2019 Personal Goals

[dmclone]

I have a lot of respect for people that can stop lifting weights for many years and then get back into it.

I remember one fall night my wife and I thought it would be good to take a walk to the park. Before leaving I decided to grab the basketball in the garage that I hadn't touched in 10 years. Filled it up with air and made the walk down to the park. I was never good at basketball but loved playing it in high school/college. I couldn't shoot, dribble, or pass but I could dunk. 15 years later, I'm walking to the park thinking to myself "Well I weigh about the same and just two years ago I ran a full marathon, I'm wondering if I'll actually be better than when I was young". Without going into too many details, let's just say that I was lucky that I didn't get my finger stuck in the bottom loop. Turned around, walked home, and didn't touch a basketball again for probably 5 years and will never attempt to dunk it again. My wife kids me about it and would give anything to have it on video. I'm sure it was something special to see.

 

[wxman1]

Acuff is a very easy read. He’s an amateur stand up comedian when he’s not doing his speaking gigs. He puts in a fair amount of humor into each chapter. But he’s got kind of a goofy sense of humor which some like and some don’t.

He is a great follow on FB/Twitter

 

[Tre4ISU]

Do any of you guys have long term fitness goals? I'm talking some crazy stuff like Ultras or qualifying for and intense competition like the Crossfit Games or Badwater or something like that?

 

[besserheimerphat]

I have a lot of respect for people that can stop lifting weights for many years and then get back into it.

I remember one fall night my wife and I thought it would be good to take a walk to the park. Before leaving I decided to grab the basketball in the garage that I hadn't touched in 10 years. Filled it up with air and made the walk down to the park. I was never good at basketball but loved playing it in high school/college. I couldn't shoot, dribble, or pass but I could dunk. 15 years later, I'm walking to the park thinking to myself "Well I weigh about the same and just two years ago I ran a full marathon, I'm wondering if I'll actually be better than when I was young". Without going into too many details, let's just say that I was lucky that I didn't get my finger stuck in the bottom loop. Turned around, walked home, and didn't touch a basketball again for probably 5 years and will never attempt to dunk it again. My wife kids me about it and would give anything to have it on video. I'm sure it was something special to see.

For me, I like lifting but finding consistent time is the hardest part. I've always hated cardio because I never felt like I was accomplishing anything. I've also never gotten the "runner's high," just lactic acid burn the whole time.

With lifting, I can usually see some improvement week to week - 5 more pounds, an extra rep or two, etc. And I like the feeling of straining against 80%+ max weights.

I've also found that with powerlifting style training (80%+ max, <=5 reps, up to 5 working sets after lots of progressive warmup sets) I'm generally less sore than doing 3 sets of 10 with lighter weights.

 

[Fitzy]

1. Buy a house. Our lease is up in July and ideally we'd like to be moving at the beginning of June. Renting has its perks but we're ready to have a place to call our own and we finally have enough saved up for a PMI-less down payment and closing costs.

2. Lose 12 pounds. If I do it, I'd be down 23 total since the beginning of 2018. I was down 17 at one point during the year but then a week-long all-inclusive in Mexico happened and I never fully recovered from the damage.

3. Adopt a pet (after moving into aforementioned new house).

 

[mdk2isu]

1. Buy a house. Our lease is up in July and ideally we'd like to be moving at the beginning of June. Renting has its perks but we're ready to have a place to call our own and we finally have enough saved up for a PMI-less down payment and closing costs.

2. Lose 12 pounds. If I do it, I'd be down 23 total since the beginning of 2018. I was down 17 at one point during the year but then a week-long all-inclusive in Mexico happened and I never fully recovered from the damage.

3. Adopt a pet (after moving into aforementioned new house).

4. Start being funny in written articles

FIFY

 

[wxman1]

1. Buy a house. Our lease is up in July and ideally we'd like to be moving at the beginning of June. Renting has its perks but we're ready to have a place to call our own and we finally have enough saved up for a PMI-less down payment and closing costs.

2. Lose 12 pounds. If I do it, I'd be down 23 total since the beginning of 2018. I was down 17 at one point during the year but then a week-long all-inclusive in Mexico happened and I never fully recovered from the damage.

3. Adopt a pet (after moving into aforementioned new house).

4. Learn how to say Matt Campbell's name.

 

[Dopey]

I started making these in November, so I got a little head start on some of them but waited to the last minute (and then some) on others..........

1. Journal every day (haven't started yet, finding a time to do this is hard)

2. Learn to meditate (I'm 2 days in and terrible at it, finding a time for this is hard too)

3. Read 1 book per month (On my 3rd book if you count December 2018)

4. Find and attend a church at least twice a month (I think we found one in December, so hopefully this can continue to go well)

5. Start jiu-jitsu (Would ultimately like to get my kids involved with this for their own confidence and self defense reasons, but want to learn it a bit myself first)

6. Apply to an MBA program (Ugh.....)

7. Buy a bike (Haven't had one in years, need to get one again to ride with the kids)

8. Buy a piano keyboard (Haven't played in years, but have been thinking about dusting off those skills again)

I do want to lose 10 pounds, but I consistently work out already and am happy with my fitness and health. I just need to not overindulge and that'll get back to where I feel best. Turns out you can still gain weight on a low carb, paleo diet if you commit yourself to eating an excessive amount of calories.

 

[Fitzy]

FIFY

Correct - after a full year of being completely hilarious in articles in 2018, I will once again have to start soon in 2019.

 

[harimad]

Weight from 212 to 195, 300lb 5x5 squat and 400lb 5x5 deadlift.

Begin some kind of investment portfolio beyond my 401k / pension.




