(Warning: a vanity article…)
A key component of fitness is continual improvement. Progress doesn’t have to be immediate or drastic, but on the whole I like to see a trend of progression across the board. Strength, speed, endurance and *vainfully* appearance are all areas that I desire to see improvements in. Lately, I’ve seen some progress in each category but in a lot of ways I feel like I still have so much to improve upon.
My list of items to improve on:
squats & deadlifts – I’ve really come to believe that these are two of the most important exercises that everyone who is capable should be doing. They work not only the legs but also the back, arms, glutes as well as core. However, just because I really believe in them doesn’t mean that I’m very good at them. The weight I am currently doing would make most gym rats scoff. Plus, I’m not totally content with my form. After a few sets I sometimes feel sore in places where I shouldn’t be (meaning I need to work on doing these routines better to enhance their effectiveness and avoid injury). Anyone care to join me at the gym for a critique of my form?
lower body fat percentage (get a six pack) - yeah, I know that there is no physiological benefit of having a six pack. I know that performance wise, a six pack won’t help me play sports better or run faster. I know that largely, six packs are pretty unsustainable. However, this doesn’t negate the fact that I still want one :] After 25 years of wondering if I even had abdominal muscles, I still think it would be nice to have some definition if for no other reason than to further impress my wife. Note: we have recently discussed this and she says that she couldn’t care less (so she says). The hard and simple rule of getting abdominal definition: lower your body fat percentage.
sprinting (High Intensity Interval Training) - Sprinting is a very beneficial exercise for almost anything. I’m currently working on a regular routine to emphasize speed and prolonged endurance at higher intensities (look for a post coming soon). This is helpful for sport performance, races, metabolism, and the a fore mentioned lower body fat percentage.
supplements – Shamefully, I must admit that I currently know almost nothing about dietary supplements. When I was in heavy weight loss mode I watched everything I ate very closely and I still didn’t get into the wild world of supplements. From some of the resources I’ve currently been reading, however, I’m learning that there can be some extreme benefits from adding the proper nutrients in your diet. Again, I hope to write about some of my findings in a future post. But in the meantime, I’m currently looking into the magical properties of Omega 3 fish oil capsules. Anyone have some advice?
Bonus Round:
blogging – I wasn’t a journalism or creative writing major in school. Normally I feel more comfortable with numbers than with words. Again, this is something I’m working on. I’ve been trying to crank up the usefulness and interestingness of the content here. Hopefully one day I can write an artificial intelligence program to write the content for me. In the meantime, I guess I’ll be manning the helm myself with a continual desire to live, work, and write better.
Where are you currently on your personal goals? Are there things you would just like to be better at for no other reason than personal satisfaction?
(photo by Helico)
