Welcome to Week 4. We’re one quarter of the way thru the 12 weeks.
One of the beautiful parts of the Strength For Life program is that is requires that you set goals along your journey. But not just physical goals. Inner Strength goals are required too. The suggestion is two of each: two Physical goals that can be specifically tested along the way for progress and achievement; and two Inner Strength goals that may be on going, but that have specific steps for moving forward.
Well, I’ve laid out mine, in almost the same order, kinda. More after the jump.
For physical goals, I’ve got two that are VERY specifically testable, and one that is a little vague. For Inner Strength goals, I’ve only got one specific right now. All of these are for the 12 weeks of transformation.
Physical Goals:
#1.) Gain 10 lbs. of muscle.
#2.) Run 1 mile without stopping, in eight minutes.
and
#3.) Get six pack abs.
Inner Strength Goals:
#1.) Actively learn to let go.
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Goal #1 is already in progress. How do I know? Because I weighed in three weeks ago at 160.0 lbs. As of this morning, I weighed in at 162.6. Small move - yes, but it’s moving. And here’s the bigger thing - my body fat is going down. This means that I don’t actually have to weigh in at the end of 12 weeks at 170 lbs. I know my body fat is going down, because the numbers have gone down slightly from my initial measurement with body fat calipers. It’s harder to get an exact number for % body fat with the calipers, without taking a lot of measurements of different body parts, and even then the calculations can vary. But as long as the numbers are going down slightly - body fat is dropping.
So for Goal #3, You may be saying, “Ballard, you’re like pretty SKINNY already. Why do you want to drop more body fat?” Because while I’m skinny, having low body fat and low muscle is the scary situation. Having low body fat and good muscle is a a GREAT situation. Plus, this is the path to six pack abs.
You don’t get six pack abs from building muscle alone. Tons of guys have lots of muscles, but no defined abs, because it’s the low body fat that reveals the abs. This is also the brass ring of fitness. Building a good amount of muscles, and then dropping body fat to reveal them. And stomach fat is last to go. You can’t spot remove fat, you can just lower your overall system, so this makes it the hardest goal to hit. But the good news is muscle burns fat. The more muscle I put on, the faster my body burns fat - even while sleeping.
So I’m not going to be able to give specific reports of % body fat on this challenge, but I will be able to note if the caliber numbers are going down, which means I’m closer to six pack abs as I go.
For Goal #2, running and my lung capacity has been one of my weakest points in years. So I want to be able to run solidly for at least a mile without losing my breath. For the first six weeks, since my joints aren’t used to the impact of running, and my lungs are even worse, I’m doing all of my cardio on the elliptical machine, and I’ve been working my ass off. I’m excited. I’m trying to blow out my lungs and it’s getting harder each time, which means my lung capacity is getting greater. I’m really excited. In three more weeks, I’ll be transitioning over to the treadmill and starting slow, since my ankles and tendons won’t be used to the running yet. And it’ll be a lot harder. But I think I can get there. The only danger with this goal is setting the bar too low.
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“Actively learning to let go” I’m making part of my goals, since it’s been coming up a lot in my life. And this program is perfect for it. You ever fall asleep, but you’re so tense you can’t relax and you have to coax yourself into letting the tension out, consciously until you can relax and fall asleep? Well - same thing, only for the big parts of life. I want to learn how to be able to let go of things that I’m holding on to too tightly emotionally, especially, when my emotions contradict my head. I don’t want to be empty from emotions - I only want the ability to choose to let them go, when they arise. Otherwise, they’re choosing me. So, I’ve started life coaching with my friend Tripp Lanier working on some personal emotional issues I’ve had for a while, and just looking at things that have held me back - or in how I’ve held myself back - over the years. And Tripp’s gonna try and help me learn some specific practices I can do to teach myself how to let go better.
This is a funny skill that I don’t think we teach in the West. We learn at a very early age “don’t give up” and how to be driven for most of our lives (or at least how to feel guilty for it if we don’t), but if we can’t choose or have the ability to let go and say goodbye, when we really need to, we’re just as stuck or trapped as those people who never got started in the first place. So I’m looking at learning that. I’m real interested in it lately.
That’s the skinny from week 4. Three down. Nine to go. Wish us well. Updated pictures from after weeks 2 & 4 coming soon.
Ballard