Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant. There is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks. – Johann Gottfried Von Herder
The 14 Week Get-Fit Challenge:
The purpose of the challenge is twofold:
- In 14 weeks time (June 2nd, 2012), Mrs Scot and I are going on our honeymoon. I want to look better for the beach.
- In about 20 weeks time I am organising a ‘challenge’ for charity which is going to be extremely physically demanding. More about this later.
I am going to give updates on how the challenge is progressing and I want as many people to join in with me as possible. However big or small your goal may be, 14 weeks is a good length of time. It is long enough to obtain some serious results (providing that we are all 100% dedicated), while it is a short enough period of time to keep us engaged. I have to quote Arnie here…
“The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.”
The first step is to set your personal goal. This can be however big or small you choose – you might want to consider one or more of the following…
- To lose a certain amount of weight
- To gain a certain amount of weight
- To run/walk a given distance without stopping
- To run/walk a given distance in a certain time
- To get a new personal best (P.B.) in deadlift, benchpress, squat etc.
- To get a six-pack
- To feel more confident
- To attend the gym regularly
- To change your diet
Whatever your goal may be, choose something and commit. We are going to set ourselves an end goal which can be broken down into ‘mini-goals’ which we can review on a weekly basis. This will give us a chance to discuss progress and help each other out with any setbacks.
Let me get started with my End Goals:
DIET:
- Consume a fizzy drink a maximum of once per week
- Eliminate white bread out my diet altogether
- Revert back to eating six-small meals per day
- Minimise consumption of chocolate/candy
GYM:
- Bench Press 120kg (265lbs) for 10 reps
- Pullups – 30 (continuous)
- Pressups – 80 (continuous)
- Squat regularly (I have naturally very strong legs and don’t want to build them up too big – I already have trouble fitting my legs in most trousers)
- Deadlift – 200kg (440lbs) for 10 reps
- Running/Cardio 3 times per week.
While you probably look at my goals and think that they are worlds apart from what you want to achieve – this doesn’t matter. The point of all of this is the journey to achievement. Personally, I am going to find the DIET tasks the hardest and most challenging, but as I already discussed, 80% of the gym is in the kitchen. I have thought about my end goals, so now I will construct my first weeks’ mini-goals:
Week 1:
I have a gym at work (completely free :D) that I can attend throughout the day. This requires me to manage my time effectively, so that I have free time in the afternoons to attend. I prefer to workout when it is quieter so that I can get on all the machines/stations that I want without waiting and without the distraction of talking to colleagues. Music is a huge motivator for me when working out. I will make myself a new Spotify playlist this afternoon for the week ahead. I will try to keep this fresh throughout the next 14 weeks by adding and removing songs as we go. My ‘mini-goals’ for the week are as follows:
- Not to buy any fizzy drinks at work; I will attempt to drink water and milk only. (I bought a new ‘Bobble’ bottle yesterday which includes a carbon filter to cleanse the water that you are drinking. Each filter is good for 300 refills – a LOT cheaper than buying bottled [not that I do that anyway 😉 ])
- Eat brown/wholemeal toast in the mornings with my poached eggs and also if I have a baguette at lunch.
- Continue to eat bananas/nuts/flapjacks as ‘small meals’ throughout the day.
- Workout a minimum of 3 times
- Bench Press – 90kg for 10 reps
- Pullups – 3 sets of 8
- Pressups – 30 continuously
- Squat – 80kg for 3 x 10 reps
- Deadlift – 140kg for 3 x 8 reps
- Row 2500m at two sessions, 30 min jog at one.
While the above list does not cover all the exercises that I will carryout, it highlights those which count towards my end goals. Reflecting on the above list; I think that I will struggle most with the fizzy drinks aspect as I often need a sugar-kick mid-afternoon. Hopefully by drinking lots of water this will help keep me hydrated and more attentive. I will keep you all updated on the progress.
Now it’s over to you… Who is going to join me on this 14-week challenge? Even if you are reading this a few weeks in – it doesn’t matter, you can still join in 🙂
I want to know your end goals and your Mini-goals for the week ahead….
🙂
Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength. – Arnie
This is a great idea! I’m pretty good at sticking to my cardio routine, but I need to get more into strength training.
My end goals are to strength train 3x/week, and get down to 27% BF (I’ve hit a plateau… been stuck at 31% for a while…)
And my mini goal for this week would be to do a crap ton of research about weight bearing exercises, and try some of them out during 2 non-cardio work outs.
