It’s kind of a cliche to get all into “goals” around January 1. Personally, I look at the beginning of a new year as the time to review what I’ve done over the past year, evaluate my current goals, set new ones and redirect or alter my life course as necessary. I work with my goals and with goal setting all year and often on a daily basis as I evaluate, re-evaluate and change and revise my goals. I don’t look at Jan 1 as a time to set goals and then forget them, I see it more as a logical time to increase my focus on my goals and I look at the beginning of the New Year as an ending of one time period and the beginning of another.

This year – 2012 – in particular seems to be shaping up to be particularly intense and productive in some really great ways – many old and unneeded or negative things are ending, many new, positive things are beginning, new goals and opportunities are coming into focus and positive change is pretty much pervasive in my life right now. That makes this New Year even more important to me and has me even more actively focused on the coming year. But, I do with my goals almost daily and think a very regular, year-round focus is the best way to get results.

This post gives you a number of different techniques and options for envisioning goals, setting them and creating something solid to review regularly to keep on track and check in on your progress. I’ve used all of these methods at one time or another and I still pretty much use all of them to varying degrees. My two favorites though, are the index cards and the MS Word document that I’ve talked about before.

Goal Setting – Going Multi-Media…

Something that I can get ridiculously excited about at times is this Web 2.0 world we live in. There are virtually ENDLESS opportunities to indulge our creativity when it comes to goal setting. You can pretty much find a picture or a video of just about anything you want to add to your goals…

Below is a new YouTube Playlist I started this morning. All you need is a user account to save the Playlist and you can create a collection (or multiple collections) of videos to watch when you need a little extra inspiration. Before working out is a great time to watch them…

If pictures are more your thing, you can search ONLY images with Google. Here’s just part of the results I got for “Strongman Training.” Plenty of images to cut and past into a Word document or print out on photo paper and add to index cards.

There’s also this site called Pinterest.com. You can create “boards” and “pin” pictures to them. You can also tag your pics so others can find the topics you’re posting on. You can also search for topics and see what others are posting and “re-pin” their pics to your boards. It’s a fun site and more and more of my Facebook friends are showing up on the site every day. I expect Pinterest to become a really popular and active site in the next year.

Of course, if you wanted to go “old school” you could just create an album on Facebook and put all your inspiration pics in there. You might even – GASP – print your pics out and keep them in a physical folder!

Community…

Speaking of Facebook, there’s this community called “Strong is the New Skinny” on there that can be inspiring and supportive every now and then…

Joking aside, getting yourself hooked into a good, supportive community is a GREAT way to share goals and stay on track. And the internet makes it ridiculously easy to find people who share your values and will support you in your goals. There’s no reason for anyone with an internet connection to go it alone – there are plenty of great groups and forums and other places online to find like-minded people 24-hours a day. In the past, I struggled with finding people who shared my niche and sometimes odd-ball interests. In the 21st Century though, there’s no reason to feel isolated because the people you encounter in your daily “bricks and mortar” world don’t share your values.

Reaching your goals and creating positive change in your life is very much dependent on having a good, supportive peer group that can encourage you, support you and that you can learn from. Humans are STRONGLY influenced by the other humans they interact with on both the conscious and subconscious levels. There’s a statistic that says we tend to earn within 10% one way or the other of the people closest to each other. I find this is usually the case. You can probably extrapolate that figure to fitness, health, happiness, satisfaction with life and almost any other life quality. You become like what and who you surround yourself with so be careful, be selective and be the kind of person other successful and positive people like to surround themselves with…

Word Processor Documents…

You can always go with a simple old word processor document in a program like MS Word. Here’s a video I did at the beginning of this year as part of my first blog post on goal setting called: “Creating a Fitness Vision and Training Goals for the New Year.”

With a Word doc, it’s easy to add and expand it, print it out, etc. I still have my master vision in a Word doc, but I’ve come to find the index cards a little easier and faster to work with every day. I like the cards for every day reading and review to stay on track and the word processor document for higher level, more formal goal setting and planning…

BTW, my MS Word vision doc is up to 167 pages of pics and text! It’s 6,361 words, too! It definitely describes my ideal life and lifestyle in detail!

What’s even cooler about the Word doc is that, when I go back through the older drafts, I find that many things have actually happened! They’re not always present in my life in exactly the way I wrote them, but many, many things have come to be in a similar – or better way – than they were written!

Books and Magazines…

“If a man empties his purse into his head no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

- Benjamin Franklin

I just LOVE books! I have literally hundreds and hundreds of books. Below are just a couple of the books I’m currently reading or picking through. It’s an eclectic collection for sure and I find that just reading a few pages in a book about something I’m currently working on as a goal or project can really stimulate my thinking, creativity and enthusiasm.

