Why Blog About My Fitness Goals?

Before I answer this question, here is a back story about me.


My interest in fitness started about a decade ago when my friend took me to try kickboxing. Going with a friend helped since we kept each other motivated. While learning punching and kicking techniques was fun, I preferred the strength exercises. Soon, doing 100 reps of pushups, squats, pull-ups, mountain-climbers, burpees, kettle-bells with a lot of punches, elbows, knees and kicks was not too tiring. It felt great! As I was getting more comfortable with the routine, I started looking for other activities to challenge me. I came across a Dragon Boat Club.

If you haven't seen a Dragon Boat race, take a look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPTD-CdQDWs

I went for the tryouts and got in. Without the kickboxing classes, I wouldn't have been strong enough to get into the team.

My team was a close group with amazing camaraderie. This meant everyone worked hard. No one wanted to be the one who lets the team down.We kept pushing each other and we got stronger as a team. Joining the club was the best thing to happen to my fitness. I paddled for 3 years. My team won several medals.

The dragon boat season was April through October. During the off-season, I started running with some of my teammates. I never really enjoyed long runs. But, running with friends was fun. To spice things up, we did some trail runs. Soon, I started running 10k's and half-marathons.

Personally, I was feeling great. I was having fun and I was in the best shape of my life.

But, all good things must come to an end, right? I moved to a new place for work and had to leave my team. 


So, why blog about my fitness goals now?


In 2016,  running and bouldering have been my main activities. I was quite consistent with my workouts. But, nothing or no one was pushing me. Looking back, I feel I was just taking it easy. My fitness hasn't dropped significantly. But, I have also not improved.  In 2017, I don't want to hit the wall again. I want to scale it and come out on top. So, what was missing in 2016? Why was my fitness stagnant?

I was missing my friends who constantly motivated me during kickboxing and climbing. I was missing the accountability to my team - I had to work hard to keep up with them and not let them down. Lack of motivation and accountability is one of the common reasons to not reach our goals. So, I am hoping to bring them back by publicly listing my goals.

Also, I have had multiple running injuries in the last year. So, I am modifying my training and trying minimalist shoes. I don't know if this will give the results I am looking for. But, the repeated injuries is annoying and I have to try something different. I plan to share my experiences with this here.

If this can inspire others to try new activities and live a healthy lifestyle, this blog would serve its purpose.


Here are my goals:

  • Run a half-marathon by May '17
  • Run a marathon by September '17 
  • Climb v4's by April '17
  • Climb v5's by August '17
  • Climb v6's by December '17
  • Re-gain 25 reps X 4 sets push-ups by June '17
  • Re-gain 5 reps X 10 sets strict pull-ups by June '17
  • 10 reps X 10 sets strict pull-ups by August '17
  • Re-gain 3 minute plank by Feb '17
  • 5 minute plank by June '17
  • Fingerboard (Goal to be finalized)

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 17, 2017 at 10:48 AM

    Motivating yourself by motivating others. Good thought!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Training Update - Week 1 (Jan 16 – Jan 22, 2017)

        I ran only 4 miles this week instead of the planned 6 miles. I don't mind starting slow. Especially since I just started to try forefoot running style.         For bouldering, the route difficulty is indicated by the v-Scale. V0 is the easiest routes and the difficulty increases with higher grades. Bouldering felt good at the beginning of this week.  On Wednesday, my muscles got tired fast and I could not complete few v3 climbs that I completed earlier in the week. So, Thursday was an easy day to help the muscles recover. Monday 3 V1 routes 5 V2 routes 5 V3 routes 1 V4 route  (3 failed  attempts. Need to work on finger strength) Tuesday 3 V0 routes 5 V1 routes 1 V2 route 2 V3 routes 1 failed V3 route (Need to work on finger strength) 1" campus board pull ups - 10 X 1 rep 2 X 10 reps pushups 2 X 10 reps bodyweight squats 1.5 minutes plank 2 mile run at 10 min/mile pace Wednesday 2 V0 routes 6 V1 routes 4 V2 routes 2 failed V3 routes (Tired
Read more

Training Update - Week 3 (Mar 6 – Mar 12, 2017)

    Carrying on from previous week, I did more climbing. On Saturday, I climbed a total of 20 routes. That was exhausting.     I also added couple of runs during the week and few other workouts. My high intensity routine and running feels off. I have not been very consistent with those over the last 6 months. I will start adding more exercises and increase training intensity as I get more comfortable. Monday 3 V0 routes 3 V1 routes 3 V2 routes 5 V3 routes Tuesday Warm-up: 250 meters Row 2 Mile run on treadmill 3 sets of: - 250 meters Row - 15 reps Kettle Bell Swings (35 lb) - 5 reps Strict Pull-Ups - 10 reps Push-Ups Wednesday 4 V0 routes 4 V1 routes 3 V2 routes 1 V3 routes Thursday 4 V0 routes 4 V1 routes 3 V2 routes 3 V3 routes 250 meters Row 2 Mile run on treadmill 2 sets of: - 10 reps Kettle Bell Swings (35 lb) - 10 reps Kipping Pull-Ups - 10 reps Goblet Squat (35 lb) - 10 reps Burpees Friday  - Rest Day Saturday 4 V0 routes
Read more