At the beginning of 2008, I set some goals for myself. They were:
- Lower my waist to 31 inches
- Gain 15 pounds of muscle
At the time, I felt these goals were pretty ambitious, and I knew I was setting the bar fairly high for myself. I did a lot of work and experimentation earlier in the year and made substantial progress. Then I switched jobs and things stalled.
I like to call this last August through December the "semester of no physical progress". In August, I went back into academics and teaching. Unfortunately, I was stuck with a long commute and early hours this semester until I can get moved. So whether it was the four hours in the car each day, or the sleep deprivation from getting up before dawn, my progress came to a halt in August. In the long run, this is really a small price to pay. I am much, much happier back in teaching, and I will be moving closer in a month or so.
As to the first goal, I started 2008 with a waistline of 32.5 inches, and a goal of 31 inches. Earlier in the year, I dropped down to 32, and then below that to roughly 31.5. I actually had to go get another hole drilled in my belt at one point.
As to the second goal, I weigh 10 pounds more today than I did a year ago. The first 5 pounds of weight gain was back in February/March. I tried a heavy weight, low-rep scheme and it seemed to work (at least for a while). My waist stayed the same and my weight went up 5 pounds while my lifts got heavier.
After that, things stayed mostly the same until August. I tried some other lifting schemes, but nothing really clicked. I felt like I was at a good weight and overall felt pretty healthy.
After the job switch, things went a little haywire. I gained 5 pounds from August through December. I was still lifting during this time, but I don't believe it was all muscle gain. My waist went up a notch, and I didn't feel noticeably stronger on most lifts.
Overall, I had mixed results for this year. Still though, I feel healthy and in good shape. Just over these last couple weeks I've been off, I already been able to make small shifts in my body composition. I imagine though that all of these ups and downs throughout the year are really only important in my mind. Nevertheless, it can be good to have goals.
I am optimistic about 2009, especially now that I am on the right career path and also will have more time off. I may or may not post specific goals for this new year. I may just try a more natural approach and focus on making progress instead of set goals. We'll see.
