New goals, new tactics

(photographic evidence I'm a nerd and train while on vacation)

Refreshed after a week-long vacation, I feel more than ready to tackle some new fitness goals. Training for a half marathon was fun, but the amount of time I spent running prevented me from doing more than sustaining my existing muscle. Because I was focused on endurance, my strength also declined, I probably lost a bit too much weight (It’s kind of embarrassing to go to a major retailer and they don’t carry pants small enough to fit your waist*). Now that I’m packing away my anti-chafing sticks and water belts, I’m ready to hit the weights and try to gain some strength and muscle. My goal is to improve without gaining too much additional body fat, but I realize I won’t be as lean as I am now. All said and done, I hope to be lean and at least 160lbs.

In the past I’ve struggled with sticking with a fitness goal when I’m not preparing for a specific event like a race. I would start a program focused on strength only to change my mind a few weeks into it and swap to a program more focused on losing body fat. Bouncing around from goal to goal makes it difficult to measure success and achieve noticeable results. This time things will be different. I will stick to my goal of adding muscle while at the same time not letting myself get bloated or out of shape. Because who wants to be muscular but sweat profusely walking up the steps to nosebleed seats at the ballgame?

I designed my own workouts, loosely plagiarized from various trainers that I respect. My diet won’t change dramatically except that I am upping my protein consumption and increasing my carbs on the days that I train. Instead of obsessing about macronutrients and calorie counts, I follow some basic rules and adhere to them about 90% of the time. I also allow a few cheat meals on the weekend, because I crave bad chain restaurants and have a fro-yo addiction. An average day would look something like this:

• Breakfast – ½ cup dry plain instant oatmeal with fruit, 3 omega eggs with vegetable topping & ketchup
• Snack – Handful dry roasted almonds, large piece of fruit or plain yogurt
• Lunch – Turkey sandwich on whole grain bread or wrap (no cheese), side of veggies
• Snack – Yogurt or protein shake, second piece of fruit
• Post Workout – Glass of skim milk, fruit or other carb source or protein shake with carbs
• Dinner – Large piece of fish or chicken, whole grain like quinoa or brown rice, and vegetables
• Dessert - Small Greek yogurt and fruit (on training days)

My basic nutrition guidelines don’t allow liquid calories from soda and juices. Though hard to cut out at first, I do just fine with lots of coffee and diet soda. I also steer clear of most processed carbs like white breads or cereals. Whole grain breads and fruits make up the majority of my carb sources. I like to get my protein from lean sources like fish and chicken and my snacks avoid added sugars. I also try to get as many vegetables in as possible, which is so important for general health and disease prevention. If I stick to these guidelines 90% of the time and make adjustments as I monitor my progress, I’m confident I’ll reach my goal of gaining muscle and increasing strength over the next four months.

Another time I’ll go into detail on my training plan. How do you plan to get better?


*Don't judge, I'm a naturally petite man.