Having both long-term and short-term goals are tremendously beneficial for anything you want to accomplish in life. I know this sounds strange but you have to have the courage to write your goals down. It seems like a very simple thing but many people are afraid to do this. Writing goals down makes it concrete. This can be intimidating because here is a tangible record of what you want to accomplish. The problem with writing down a concrete goal is that now it is something that you can fail at. It is kind of along the theory of Schrödinger's Cat in that if you don’t write a goal down, you can’t experience failure because the goal was never written. (And some people cannot mentally handle failure. They can be discouraged by it.) The problem is that a goal that is not written down can be forgotten or the margins can be fudged to simulate success.
I have found that writing down goals can also help you stick to a schedule. When I am working on important writing projects, I actually print out a calendar and map out my page count of where I have to be on any certain date in order to hit my deadlines. If I don’t do this, it is easy to let a Saturday slide by without anything getting done. But if I write out a tangible record that says, “You have to have 56 pages done by the 17th,” it helps keep me on task. You will be surprised at how this written record keeps you focused be it at work, doing household chores, or setting up schedules for a new activity. The same is true of your lifting strategy.
It is important to set short term goals and long term goals. And these are not goals that you set because of someone else. You set them up for you. For what you want.
For instance, my long term goal is to slim down to 215 pounds. That is 35 pounds that I want to drop. Within the last few months – if you just look at the weight numbers – I have been failing in that goal because my weight loss has stagnated. But my biceps are gaining in size and my strength goals continue to increase. So, I feel like I am gaining muscle. This is a greater victory than just losing pounds simply for pounds sake. Sure, I could ensconce myself in those garbage bag suits and just do cardio if I only wanted to lose weight. But I want to lose fat at a healthy pace while continuing to grow stronger. You have to be able to look at the bigger picture.
My other long term goal is to join the 1,000 lb. club. Inspired by Hugh Jackman and his video posts of him joining this impressive club, you have to lift a combined weight of 1,000 pounds across 3 exercises – the deadlift, squat, and bench press. You have to perform a minimum of 3 reps with each exercise. I figure if I can deadlift 405, squat 345, and bench 250, I am there. As of right now, I am in the 890 lb. club but my long term goal is 1,000 pounds.
I remember when I was first getting started, I read Joe Manganiello’s book EVOLUTION. In that, he was talking about how he would squat his body weight to warm up. When I first stepped back into the squat rack, after being gone for over 20 years, and looking at my starting weight, I knew it was going to be physically impossible for me to just squat my weight, much less warm up with it.
Now, I was trying to listen to Manganiello’s advice and I was performing reps of 15, 12, 10, 5, 10, and 15. I went back and looked at my tracking and in Week 9, I was doing 135 pounds (which is one 45-pound plate on each side) for this insane rep count that he was suggesting. [Again, this is where I was developing my belief that you need an “Average Joe” workout before you can get to that professional level.] I changed up my techniques, I went to a more reasonable rep range and slowly, over time, I have starting seeing the numbers begin to increase and recently I summoned enough gumption to squat 300 pounds for as many reps as possible. (I got 4.) A few weeks later, I tried for 350 and I was able to achieve 1 rep. I mentally now knew that I could do it once. I just need to be able to add three more reps to that lift. This is not to say that I will not go back and revisit Manganiello’s theories but for now, I know I am not nearly at the level I need be to follow his program. And that is okay. I will get there eventually.
As my strength increased and my weight began to drop, I thought about what Manganiello said. In April 2015, my rep range was around 8 reps for 225. Well, if my long term goal is to weigh 215 pounds and if I am doing 225 now to work out, then warming up with my body weight at 215 sounds pretty darn reasonable!
But when you are sitting at 275 lbs., getting to 215 pounds seems like a pretty large mountain to climb. That is where short term goals come in. So instead of focusing solely on the mountaintop, let’s get work our way up a series of plateaus instead. You set short term goals. “Last week I benched 100 pounds for 3 set of 10 reps. Next month, I want to be benching 120 pounds for 3 sets of 10.” That is a good short term goal. Ask yourself what you need to do to accomplish your goals.
Short term goals give you something to strive for and it gives you a sense of accomplishment that can become more tangible in an immediate timeframe. Again, this is where you have to embrace the concept of building a wall. You are laying things down brick by brick and when you eventually come up for air, you will look back and be amazed at how far you have come over the course of six months.
Set your goals. Be realistic but also challenge yourself. Again, you want to give it 100% every time.
For instance, my long term goal is to slim down to 215 pounds. That is 35 pounds that I want to drop. Within the last few months – if you just look at the weight numbers – I have been failing in that goal because my weight loss has stagnated. But my biceps are gaining in size and my strength goals continue to increase. So, I feel like I am gaining muscle. This is a greater victory than just losing pounds simply for pounds sake. Sure, I could ensconce myself in those garbage bag suits and just do cardio if I only wanted to lose weight. But I want to lose fat at a healthy pace while continuing to grow stronger. You have to be able to look at the bigger picture.
My other long term goal is to join the 1,000 lb. club. Inspired by Hugh Jackman and his video posts of him joining this impressive club, you have to lift a combined weight of 1,000 pounds across 3 exercises – the deadlift, squat, and bench press. You have to perform a minimum of 3 reps with each exercise. I figure if I can deadlift 405, squat 345, and bench 250, I am there. As of right now, I am in the 890 lb. club but my long term goal is 1,000 pounds.
I remember when I was first getting started, I read Joe Manganiello’s book EVOLUTION. In that, he was talking about how he would squat his body weight to warm up. When I first stepped back into the squat rack, after being gone for over 20 years, and looking at my starting weight, I knew it was going to be physically impossible for me to just squat my weight, much less warm up with it.
Now, I was trying to listen to Manganiello’s advice and I was performing reps of 15, 12, 10, 5, 10, and 15. I went back and looked at my tracking and in Week 9, I was doing 135 pounds (which is one 45-pound plate on each side) for this insane rep count that he was suggesting. [Again, this is where I was developing my belief that you need an “Average Joe” workout before you can get to that professional level.] I changed up my techniques, I went to a more reasonable rep range and slowly, over time, I have starting seeing the numbers begin to increase and recently I summoned enough gumption to squat 300 pounds for as many reps as possible. (I got 4.) A few weeks later, I tried for 350 and I was able to achieve 1 rep. I mentally now knew that I could do it once. I just need to be able to add three more reps to that lift. This is not to say that I will not go back and revisit Manganiello’s theories but for now, I know I am not nearly at the level I need be to follow his program. And that is okay. I will get there eventually.
As my strength increased and my weight began to drop, I thought about what Manganiello said. In April 2015, my rep range was around 8 reps for 225. Well, if my long term goal is to weigh 215 pounds and if I am doing 225 now to work out, then warming up with my body weight at 215 sounds pretty darn reasonable!
But when you are sitting at 275 lbs., getting to 215 pounds seems like a pretty large mountain to climb. That is where short term goals come in. So instead of focusing solely on the mountaintop, let’s get work our way up a series of plateaus instead. You set short term goals. “Last week I benched 100 pounds for 3 set of 10 reps. Next month, I want to be benching 120 pounds for 3 sets of 10.” That is a good short term goal. Ask yourself what you need to do to accomplish your goals.
Short term goals give you something to strive for and it gives you a sense of accomplishment that can become more tangible in an immediate timeframe. Again, this is where you have to embrace the concept of building a wall. You are laying things down brick by brick and when you eventually come up for air, you will look back and be amazed at how far you have come over the course of six months.
Set your goals. Be realistic but also challenge yourself. Again, you want to give it 100% every time.
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