JCC 2023 Fitness Goals

2023 has gone well, but not quite to plan. When I wrote down my goals, I didn’t know that I would become a father this year. It’s been great, but I’ve had very little time to train since the summer. No hill runs.

I decided to focus on my diet and (mostly through calorie control and eating better) I’ve dropped just over 30 lbs since September. This is the lightest I’ve been since pre-covid. I get to the gym once (maybe twice) a week and I’m just running 5k on the treadmill followed by some chin-ups and dips.

Although I adjusted my goals, I’m very happy with my progress this year. I’ll try to build on this in 2024.

 

So:

• I didn't reach 145. I bottomed out at 155 and am currently in the low 160s. But that's okay because I've improved in other areas, mainly strength and that means building muscle, and muscle is heavy.
• I'm now swimming laps and able to swim a lap or two on my own without my fins, and several with fins. And I can now start to do turns as well. We're at the point of making small tweaks to things mostly, and I can call myself a swimmer for the most part. Still haven't figured out treading water.
• I sustained regular visits to Planet Fitness for a few months before my crazy travel schedule forced me to pause... and then I never got restarted. But now I have set up sessions with a personal trainer that start January 8, so I can get back into it.
• The day hikes didn't happen, but I did do the backpacking trips. One turned into a day hike on the Appalachian Trail because of weather, but I'll count it anyway. The other was a great Labor Day weekend in Shenandoah National Park.
• Well, I wrote that anticipating a slow start, but instead I ended up taking a deep dive into whitewater kayaking as opportunities presented themselves. I lost count, but it was around 20 to 30 river runs, and I advanced from a total beginner nervous on easy Class II water to being comfortable on the Class III Middle Ocoee River, which is quite the improvement and according to what others have told me, quite impressive for a first-year paddler.

Next year's goals:

• Maintain below 165 pounds
• Attempt a couple of short triathlons (I'm already signed up for an indoor triathlon in February)
• Figure out how to tread water
• Continue building strength; specific goals: 1) do a pull-up, 2) squat 150 pounds for reps, 3) bench press 150 pounds for reps
  
• Run a 5K in under 30 minutes (stretch goal: under 25 minutes)
• Run 5 miles
  
• Continue improving my kayaking skills and get into some Class IV rivers

 

52 days of walking 60k steps or more. 33.8k daily step average. A record I don’t think I will ever beat. But then again I didn’t think I was going to beat 32k from 2021 either.

nearly 5,400 miles walked this year.

almost 8 times as many steps as the average American.

 

-did not run an official half marathon
-i deadlift 565 now, which is a 50 lb PR
-actually put on about 8 lbs of muscle so I’m like 233
-I bench 315 for 2 now, but I haven’t gone for 3 yet.

No injuries, focus was harder in the first half of the years as I was completing my masters and then immediately completed my personal trainer’s certification. But the motivation didn’t change.

I’m VERY, VERY satisfied with how this year went. I’m carrying these same goals over into the new year but I don’t feel like I didn’t make progress. I feel like I made progress in different directions and accomplished other goals.

But I don’t leave meat on the bone. These goals are getting knocked off next year because focus and commitment, even when things are going extremely well, are integral to discipline.

 

Final update on the intragastric balloon:

Total weight loss was 50 pounds. Im a bit sad because I was hoping to lose more like 70 to 80 pounds, and I couldve been more disciplined at times, but things went so well this year in so many aspects that I started to have too much fun, and I drank and ate more than I should have. However, 50 pounds is still a lot, and I feel better than ever.

In March I have scheduled and appointment with a plastic surgeon, and depending on what he says, if I need to lose more weight I might try Ozempic to lose about 20 o r 30 more pounds before I take off all the excess skin. In the meantime I am hitting the gym hard to pack on some muscle.

This journey never ends.