Happy New Year Everyone!
Its been a while since I've posted anything. Sometimes I find myself falling victim to the information overload that runs rampant across the internet. With that being said, after the holidays I felt the need to take a bit of a blogcation and disconnect from cyber space. Admittedly, I haven't been feeling overly inspired lately either.
The last few weeks I have taken some time to think about how I would like to deliver my content from here on out. If you have followed me for any length of time you might notice I take more of an informational approach as I enjoy the teaching/coaching process and hope to impart my Gandalf like wisdom onto the end user. With that being said I will keep things informative, but plan on making things more personal as well. After all fitness is something that is very near and dear to my own heart for so many reasons. I want to give you a window into my own training and day-to-day in hopes that you will connect with me and draw some inspiration from what I do.
So let me briefly bring you up to speed with what I have been up to the last few weeks.
We traveled home for Christmas and spent close to a week up in PA with family. It was great to just relax and veg out for several days while eating inordinate amounts of Christmas cookies and visiting with family. My family and I have a very close relationship, so I always feel comforted and more grounded after spending some time with them and away from the rat race of life.
After returning from the frozen tundra of Northwest PA, I sat down and made a list of some goals I want to accomplish in 2014. There is one big change I plan on making this year that will consume the majority of my time, but I am not at liberty to discuss it at the moment. Needless to say there are going to be some big changes and challenging days ahead, but I welcome it with open arms. Other goals I want to accomplish this year are:
- Pay off some debt (why do I laugh every time I say this?)
- Finish my garage
- Surpass 550lbs on the deadlift
- Surpass 420 on the back squat
- Be a better husband by being more patient, supportive, and doing one thing I don't want to do every day
As far as my training goes, things are going pretty well. I still have aspirations of competing in a meet, but with my other goals I'm not quite ready to make that commitment just yet. I will continue to train hard and heavy, so my lifts should continue to go up provided I approach things intelligently and listen to my body. I don't feel the need to measure my success based on competition. I truly enjoy how training makes me feel and as long as the weight in my training log keeps increasing, I am happy. With that being said, I understand that competing will allow me to truly test my limits and push things to a new level, so it is definitely something I want to do.
I have been using Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 as my base template since 2010 and I really can't say enough good things about it. Since beginning the program I have seen amazing gains in strength and overall fitness. As my strength has improved, I have had to modify the program to continue to see the progress I desire, (add heavy doubles and singles, cycle main lifts etc.) but I still stay true to the roots of the program. If you are serious about getting strong and want to keep things simple, look no further. Also, Jim recently released his latest book, Beyond 5/3/1, and it is absolutely fantastic.
As a side note, for Christmas I received a pair of Rehband knee sleeves. These might be one of the best gifts I have ever received. I am a taller lifter (6'2'') with longer legs, so I have a long way down to below parallel. My knees feel great after using these for just a few weeks and they provide excellent support. If you squat heavy and deep (as you should if you have the requisite mobility and stability), or do a lot of Olympic lifting, these are a must own.
As you may or may not know, I like to keep things pretty simple regarding nutrition. Ready to have your mind blown? Whole foods, protein, lots of fruits and veggies, and healthy grains like oats and brown rice form the basis of my nutrition. Beer is my vice and that's never going to change, so don't hate. I maintain a pretty good body comp year round, so I must be doing something right. Even Superman had kryptonite so it's ok if you do too. Don't try and re-invent the wheel here. You already know what to do so sack up and make it happen.
Well that's about enough talking about myself. Hopefully this gives you a small glimpse of how I plan on approaching my training and nutrition over the next year. If you have any questions or feedback don't hesitate to drop something in the comments section!
I wish you all success in the new year!
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