My Fitness Goals for 2014

I am a planner; I always have been and always will be.  As a part of a process of better understanding myself and, thereby making my personal journey towards self-improvement a smoother road, I have taken several personality tests.  Some traits have changed over the years, some have disappeared while other traits have grown stronger, and new traits have emerged.  But one of the few traits that have always been there is planning.  It is a trait that has only grown stronger as I grow older.  So, despite the hectic hustle and bustle of the holiday, it should not surprise you that I have already designated my personal goals for the New Year and am drafting a program designed to reach those goals.

In September of 2013, I hit a plateau of 350 lbs. on the Back Squat and 315 lbs. on the deadlift.  Not my heaviest lifts on those exercises by any means.   I am not a competitive power lifter and considering that the vast majority of my training in 2012 was based on HIIT and body weight training I was pleased with this progress.  I did not place much emphasis on either of those exercises during 2012, so going from performing those lifts starting at 225lbs in January 2013, after not doing them for most of 2012, is a pretty good strength improvement.  But, after straining my lower back during a workout in September of 2013, and being forced to take 10 days off to recover, it was time to evaluate the quality and safety of my training.  The 10 days off gave me plenty of time analyze the situation, make adjustments, and prepare to fix the problem so that in the long run, these plateaus could be overcome. 

As I said, towards the end of 2013 it became apparent to be that on big lifts, specifically, back squats and deadlifts, that my ability to lift heavier weight was plateauing.  This was not caused by a lack of will or desire but by a neglecting of little details of my training.  The choice was simple: ignore these little details and allow a slight strength imbalance to continue to grow and set myself up for a serious injury somewhere down the road.  Or, back off the intensity and specifically address these weaknesses, and, ultimately come back stronger than ever.  After slowly addressing these weaknesses, I am prepared to return to heavy lifting at the start of 2014.  Four months may seem like a long time to take a break, especially without having had a surgery or physical therapy program.  But four months is nothing compared to a lifetime; far better to take four months now then to never do it again.

The main priority of 2014 will be to place a stronger emphasis on strengthening the muscles of the posterior chain; the hamstrings, glutes, hip extensors, and lower back specifically.  I am not going to go into the specific detail of my programming because I have not finished writing the program.  However, here are the six measurements I will be using to evaluate the effectiveness of my training.

1.       Maintain bodyweight between 170-180lbs.  The reason for this is simple; it is in this weight range that I feel the most athletic and fit.  To maintain a weight below 170 lbs., I end up sacrificing strength I do not want to lose.  Above 180 lbs., I feel that I begin to lose athleticism and quality of movement.  The overall goal of 2014 is to continue addressing the aforementioned posterior chain priority and become as strong as I possibly can in this weight range.

2.       Good Morning my bodyweight for sets of 10.  The good morning is one of the best accessory exercises for training the posterior chain.  Increasing my strength on this particular exercise to 170-180lbs for a set of 10 is going to wonders for improving the back squat and deadlift.  Currently this would be roughly a 50lb improvement over what I have been doing on this exercise.

3.       Deadlift 350lbs.  This is what I deadlifted prior to 2012.  Time to get back there or heavier.  This would make my deadlift right around twice my body weight.  The long term goal is to get the deadlift up to 2.5 times body weight.  Did I mention I don't train with a weight belt?  I view weights belts as a crutch for people who, will not do as I have done the past four months, and train their weaknesses into strengths.  But that is just my opinion.

4.       Back Squat 400lbs. I do powerlifting squats not bodybuilding squats: I train for strength and athleticism, not aesthetics.  I am not going explain the difference here.  Since September of 2013 (during my little rehab phase) my best squat was 260lbs. If you do not understand the difference, then the significance of the ambition of adding 140lbs to the squat in twelve months eludes you.  I don’t say that to be condescending, so please do not take it that way.  But, for those who do understand the difference, this is easily recognized as my most ambitious and challenging goal of 2014. Accomplishing this would be to squat more than twice my body weight. In all honesty, this one is a little intimidating.  Again, no weight belt.

5.       Clean my bodyweight for sets of 10.  The clean is one the best strength training exercises to improve overall coordination, explosive power, strength and athleticism.  Performing this with your body weight or heavier for sets of 10 is something only people with a scary level of strength can accomplish.  I can currently do this for sets up 2-3 reps, time to bump up the reps.

6.       Sprint at 12 mph for 20 repetitions.  Sprints are the only form of “cardio” that I do.  My sprint program is simple: elevate a treadmill to a 10% incline and sprint for 20 seconds, rest 40 seconds, repeat for the prescribed number of sprints.  Currently I am doing 10 sprints at 11mph.  The treadmills at the facility where I work are capped at 12 mph so, once that speed is obtained; increasing the repetitions is the only way to increase this challenge.

I have talked about goals in another post, specifically how to create SMART goals.  I you want more information on that click the link below.  Set goals for 2014 and develop a plan to make them happen.  Good luck, and may 2014 be your healthiest year ever.

http://www.bornagainfitnesslr.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-new-year-is-rapidly-approaching.html