.......and for you smartasses out there, not forget my kids at school.

Sounds like you might be doing SL5x5? If so, do you supplement with additional lifts? Or just stick with the basic program?

 

[snowcraig2.0]

For me, I like lifting but finding consistent time is the hardest part. I've always hated cardio because I never felt like I was accomplishing anything. I've also never gotten the "runner's high," just lactic acid burn the whole time.

With lifting, I can usually see some improvement week to week - 5 more pounds, an extra rep or two, etc. And I like the feeling of straining against 80%+ max weights.

I've also found that with powerlifting style training (80%+ max, <=5 reps, up to 5 working sets after lots of progressive warmup sets) I'm generally less sore than doing 3 sets of 10 with lighter weights.

Stronglifts is great for people with inconsistent schedules. It is basically two workouts that you alternate back and forth between. The app tracks everything and de-loads if you go too long between workouts. I've tried a bunch of different power-lifting routines but always come back to it.

My challenge is just staying healthy and nursing my 40 year old body through it.

 

[BryceC]

If it works so well, why have you had to do it several times ?

My back and neck are basically destroyed from roofing and building grain bins. Eventually I just need to take a break, and then I had kids, etc. I'm back at it again on Monday.

 

[snowcraig2.0]

Sounds like you might be doing SL5x5? If so, do you supplement with additional lifts? Or just stick with the basic program?

Ha, I literally just posted about it.

I added weighted dips to workout A and pull-ups plus curls to workout B. If i am crunched for time i just hit the main 3 lifts. I am also deadlifting 5x5 as well, but will probably drop that to 1x5 as i get closer to 400lbs or so.

 

[harimad]

Ha, I literally just posted about it.

I added weighted dips to workout A and pull-ups plus curls to workout B. If i am crunched for time i just hit the main 3 lifts. I am also deadlifting 5x5 as well, but will probably drop that to 1x5 as i get closer to 400lbs or so.

Sorry, I hadn't gotten to that post in the thread yet.

I started with that a couple of years ago but it seemed too simple/too good to be true. I moved in the direction of StrongCurves, as glutes are my main focus anyway. I have less time to lift now though, so I was going to solicit your opinion on the program's effectiveness.

 

[besserheimerphat]

I do not expressly use StrongLifts.

I lift MWF: deadlift on Monday, bench on Wednesday, squat of Friday. I do those lifts first, then accessory work.

For the main lifts I start with the bar for 8, then 50% for 5, 60% for 4, 70% for 3, 80% for 2 and 90% for 1. Then my working sets are 90-95% for about 3x3. I take about a minute between warmup sets and 3.5 minutes between working sets. Every week I try to increase my working set weight - 10lbs for lower body, 5lbs for upper body. If I can't get 3x3 at that weight then I stay there until I can.

Accessories for deadlifts are Romanian deadlifts or straight legged deadlifts, hyper extensions and barbell rows. For bench, its barbell overhead press, the something for biceps and triceps. For squats, its front squats, Romanian or straight legged deadlifts, leg extensions and leg curls. Rest periods for compound lifts are 2 minutes, and 1 minute for isolation lifts.

It's worked great for me so far. Usually takes a little over an hour to get through a workout. I take some no carb whey protien before lifting but no other supplements.

 

[JY07]

I’ve done Farrell’s several times and swear by it. Love the program.

If it works so well, why have you had to do it several times ?

I did it for six months and mostly enjoyed it. It got repetitive at times and I personally didn't lose much weight but lost inches everywhere and cut my mile time so I was happy.

Farrell's is incredibly repetitive: if you've never done group classes like that, I think it's fine to try their primary class (10 weeks I think?), but eventually you'll want to gouge your eyes out if you continue past that.

I'd recommend finding a gym/program that's more cross-fit like as far as the classes go, or at least has more variety than using rubber bands every other day.

 

[CloniesForLife]

1. *** This is not me making any sort of political commentary so please don't take it as that. I just like to be a good steward of Mother Nature*** Reduce environmental impact: Use less plastic, bike to work more, use reusable grocery bags.

2. Get down to ~10% bodyfat. No idea what I am at now, estimate ~15%. Gotta figure out a good way to get a starting measurement.

 

[throwittoblythe]

1. *** This is not me making any sort of political commentary so please don't take it as that. I just like to be a good steward of Mother Nature*** Reduce environmental impact: Use less plastic, bike to work more, use reusable grocery bags.

2. Get down to ~10% bodyfat. No idea what I am at now, estimate ~15%. Gotta figure out a good way to get a starting measurement.

I have a friend who is very much into your goal #1. She's really impressive. She tries to use little or no plastics in her daily life. She even takes her own glass containers to restaurants so they don't give her a plastic/styrafoam box to take home. It's a noble goal, for sure.

 

[throwittoblythe]

Farrell's is incredibly repetitive: if you've never done group classes like that, I think it's fine to try their primary class (10 weeks I think?), but eventually you'll want to gouge your eyes out if you continue past that.

I'd recommend finding a gym/program that's more cross-fit like as far as the classes go, or at least has more variety than using rubber bands every other day.

I'm leaning towards it because of the group accountability. What was your experience in that regard?

 

[BryceC]

Farrell's is incredibly repetitive: if you've never done group classes like that, I think it's fine to try their primary class (10 weeks I think?), but eventually you'll want to gouge your eyes out if you continue past that.

I'd recommend finding a gym/program that's more cross-fit like as far as the classes go, or at least has more variety than using rubber bands every other day.

I've done crossfit for a bit too. I found that really repetitive. However, I like punching things so Farrells kept my interest.