2015 : THE YEAR I DESIGN MY FITNESS
Here’s the plan : I’d love to get more fit. Like the fittest my body is safely capable of. I don’t even know what that fully means but I’m curious and motivated to find out. What does my body feel and look like at its very best?
I currently work as a mobile app designer and spend a giant block of my days sitting behind a computer screen. Not ideal for a healthy body but I make special efforts to work it out. Ever since my early days in design school, it confused me why other designers (*stereotype alert*) seemed to care very little about the shape of their body. In my mind, our body is a “blank canvas” for us to shape and care for. Perhaps the best project you will ever work on is you.
For me, there are generally 3 reasons for the gym:
• General health
• Athletic performance
• Body shape/aesthetics
Thanks to active hobbies and a progressively nutritious diet my general health has been very good. As a collegiate soccer player, most all my workouts and time in the gym has been based around performance. So really, for the first time ever, I’m giving more focus to the 3rd point : Body shape and aesthetics.
Obviously, achieving a bigger/better body is only going to get harder as I get older. I’m 25(ish;) and am feeling a “now or never” self-induced pressure. The nice part is, the sooner I’m able to achieve a higher level of fitness and health, the more of my life I’ll be able to enjoy it.
So here we go. 2015 is the year. Some buddies are joining me and if you’re feeling motivated, you can too. I’ve done the research and work to prepare and we’re excited to get started.
THE RESEARCH
I’ve done crazy research in preparation for this. Side note : back in 2010 I actually got certified as a personal trainer through NASM. That gave me a good general foundation but that’s about it. The body building industry is filled with debate. There are definitely numerous paths to similar end results. It seems every day there is a new trend, a new supplement, or a new “ground breaking” discovery. I spent most of my time focusing on the basic principles that seem to be proven and agreed upon across the board.
3 proven principles:
- Diet : Diet makes all the difference. It can fully boost or fully block all your hard work and development. Here are lists for good supplements and also other good foods to shop for.
- Variation : No matter how high quality a workout is, if you never switch things up your body will eventually plateau. Variables like sets, weight, muscles, speed, intensity, lifts, and rest. Here is a full list of the 7 variables : The 7 Variables for Body Building
- Form : Poor form can lead to injuries and incorrect muscle development. Proper form enhances posture and all around better physique. With every exercise I research proper form and execution : Video Tutorials
THE PLAN
No crazy shortcut supplements or unproven fads. Just a consistent pattern of the right nutritious diet, hard work, and then more hard work.
I have constructed a specific MON-SAT workout plan that evolves every month. The variables and exercises change to stimulate progress and avoid plateauing. I have a dietary plan to properly fuel growth and recovery in the best ways, natural and organic.
Below is an empty template for the monthly workout sheet I’ve designed.
GETTING STARTED
Everything in life is better with friends so I’ve recruited some of my bestests to join me. We will be able to support each other with motivation and accountability. If you’re interested in joining us, let me know and I’ll add you to the list : ) It will be fun to see how each of us uniquely progresses. I’m currently 150 lbs and 7% body fat. I first goal will be to reach 170 lbs and 5-7% body fat. Then we’ll see from there.
To kick things off you’ll need the following :
- Gym : I workout at 24 Hour Fitness
- Supplements : as you can see, a lot of vegan proteins and superfoods.
- Good foods : I eat about 4000-4500 calories a day. I don’t track closely. More so I just try and feel full off healthy foods every 3 hrs or so.
- Equipment : aaand if you’re comfortable with your masculinity you might want to invest in some good workout gloves ; )
JANUARY
I’m already at a pretty good level of health so January’s is designed to jump right in at a pretty high level of intensity and growth. Below is January’s workout sheet.
As you can see, the workout sheet tells you how to use each variable, which muscles groups to focus on each day, and which specific exercises to complete. But, then it is up to YOU to set your weights and reach your MAX, and then work hard until you reach your personal fail/LIMIT.
Here is a complete list of video tutorials for every workout : JANUARY WORKOUT TUTORIALS
I’ve been using my designed worksheet for the past few weeks and love it. I purposely stacked the MAX and LIMIT for each week on top of each other so I could easily see what I did the week before and then do my best to top it!
TALKING THE TALK
A lot of the resources I studied emphasized the importance and benefits of “publicly declaring your goals and plan.” So..I guess I’ve officially talked the talk :/ My resources also suggested posting my “BEFORE” pics. Not really feeling brave enough for those to be floating on the interwebs so I’ll cowardly just post these thumbnails below for now ; )
Let’s make the most of life.
Sincerely,
Garrett Gee
