 degrees outside, it's 8 inside the garage. I have a little space heater that brings that up to 10. When it's above freezing, I get a good and enjoyable workout out there. Below freezing, I don't bother.

Yoga's going good. Our instructor said we need to spend more time upside down in 2012, which I'm looking forward to.

[ZenLefty]

24. (lack of) progress update

So I'm on Day 14 of Bavarian Bat Flu, a rare and highly debilitating virus that fills your sinuses with epoxy resin and makes you feel like the mud under a waterfall. I'm pretty sure it's evolved into Bavarian Bat Bronchitis by now.

Monday, after a solid two weeks of no real exercise, I went out to the garage and hit the bag. 3 minute rounds with 1 minute rest for 12 rounds. One double-round (seven minutes of no rest). I was miserable before, during and afterward, but it was a good kind of miserable.

Yesterday went to the gym for the first time in a long time. Hit the iron as hard as I could: bench, overhead press, dips, shrugs, rows, pulldowns, squat, deadlift, and calf press. Squats were the most disappointing. Just barely eked out 5 reps at 275, and I had to work up to that weight too. I felt like a truck had hit me. But it was a good kind of truck.

I rarely get sick, and when I do it's usually over in a couple days. So I'm not used to this at all. I'll probably rest tonight, but I'm sick of sitting on my duff. I may just do some light stretching. I may curl up in a ball under a heavy blanket. We'll see.

Once I get healthy again, I'll have some ground to make up in the gym.

[AllyCat]

2. You have such detail to your plan!

Impressive

Mine is more general. I'm trying to keep fit with two active boys that I decided to have late in life. So gotta keep fit and healthy.

My goal is really just more general: I would like to be able to stay pain free as much as possible (old back and shoulder injuries) and keep anxiety at a minimum. I would like to maintain my weight or maybe just tone my legs a bit more for swimsuit season One specific goal I have is to someday do a drop back to Wheel Pose, finally get that last 3 inches to the ground in Hanumanasana (splits), and get the core strength in Pincha Mayurasana (forearm stand) to flow to Scorpion Pose. I am completely fascinated with Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana (two legged upward facing staff pose), but have no illusions that I will ever do it. Inspiration I guess!

Sunday: Yoga
Monday: Piloxing and/or yoga
Tuesday: Pilates
Weds: Fusion
Thursday: day off
Friday: Body Pump
Saturday: Yoga

At least two of those days I try to get on the bike or go out for a walk/jog with the dog, but not holding up to running so much anymore. Biking is so much easier around here in the summer!

[ZenLefty]

3. Awesome. I like how you're doing a multitude of things.

There are very large books of yoga poses I'll probably never be able to do; Hanumanasana is definitely one of them. I can do a version of that where my front leg is bent and tucked under me, and I sit on a rolled up blanket. It's tough but I enjoy doing it.

Yeah, my fitness plan is absurdly detailed. The excel spreadsheet I track all of it on is worse. I'm a freak. I know.

[AllyCat]

4. Sounds like half Pigeon Pose :)

That is a good one for stretching the piriformis and glutes. It is not a comfortable stretch but SO GOOD for you.

Excel spreadsheet? Funny! Really??

[supernova]

6. Here are my goals for winter

This will see me through to about Spring:

1) Lose about 40-45 lbs through a combo of diet and exercise. I'm a petite woman who will be 50 in July. Unfortunately, I'm starting to resemble my grandmother in physique. I want to be a sexy, slim older lady with very little health problems.

2) Exercise:
Do rounds of HIIT in six-week spurts. I will be running/jogging/walking. I cannot afford gym or classes right now. All I have is outdoors and my tennis shoes. That will have to do. I've researched and researched and everything I've read says that HIIT is the best way to simply get rid fat, especially if you have it around the middle, which I do. I will also be doing housework and walking the puppy. Oh, and possibly going to culinary school if I can find the money. If not, summer school is in my future.

3) Eating
I bought a juicer in the fall and I experimented with it before the holidays. I intend to go at it full time during Jan and Feb. I think what I will do is perhaps juicing during the week and eating normal meals during the weekend. I will have to experiment and see how I feel. This is really about making veggies the center of my diet.

I will also get rid of food intolerances by not eating those foods. My problem foods are wheat and dairy. So, no bread, pancakes, or cheese or yogurt. Any fats I eat will be olive oil, nuts and nut oils, or oily fish.

I expect to lose a good deal of the weight that way. Anyway, I expect to be spending my time this way until Spring, then I will see where I am and reevaluate.

[ZenLefty]

9. HIIT rocks.

It's effective not only at burning a crapton of calories, but it's great for endurance conditioning and increasing your max heart rate. I currently do sprints on a treadmill (1:2 ratio of sprint / walk) and it kicks my butt. The trap I fall in is I tend to want to eat more when my workouts are more intense. Which is okay I suppose; apparently I need the fuel.

40-45 pounds is a lot to lose by spring. You could lose half that and I'd say you were doing great. I say try your plan and see if you enjoy it and see how much you lose.

I learned last year that I am allergic to gluten. It is truly a pain in the ass to get wheat out of your diet but I can't believe how much better I feel because of it.

Good plan! Let us know how you're doing.

[noamnety]

7. Here's mine

I had a spreadsheet of tracking my weight, but this thread inspired me to do one for exercise and formalize some stuff.

Time period:
12 weeks (Jan - end of March)

Goals:
Be able to lift myself a little on the chinup bar (last 3 months I increased my hang time from 5 seconds to 30, so I'm onto phase two)
Be able to do 70 kettlebell swings (25lb) in a set (10 seconds rest time after each 20 swings or so).

