We've talked about my goals for the program, Jared's goals for the program, my goals for the blog, Jared's goals for the gym... we've talked about weight goals for different lifts, goals for fat loss & muscle gain, & goals for just about everything else you can think of.
Since the whole point of the blog is to document my transformation, I figured it makes sense for me to post my goals here.
Before I tell you where I'm trying to go, though, it might help to know where I'm coming from.
Weight has always been a struggle for me. I was a fairly average-sized kid until around 4th or 5th grade. Then one summer, I pulled the ripcord. I remember coming back on the first day of school and having one of my friends say "Man, Kyle, you look like you gained some weight!" I hadn't even noticed.
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| My Middle School Experience |
I was overweight for the next several years. Then, around my sophomore year of high school, I started getting taller. I was also moderately active, between playing a few school sports (none of which I was any good at) and rock climbing on the weekends. By my senior year, I was pretty skinny. It was nice.
Then came college and internships, jobs, marriage, and parenthood, and the weight came back. I gained ten pounds, then ten more, then twenty.... Before I knew it, I weighed 55 pounds more than I had in high school. Because it happened over the course of 6 years, it was easy to ignore at first. It was easy to say "yeah, but I've bulked up a bit too"... "yeah, but my shoulders are a lot broader than they used to be".... "yeah, but I was probably too skinny in high school anyways"...
Eventually, though, there came a point where I couldn't really deny it any more. I was fat.
I tried a lot of different things. I tried working out, but I didn't really know what I was doing. I tried dieting, with various degrees of success. I made some progress, then slipped up, then made progress again. Through a "two steps forward, one step back" approach, I eventually managed to lose about 30 lbs.
That's when I got the news that Jared had picked me for the training program.
In light of where I've come from, Jared & I have set the following goals:
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| Goal 1: Get STRONG! (Shameless Plug) |
1. Get Strong
The more muscle your body has, the more calories it burns around the clock. More muscle = faster metabolism. One of the reasons it's been so easy for me to put on weight over the last few years is that I've settled into a sedentary lifestyle. Over the next twelve weeks I'm going to push myself (and Jared's going to push me further) to get back to an active lifestyle, which requires a strong body.
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| Goal 2: Get Lean |
2. Get Lean
What's the point of working out all the time if you still look like a fatty? I'd be lying if I said my only goal here is to get strong. I want to look good while I'm doing it. That's why Jared has developed a diet/exercise plan to build muscle and strip bodyfat in record time.
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| Goal 3: Get Smart |
3. Get Smart
This is the most important goal of all. More than strength or bodyfat percentage, this program is about lifestyle change. It's about setting me out on a path that I will be able to continue long after these 12 weeks are over. It's about getting rid of the bad habits that got me fat in the first place, and replacing them with healthy habits that I can maintain over the long haul. If I get ripped in 12 weeks, but I'm fat again in 12 months, then what's the point?
What about you? Do you have specific goals in mind for your workouts, or are you just sort of making it up as you go along (like I was)? If you have goals, have they helped you? How do you chart your progress?
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