Next Stop...?

Next Stop…?

Next weekend marks the end of my second 12-week training programme from Michael, so I thought now would be the perfect time for a little contemplation and thinking. Have I achieved what I wanted? Am I happy with my progress? What do I want next?

I decided to look back at the goals I had written those 3 months ago when I started this plan:

• Get a little leaner (mainly arms, torso, legs) then maintain that level
• Get my metabolism up super high so I can increase overall calories, particularly carb intake, and still maintain current condition and body fat levels
• Be able to balance sticking to the plan and also enjoying myself without feeling bad or guilty and then eating much less the next day to compensate

So which ones can I safely say I have succeeded in achieving? Well, 3 months ago I was pretty damn lean, but only eating an average of 1400 calories a day. I totally watched what I ate and was nervous about adding in extra bites here and there when people offered me things. I over thought my food choices when I was out for dinner, specifically picking things I could roughly estimate the calories of so I didn’t deviate from the plan. 3 months later and I now eat 1950 calories on average, daily. Yes I have gained a little body fat, but it hasn’t been enough to really notice enough to get upset about at any point. I happily indulge in the Easter eggs and other treats that are broken into and shared out at work and enjoy the dessert my mum makes on a Sunday night without worrying about my extra carb intake. On top of all this, my fitness has vastly improved – my stamina, my strength and my power –and I feel great for it. I think it’s safe to say, GOALS = SMASHED!

Now, I wish I could keep with the positive vibes and tell you I am super excited and motivated to smash my next lot of goals. And yes I am excited to see what more I can achieve and am motivated to do just that because fundamentally, I love training in the gym. The only question is what I actually want to get out of it now.

Currently I am at a point where I find myself eating when I’m not hungry, just to hit my total calories for each day, so do I really care about being able to increase my metabolism to eat even more without gaining fat?

Whilst I do love what I see in the mirror, I guess I’ve become accustomed to it, so it doesn’t spark the excitement and pride in me like it used to. Would therefore setting a plan to help me get super lean be something I cared about doing?

Of course I want to be able to lift heavier weights, because hey it’s pretty cool to hit PBs each week, but I wouldn’t say getting super strong was a top focus of mine, just something that comes with the territory.

I’ve had quite a few people over the past month or so ask me if I compete and it got me thinking whether this would be something I wanted to do. But I quickly – after about 5 minutes of looking into the sorts of things you have to do– decided it wasn't one for me.

So where does this leave me? What do I want to train for? It’s funny because this is a question people often ask me this question in the gym and my reply has always been ‘for life – to look good, be able to eat lots and because I enjoy it.’ Granted, this does form the basis of it all, but up until now I have had smaller, more specific things that I want to achieve –elements that inform my style of training and give me a purpose in sessions. But as I sit here now, writing this post, I am yet to know what that next goal is. I’m not saying there are no improvements to be made, hell I’ve got a long way to go and there is so much more to do, but I’m just not sure what it is exactly that I personally want to get from it.

So over the next week, while I am working through the final week of my current programme, I’m going to have a bit more of a think about how I want the next few months to play out. Fingers crossed I’ll be able to get back to you ASAP!