BrokeElizabeth recently posted..Body Image
I’m glad you are in!
Your goals sounds pretty good – please share your research with us on the other page 🙂 https://savvyscot.com/fitness-challenge/
Best of luck
savvyscot recently posted..The 14-Week Fitness Challenge – Are You In?
In 21 weeks, (July 15) I am completing my first Half Iron distance triathlon (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run).
I’m following a training plan, and working to build my endurance on the bike (the swim and the run are good).
My weight and nutrition are under control, although staying away from sweets is still a challenge.
So, for your 14 week mark, I want to be able to ride my bike for 200 minutes, hopefully being able to maintain an average speed of 16 miles per hour for the ride. That would give me a training ride of just over 50 miles.
My only weight related goal during training is to not gain any weight.
And I need to add strength training, so I will commit to either doing weights at the gym or at home a minimum of 1 time per week.
Finally, I’m going to try to get to yoga at least 2x per month. The stretching is good for me!
Great challenge, I love it!
Kris @ BalancingMoneyandLife recently posted..Weekly Friday Link Round Up – March 2, 2012
Hey Kris – thanks for joining! That is very impressive that you are training for a half iron man. I have always wanted to do one – you have given me some motivation! What is your current nutrition plan?
Yoga is a great idea too – something I have been meaning to try for too long. Maybe that will be next week 🙂
savvyscot recently posted..The 14-Week Fitness Challenge – Are You In?
I’m not following a formal nutrition plan right now – having lost a lot of weight, I’m used to tracking my food from a calories perspective! But, everyday eating consists of lean protein, lots of fruits & veggies, whole grains, and limited dairy. I consume between 1500 & 2200 calories a day; more on really hard training days. About 60% of my calories come from carbohydrates. I find I have trouble digesting protein powders, so I don’t use supplements. We’ll see ifI wind up eating more as training picks up!
Kris @ BalancingMoneyandLife recently posted..Compulsive Shopping – Curbing the Urge to Overspend
Interesting – Do you make an effort to eat complex carbs though?
I’m in SS! Just started back at CrossFit yesterday! I’ll set some goals and cheer you along. Where’s the honeymoon? (Did I miss it in the post or another post?)
Nick recently posted..Financial Simplicity Carnival – First Edition
Hey Nick – perfect timing! Would be great if you post up some goals too.
The honeymoon is not until June. We figured that spending 2 weeks in Thailand would be pretty hard to beat – so we postponed it for 5 months 😉 Kinda got 2 for 1 out of that too!
savvyscot recently posted..The 14-Week Fitness Challenge – Are You In?
I’m in! Good luck with your goals! 🙂
I’ll use these:
1. Weigh 145 pounds by June 2nd.
2. Exercise at least 39 times between now and June 2nd.
3. Stay on the Weight Watcher Points Plus plan strictly every week too (250 points or less a week).
Crystal recently posted..Weekly Favorites, Gratitude, and Giveaways #60
Hey! Great that you have joined too Crystal 🙂
Some good goals – can you explain briefly what the ww plan is? I will publish a post tomorrow detailing all the contenders who have signed up!
I’m definitely in on this one!
In 14 weeks I hope to…
1) Be under 240lbs (18.2 lbs drop)
2) Get in at least 50 quality workouts
3) Complete a mile in under 10 minutes
4) Be able to do 100 straight push ups (I currently have a push ups challenge on my website)
I think that’s enough for now…great challenge!
Khaleef @ Fat Guy Skinny Wallet recently posted..Week 15 Weigh In – At Least The Yo-Yo Didn’t Jump Up Too Far
Hey Khaleef! Some great goals there – 50 workouts is a decent target!
Checking out the pushup challenge 🙂
savvyscot recently posted..The 14-Week Fitness Challenge – Are You In?
I’m in!
I just started training for a half marathon. The run is on 5/20. My goals:
– run (at least) 14 miles a week
– lift 2 times a week
Perfect timing with this post! It will give me more motivation. Thanks
Paul @ Make Money Make Cents recently posted..Living On Dividends
Welcome aboard! 14 miles per week is a good goal! Best of luck
I would like to join.
I want to lose 25 pounds 🙂 -the main goal
Stop drinking so much soda and drink more water
Run a 5k without walking any portion of it
Renee recently posted..10 Day No Spend Challenge:
Welcome aboard! I will add you in later today 🙂 – Good goals and good luck! The water one is a big thing for me. So far so good, but it is such a change of habit!