I’ve made it a habit for years now to “feed my mind” every single morning with a good book that inspires or educates me. My morning routine since somewhere around 2006 has been to get up and have coffee with a good book on something I’m currently interested in. I don’t think I could even put a value on what that practice has brought to my life in positive payoff…

I’ve had a real love for magazines since I was a kid. Pretty early on in life I learned that virtually any interest you could possibly have had at least one – and likely several – magazines devoted to it. Now, in the 21st Century that’s more true than ever. Things have become more and more “niched down” and there are magazines that cater to virtually every interest. Yes, it’s true that the mainstream journalism markets have taken a beating, but niche journalism is doing great! And, many print magazines blur the line between online and offline by posting additional content online that connects with the print content.

I routinely scan pics in magazines to my computer and print them out on good photo paper for use on my cards. This card has a pic of a truck that has a VERY specific set of characteristics I want to keep in front of me and in my head for my own truck project.

A good magazine is GREAT for giving you lots of pics to draw ideas and inspiration from and they can really help you find websites, products and other resources related to your interests that you’d likely never find through a search engine – because you wouldn’t know that they existed to look for them!

Making It Happen…

Two of the absolute greatest resources for goal setting and creating a larger vision for your life are the “Getting Things Done” books by David Allen and the CD set “The Time of Your Life” by Anthony Robbins. I recommend both very highly. I’ve personally worked with all these resources for years now. They tend to take on greater and deeper meaning for me as the years pass and I work through them over and over.

I consider “The Time of Your Life” by Robbins to have been an absolutely pivotal program for creating positive change in my life. EVERYTHING changed for me the morning I did the “Finding Your Vision” meditation on the second CD of Day 4. It was the first time I really “saw” and “felt” my life in the way I wanted it to be and in alignment with my deepest purpose and desires. Once I had a feel for that vision I began YEARS of positive changes that led me to end many things and begin many others. My involvement in CrossFit and Kettlebells, my career as a coach and trainer, my health and healing – as just a few examples – were a direct result of the work I did with that program…

Is There Achievement Without Striving, Struggling and Stressing?

Michelle and I were just in yoga class tonight. The instructor was talking about – what else – goals and New Years resolutions… Her take was basically that last year she had all these goals and she was all motivated to go after them in 2011 – and very few of them materialized. So, THIS year, her goal was to “let life happen” and not try to control things too much. My first reaction was to give her a copy of “Getting Things Done…” (Actually, my FIRST reaction was to throw a copy at her head! How very “yoga” of me…)

Michelle and I were talking about this after and the point came up about achievement without striving. My firm belief is that, when you’re on the path you need to be on and you’re aligned with your spirit’s deepest path and purpose, there won’t be a lot of stress and striving. Yeah there will be hard work, but it won’t have that frantic, caffeinated, stressful feeling to it – and it definitely won’t be draining and exhausting.

I can contrast my life now and the things in it – the great Strong is the New Skinny community on Facebook, all my martial arts friends, my great girlfriend, a successful eBook, etc. – with what things felt like when I was working a corporate job, doing graduate classes at night and trying to keep my too big and too expensive house afloat. Things flow pretty well for me now. I still have to work hard, but I don’t feel that exhausting and stressful pushing and striving like I once did when I was living a life that wasn’t aligned with who I am on a deep level. And, the places where I DO feel that negative striving and pushing feeling are actually the places where I’m cleaning up the mess that was my old life. They’re the things I’m working to settle and put to rest. The NEW stuff is flowing and unfolding pretty easily…

When you’re aligned with your TRUE purpose in life and you’re heading where you’re supposed to be heading, things have more of a tendency to flow…

I say the above just to provide some balance and insight. I truly belive that life IS NOT meant to be a struggle. If your life is an endless struggle – or feels like one more often than not – you should probably take a look at some of the deeper more spiritual levels of life like your path and your purpose.

As a little “bonus,” I’ll share a resource that had a profound impact on my life about 5 or so years ago. The resource is the CD Set “Prosperity – How to Apply Spiritual Laws To Create Health, Wealth, And Abundance In Your Life” by Randy Gage. If you’re interested in a spiritual – yet very down to earth and accessible – audio series on manifesting your goals and prosperity in your life, this set set is just awesome.

Now, Get to Work!

I’ve tried my best to give you plenty of options, resources, techniques and strategies for setting goals and staying focused on them. If you have others I didn’t mention, be sure to leave a comment to share it with me and the others who are reading this post.

