Update and goal setting pep talk

Apologies to those who follow the blog, I haven't had a chance recently to update it as I have recently moved flat so up until recently have had limited internet access.

GOAL SETTING

Now a subject that I think needs to discussed is in regards to having a goal. I come across so many people who attend the gym faith fully but actually have no real idea what they are trying to achieve.

Ask yourself, what are you trying to achieve? Write this down and clearly define it. Then question where you are at the moment in relation to your ultimate goal? Are you close or very far away? Question is what you are doing right now helping you get closer to the goal?

If the answer is no then its time to make some changes. Repeating the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result is insanity!

Of course some of you might struggle even defining your goal properly. This when you might need to invest in some expert help to help you define your goal. It often takes just being asked a few right questions for a light bulb to come on in your head.

Having this goal and vision is crucial. Nobody who has attained any great success in life has done so without first having a dream or vision!


MY OWN GOALS

For entertainment sake and to show that I practice what I preach here are my current goals in order of importance-

1, HEAL MY LEAKY GUT PROBLEM

I have been having abdominal problems on and off for the last couple of years that a doctor suspects is attributed to 'leaky gut syndrome'. To help cure this I have to take a special anti-pathogenic supplement and diet that involves minimising my intake of starch's and carbohydrates and eliminating any foods that could potentially have an allergenic effect such as gluten, dairy, yeast etc. I have to stay on this regime until January 15th 2011 which means most Christmas food is off the menu!

2, REDUCE BODYFAT DOWN TO A SUSTAINABLE LEVEL

With the above special diet related to my gut I have decided to use this as an opportunity to cut down on some body fat.

I have learned after many years of training that the cycle of 'bulking up' and cutting down is not very effective for gaining muscle, especially for a natural trainer. I intend in future to keep my bodyweight within five kilo's of my contest weight as this will make it easier to diet for future competitions. Adding muscle is a slow process that requires patiences and persistence. If you buy into the supplement or magazine hype of 'adding 5 kilo's of muscle in a month' then you are deluding yourself. This is pretty much impossible unless you have insane genetics for building muscle or are an absolute beginner who has never lifted a weight in their lives.

I’m currently around 10% and aim to get down to around 5-6% body fat which I will then maintain and then focus on getting stronger.

3, CONTINUE TO GET STRONGER RELATIVE TO MY BODYWEIGHT

My training focus is to continue to get stronger on basic compound movements such as chin-up's, presses, squats and deadlift’s. I believe these exercises give you the best 'bang for buck' if your goals is to add muscle, be lean and strong.

That is all for today, keep lifting hard!