The Pursuit of Happiness

Been thinking a lot recently about certain Lifestyle Factors and the role they play in Fitness Goals and Overall Health. Things like Social Events, Friends, Food and Sleep Quality. I think I finally had a breakthrough..

 For the past few years I've been sort of stuck in a hole. I've done so much research about food, training, sleep, etc that I have actually hurt my chances of making any gains - Paralysis by Analysis.. In fact, I've seen myself go backwards with every new thing I learned.. I over analyzed everything to the point where I couldn't do or eat anything without thinking about how it would get in the way of my training goals.. So I would go weeks without having any rewarding food, months without going out to a party or having a few drinks with friends, and thinking up new excuses not to go out to dinner with friends or clients.. And when I wasn't doing those social things I actually got depressed and ended up spiralling out of control into multiple pints of ice cream and almond butter until I was sick in the stomach, the whole time feeling horrible because I was throwing away all my hard work. This just turned into a nasty cycle that would repeat its self for a few years. I would go a month or so on track but I had to stay busy with work. If I had any down time it was like I had two devils on each shoulder whispering in my ear to head to the nearest grocery store and go crazy.

It wasn't until recently I figured out I need to stop thinking!! When I looked back at my first few months in Crossfit, I really just had the basic info on food and training, did the work, had fun on the side and got the results.. So with that in mind I've stopped weighing and measuring my food and now I'm only focusing on food quality and that is it! I'm making an effort to be more social and go out more and meet new people, try new things and not thinking about how this might negatively effect my workouts. I'm happier now than I've been in years and I think people who are around me and know me can see the difference and even hear the difference in my voice and attitude..

YOU HAVE TO BE BALANCED.. just to sum this post up, I've found that Balance is my key. Instead of having a certain fitness goal, my goal is to be more balanced in Life not worrying about my Deadlift numbers or how many calories I'm eating today. I need to party more, have fun outside of the gym, train hard, eat smart, and get some rest. In doing so, I have seen great changes in myself just in these past few days - body comp is getting better, I have a great relationship with my food, and I just feel Happy with my Life. Like I finally filled in the missing puzzle piece I needed to complete the picture. Its great to have all the information I have, its another thing entirely to use it wisely and apply just the right amounts of everything to my daily routine.

Rest Day

~Goals~

A lot of people today think they have Goals or know how to set them.. Then get disappointed when they don't accomplish their goals and wonder, "Why? What Happened?" The problem wasn't that they were incapable of achieving their goals, rather the goals they set were unattainable or they did not properly prepare to reach their goals. You see the act of setting a goal is great, but without careful planning, preparation, and execution, you are not guaranteed to reach your goals. I found the following Acronym on the web and thought that it applied to Crossfit perfectly.

Be S.M.A.R.T. when setting your goals:

S - Specific: Have I described the details rather than general ideas of the goal?

M - Measurable: Can someone else measure and see that I reached my goals?

A - Attainable: Is the goal actually reachable?

R - Realistic: Even if it is reachable, is it realistic that I am willing to do what it takes to reach it?

T - Timeline: Do I have a deadline for reaching this goal?

You see, when I set a goal for myself to compete at this years games, I knew the road ahead of me was no stroll in the park. I didn't just step up the first day of crossfit and say "I wanna win the 2010 Crossfit Games!"

No, I knew I wanted to compete, but I also knew how hard it was going to be to get to where I needed to be in a very short amount of time. So I wrote it out. "I want to compete at the 2010 Crossfit Games Sectionals in March 2010 and qualify to the Regional competition- Realistic, Specific, Attainable, and it has a Timeline....

Measurable??

Sure, with Workout Logs, Food Journals etc.. - the basic essence of Crossfit - Increased Work Capacity across Broad Time and Modal Domains. How fast can someone do a lot of functional work in a short amount of time - Every second of your time in a certain workout is a measurable and observable improvement in your fitness!

Also with Proper Training/Information, Diet/Nutrition, and Recovery I am setting myself up for success. Over the last few months I have taken these subcategories, broken them down and researched them as much as I could all day long. I have gone to the box on schedule, a lot of times at 4am due to my work schedule, to workout and train and restructure my body. No more late nights at bars or clubs. I have totally changed the way I eat. Even the way I look at food now, not as something that needs to tasty, but a fuel source, that when taken at the right time and with the proper Macro Nutrient Ratio, allows me to perform at my peak ability level.

I urge you all to set goals, no matter how big or small. Apply this acronym not just to your fitness goals, but goals you set for everyday life! Just don't write a goal down and say "OK Done!" Break it down, Study it, Master it... And make sure you are willing to put in the work your goal requires.

You can either have Results or Excuses..... Not Both!