This Week's Results

Hey Everyone,

   Just a little update today.  I've dieted for 8 days now and have gone from 231.8lbs to 227.4lbs.  That's a total loss of 4.4lbs!  Looks like I'm well on my way.  The only changes I've made have been to closely track my calories and energy expenditure each day.  I make healthy choices at each meal and make sure to include the appropriate cardio and weight training each day.  Wish me luck for the rest of this week!

Russ

Russ's 2012 Goals

Hey Everyone,

   I just wanted to share my goal setting so that you can see a nice example to shape your own goals around.  It's also good because I know that with an audience, I'm much more likely to stay on track!  Let's get started:

   First I started thinking about what my Core Goals are:

1.  Reduce Fat 
2.  Increase Aerobic Capacity


   In order to narrow these goals a little bit further, I thought about what is specific and what would be reasonable to accomplish over one microcycle (6 weeks in this case).

1. Reduce body fat percentage: To measure body fat percentages, I'm going to use the combination of taking my scale weight along with my BIA (bio-electric impedance) body fat percentage measurement.

     Specifically:  5lbs of weight or a body fat percentage reduction of 2%

  I chose these measures because due to hydration issues as well as muscle building, the scale weight can be misleading.  Also, without having a full body scan, even the BIA scale can lead you astray!

2. Increase Aerobic Capacity: To measure my aerobic capacity, I'm going to use two simple tests:

    I want to increase my endurance of running at a constant speed of 6.0, incline of 3 degrees, by 10 minutes.

    I also want to increase the total distance I can run in 20 minutes by 0.25 Miles.

Using a SMART Analysis:

   My goals are both specific and measurable with exact numbers.  Because of my certification, I know that both goals are attainable and realistic for my body composition, level of fitness and age.  Lastly, the goals are timely because the deadline is only 6 weeks!

   Building from the bottom up, I can now set my Macrocycle Goals (3 microcyles in length):


1. Reduce Fat: Lose 15 pounds or 6% body fat in 4.5 months or 18 weeks.

2. Increase Aerobic Capacity: Increase time till fatigue by 30 minutes and increase total distance ran by 0.75 miles.

   Now, I'm set with my new 2012 goals.  I'm also going to post mini-goals every few weeks that will include specific exercises, weights and reps.  Challenge yourself to break my goals as well!  The official weigh in is tonight!

Wish me luck!

Stay strong,
Russ

SMART Goals

Hey Fit People,

   Today I want to talk about making SMART goals for your new year's resolution.  Without goal setting, nobody knows where they are, or where they want to go!  Start 2012 off with some SMART goals and the results will just keep coming your way.

Specific: Make goals that aren't utterly ambiguous.  Specific goals give you a direct "bull's eye" to shoot for when planning your new workout routine.  An example of a specific goal is: "I want to lose 20lbs this year."

Measurable: Goals need to be trackable and measurable.  Whether it translates into pounds on the scale, inches on your waist or time until fatigue, find some metric in which you can track your progress.

Attainable: What goals are even possible given your health history, time and resources?  Set goals that can actually be achieved rather than ones like "becoming a professional football player". Remember, rare events happen rarely and be mindful what attainable goals you can set.

Realistic: This may be the most important rule! I see clients all the time make unrealistic goals and fail to meet them.  Err on the side of caution and set goals that are small and easily attainable.  Whether you take great strides, or baby steps, it's only a matter of time before you reach your goal.  Make a dedication to time spent training and I guarantee progress will come.

Timely: Goals should be broken up into short term and long term goals.  Ultimately, all short term goals must add up to your long term goal.  Generally, I suggest that short term goals be no shorter than 4-6 weeks to attain.  The reason I say this is because a change in body composition is usually only seen after 4-6 weeks of dedicated training.  I generally suggest long term goals to be set for anywhere from 3-6 months.  Anything that is set for a longer timeframe is usually unrealistic.

   For the next few days I'm going to set my 2012 SMART goals for you to peruse through.  Throughout the year, ask about my progress and keep me honest!

Stay strong,
Russ