Fitness Goals
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Loading ...Just a listing, for myself, again…
Better Nutrition. Really want to work more veggies into my diet, lots of good nutrients to be had there. And generally working on getting more natural foods, less simple sugars and more good fats and protein along with complex carbs, as that’s what my body is designed to use.
Hydrate. Really important, generally speaking. Did you know that being well-hydrated on a constant basis increases the water content of ligaments and tendons, making you 3-5% more flexible? That might not sound like a ton, but a little bit can make a big difference. And of course there are all sorts of negative effects associated with dehydration, as well.
Further eliminate nagging injury concerns. Ironic that I set this goal as I just rolled my ankle a bit earlier (nothing too serious). But yeah, my right knee, lower back, and hamstrings have all been potential sources of trouble. I’ve got a pretty good handle on the knee and hamstrings, and I’ve done a bit of reading and found some new things to try for the back as well. If the ankle winds up being an issue I know all sorts of things I can do for it (I’ve done a lot of strengthening for the ankles already, generally speaking).
Further improve core strength. I’ve always had fairly solid core strength, but it can always be better. A rededication to pushup/situp sets in the morning will help here, particularly over winter break. Just doing a total of 50-60 of each with variations on the usual pushups and situps to work more parts of the abdominals and the arms/chest I feel really helped a lot when I was doing my best to not fall out of shape in Japan.
Get better at short-term recovery. This will come with conditioning, to an extent. I want to be able to go all-out in short bursts, and without taking too much time, have recovered for another burst of energy, all without having a too detrimental effect on how I feel. Conversely, doing lots of workouts where I am put beyond that lactate threshold will help me retain a focus on putting all my energy into the next cut or response to my man when I’m in a game. I used to be really solid at this–swimming training is, to an extent, geared towards making the most of the limited recovery time you have between strokes–but I’ve definitely fallen off my fitness in that area a bit. Plan to re-evaluate how I lift and try and shift towards less rest between exercises in an effort to force some improvement.
Get adequate rest. This may or may not prove difficult; it’ll depend on my courseload. Being the sober rager that I am, the party/pong/get wasted factor isn’t as big; it’ll really just be a matter of managing my time well enough during the day that I don’t wind up at 11:00 with little work done and an assignment due the next day so I can get to bed.
Don’t overdo it. Classes should provide ample distraction, but it’s definitely important to keep the working out in check. If our current schedule holds, I’ll already be doing more than enough with conditioning/plyos and lifting (though bio lab might necessitate an extra day’s work if it conflicts), and it’ll be tempting, especially for some of the young, upstart freshmen to do a lot more than is necessary. All it takes is pushing yourself beyond your limits for a little while and ample rest to trigger positive muscle development. Too much work can be detrimental to development.
That’s about it for major goals. Improving upper body strength is a more minor goal, as it’s not as crucial, though it’ll see some work for sure.