Workout Plan:
Saturday, Wednesday - Kettlebell routine 1 (lifts and swings) and "cat vomits"
Sunday, Thursday - balance ball routine 1 (back, thighs, pushups)
Monday - kettlebell routine 2 (curls, triceps and swings)
Tuesday - balance ball routine 2 (upper arms and crunches)
Friday - rest

Diet plan:
No calorie counting, 6 days a week no grains, spuds, sweeteners (real or artificial), fruit or dairy - except whole cream in coffee.
Drink 96 ounces of water a day. If I drop to 130, add in one bowl of plain yogurt and fresh fruit during the week to see if I can keep that and maintain my weight.

[ZenLefty]

10. Great plan

I still count calories, but it's odd. On days I don't keep track and eat what I want, if I add it all up the next day I'll find that I ended up right at 3,000. It's like my body just knows where it needs to end up.

Be sure to check in once in a while and let us know how you're doing.

[noamnety]

16. Checking in for accountability

I worked out 24 times in Jan from the plan above. (skipped a few more days than planned but still, overall for me that was good.)

Goals:
Be able to lift myself a little on the chinup bar (done!) For the next month, I'll be working on trying to increase how far I can raise myself.
Be able to do 70 kettlebell swings (25lb) in a set (10 seconds rest time after each 20 swings or so). (at 62 swings today, and 15 of those were single handed, not double)

Down 1.6 pounds since once month ago. slow - but steady.

[noamnety]

23. One month later

and I was able to do a full chinup with a slight jump as an assist - but gosh, such a huge difference from not being able to budge myself at all!

I've upgraded my kettlebell to a 30lb one, doing 20 swings with that, 30 single handed with the 25lb one, then finishing the last 25 with the 30lb again. Down almost a pound a week in Feb.

My new goals for the new month:
Do a complete unassisted chinup
See ab muscles without have to stand next to a waist high light source from the side. I'd like to see them in a normal overhead lighting situation!
Do a dozen slow hanging leg raises with slightly bent legs
Hold a normal and side plank for a full minute.

[arely staircase]

11. i'm going week to week right now

this first week (of Jan 2) i simply did push-ups, pull ups, crunches and squats - 4 days.

next weeks plan is:

Sunday: ashtanga yoga 1.5 hours

Monday: last weeks excercises + 3 mile walk

Tuesday: Swim 1 mile

Wednesday: last weeks excercises + 3 mile walk

Thursday: ashtanga yoga 1.5 hours (or swim 1 mile)

Fiday: last weeks excercises + 3 mile walk

[ZenLefty]

12. Hooray for squats!

Everyone who can do them, should.

[maddezmom]

14. My are pretty simple

and started last week. Gym 3x a week for toning, etc, walking the dog(s) every day for at least 1 hour or 3 miles, use the eliptical or pilates reformer when I don't go to the gym. Basically work at doing something at least 1 hour everyday plus the walk.

Also looking at getting the Wii fit and dance since my daughter loves them and would be fun to do together.

[ZenLefty]

18. Nice.

Doing something active every day is so important, even if it's not really "exercise". Just getting up and moving around is so beneficial.

We got the Wii fit and it had some cool things. That boxing one is a more strenuous workout than it looks. Of course, my BMI is like 31 so my Wii avatar is this short round guy. It's pretty funny.

[maddezmom]

21. We'll got the Wii

I'm enjoying it but I think the Black Eyed Peas Dance dvd is actually a better work out.

[flakey_foont]

15. goal right now is to bench press 365

by May of this year...
do chest twice a week one heavy day and one light day (part of it is to perform 15 reps at a certain weight,
once I have done that move up 10 pounds and try to get 15)

[ZenLefty]

17. A noble goal

That's about the weight where the bar starts digging into your palms and bruises the bones in your hand. Just remember: no bouncing it off your chest! I heard in the old days they'd put a pencil between your pecs. You had to touch down but if the bar broke the pencil it was disqualified. My old high school gym instructor told us that.

[NMDemDist2]

25. i still have 25 # to lose, after the first 35 over the last 20 months

I've been doing Leslie Sansome's 2 or 3 mile 'power' walks every other day this month after about 6 months of nothing really scheduled and not doing much at all.

Thursday I'm starting another 90 day program (my 6th -- Power 90 bootcamp, P90 masters, P90x lean, P90x regular, Chalean Extreme)

This one is from Jillian Michaels, 30 minutes of alternating Cardio, Circuit and HIIT 6 days a week. I just don't have the hour+ Beachbody asks for.

So the goals for the next ninety days are all about cleaning up my diet even more, sticking to 1750 cals a day, and tightening up to fit size 8s or 10s (from size 12s & 14s currently, down from 18s and 20s at the start)

[aesop01]

26. Spam deleted by hlthe2b (MIR Team)

[jony12]

27. hi

Last edited Sat Sep 1, 2012, 02:55 AM - Edit history (2)

Every one has his own goal and aim.My goal is really just more general: I would like to be able to stay pain free as much as possible (old back and shoulder injuries) and keep anxiety at a minimum. I would like to maintain my weight or maybe just tone my legs a bit more for swimsuit season
http://leanbodybootcampdesmoines.com/

[illyassc]

29. Spam deleted by cbayer (MIR Team)

[Denninmi]

30. Goals, lose weight, tone up, build strength and stamina.

Started walking, bought two bikes, snowshoes, XC skis. Joined a fitness center, bought 6 months with a personal trainer and a whole year of group fitness training. Also several appts with a dietician to work on nutrition.

And getting a whole range of festering medical problems treated and controlled.

This 47 year old guy rode 40 miles on Thanksgiving morning. Not bad if I do say so myself.

[NOS-Himel]

31. Spam deleted by azurnoir (MIR Team)