Fit AF goal
jasonleow • 23 Dec 2021 •
So I created a new goal for 2022 – Fit AF.
What
Fit AF is about getting fit as f**k. It’s me voting for my health by committing to workouts and runs that I used to do with ease. Time to get back to being fit in 2022.
- Present state: Run 20m, walk 100m. Can’t even do a few pull-ups.
- Future state at end of 2022: Run 2km without rest. Deadlift at least body weight.
I just want to get back to what I used to be able to do. Anything more is a bonus.
Why
I used to run 3 times a week, and finished each run with body weight conditioning. Since the baby arrived, I stopped running altogether. Then the pandemic descended upon us and made things worse – I stayed indoors, was mostly sedentary. Now after 2 years, I probably lost all the fitness I used to have.
The keto diet might have helped me keep weight off, but I shouldn’t over-index on just diet to keep me in good health. Referencing just weight alone is not enough. Health is so much more. I also want to go beyond simply maintaining to thriving, from physical health to physical wellness.
Cardio for overall health, and strength training for building muscle mass, increasing insulin sensitivity. I want to exercise better, not longer.
How
The approach is to practice what I usually preach when it comes to habit formation: start laughably small, and progress incrementally from there. And to remind myself constantly that I got the whole year to make progress, in case I got impatient and lose interest. I hesitated setting incremental milestones as that might throw me off. Instead, I’ll go the more intuitive route and increase load as I feel it.
The main issue here isn’t so much lack of motivation, but being able to find a time slot where I can work out without compromising on work or baby care commitments.
Running
The end target is 2km simply because that’s the length of the running route at the lake near my place. But for a start: every Monday at 5am, go for a 10min walk and return. Lay out my workout clothes on Sunday night to reduce barrier. I set it to just once a week and for 10min, based on how I felt after I typed it out. If that little voice says “Urgh”, I dial it down. If it says “Ok that’s doable”, then it’s the right load.
Lifting
I googled what might be a reasonable weight to lift for untrained novices - apparently about 100-150% of body weight is good enough for novices. So that’s about 70kg.
But without being able to go to gyms due to pandemic restrictions, I’m not sure how this can happen. Perhaps by buying loose weights? Kettle bells? But just wanted to set the intention here first, and work out a solution as I go. In the meantime, I’ll front-carry my son for his daily walks (~10kg) as a start. I remembered when I was doing this daily for a period of time, I gained muscle weight. It’s a start, at least…
Comments
Yes agree. I had set similar goals this year but never quite got down to it. That’s why I didn’t care to set ambitious targets this time. Just something laughably small.
I will be watching this one closely. I’m glad you picked this goal for next year, but I admit it gives me anxiety because my fitness is for shit. For some reason, when it comes to losing weight or getting fit, setting goals has not worked for me. I need to start from the ground up with daily habits. I take my writing habit as a case in point. I didn’t start out with a goal to write daily for three years but somehow I did it.