That’s it for now. Good luck and may 2012 – and beyond – be a great time of positive achievement!

ttys

Adam

A big part of my personal journey recently has been about improving my training. I’ve come at this goal from a bunch of different directions and used many different tools and ideas from a wide range of disciplines and areas to make it happen. Not everything I’ll suggest is typical, but it IS something that’s improved my training on some level and that I think can improve yours too…

1) Set Goals – I talk a lot about setting goals. And I think goal setting is a HUGE step in the process of improving your fitness and improving your life. One of the best programs I’ve ever worked through on goal setting is “Time of Your Life” by Anthony Robbins. It literally changed my life. If you want to see the method I use to keep track of and refine my goals, check out this video blog I did on goals and creating a fitness vision. You don’t need to take it quite to that level – though I think doing so will greatly improve your results AND your life – but the process is something you can use to get yourself on track and get a vision for where you want to go that’s bigger than where you are currently.

2) Add Some Active Recovery Training – This can really be anything from yoga to basic stretching to joint mobility work to committing to using a foam roller regularly. Currently, my active recovery stuff is yoga, meditation and walking around the beaches here in Saybrook Manor (sometimes with a few pounds in my weight vest). The point is, you NEED to “put something back in the tank” when you’re training hard regularly and pushing your limits. I’m always amazed when I see people – particularly CrossFitters – who train themselves nearly to death in their workouts and do virtually NO recovery stretching or “body maintenance” type stuff to help the body recover and improve flexibility, range of motion, etc. If you need some suggestions for this area, check out “Yoga for Dummies” and “Yoga on the Edge” by Sara Ivanhoe and also mobilityWOD.com by Kelly Starett. BTW, things like yoga and mediation have some massive additional benefits that I talk more about in number 10…

3) Learn and Refine a Sport  – For me, this is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and, to a lesser extent, Mixed Martial Arts. It can really be anything you want and are interested in though. I have a few friends who are into cycling, lots of friends who do martial arts, some who are into Olympic lifting or Powerlifting, etc. The point is, when you choose an area to focus on that has a “constant improvement” or “competitive” aspect to it, all sorts of good things happen. It also helps focus your training because now you’re training for performance in a specific area – it gives you “yardstick” to gauge your progress. If CrossFit or “Sport of Fitness” is your sport, you can still choose a “sub-division” to train, refine and specialize in for a period of time. Find a CrossFit cert that’s interesting to you or nearby and commit to training that particular area for 6 months to a year. For example, you could do a Rowing Cert, Running Cert, Oly Lifting, etc. and then train the techniques you learned. Either way, when you start really training yourself in a focused and specific area, your body and mind respond in a way that’s different from when you’re just “training to get in shape…”

4) Periodize Your Training – This one is HUGE for me. Like most “exercise addicts,” I LOVE to train. I feel weird and depressed when I don’t train and that makes it really hard to take rest days and cycle my training in a way that works LONG TERM. CrossFit is a place where this is particularly important because the usual idea is to “go hard” all the time. My opinion – and guys like Robb Wolf will back me up – is that you need to cycle your intensity by scaling workouts or changing the “perceived intensity of effort” in a regular way. If you look at the Powerlifting world as an example, you’ll see that NO Powerlifters train all out, all the time. In fact, they usually only “peak” their training poundages a few times a YEAR with an absolute maximum effort. Look at the Westside Barbell program by Louie Simmons or Wendler 5/3/1 to get a better understanding of what I’m talking about. Both of these programs cycle intensity and take a very long-term approach to progress. I’ve also talked about this topic at length in my blog posts “Strength Training and CrossFit” and “CrossFit Workouts and Becoming More Efficient.”

5) Clean Up Your Diet – This one is just SO important. By now, everyone probably knows I’m pretty much sold on some interpretation of Paleo. But, seriously, if you haven’t tried REALLY cleaning up your diet for 30 or 60 days – and I mean 100% CLEAN – you’re cheating yourself. I recently recommitted myself to eating 100% clean for a month and you know what happened? I felt so good when the month was over I committed to doing the ENTIRE SUMMER 100% CLEAN. I’m not even going to have a birthday cake for my birthday in July – I’d rather FEEL AWESOME on my birthday and the days after! Clean up your diet and you’ll see that commitment and focus expand into other areas of your life – and you’ll feel great besides. BTW, if you need some REAL WORLD information on diet – Paleo or just healthy eating in general – check out my eBook “The Paleo Dieter’s Missing Link.” It’s over 160 pages of unbiased, hard-hitting, no BS information on eating for health!

6) Choose a Short-Term Focus Area – I touched on this one a little bit above. Choose an area you’re going to focus on for a 3, 6 or 9 month period and work it HARD and CONSISTENTLY. It could be Pull-Ups, Double Unders, Gymnastic Skills, Running or a certain technique in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu like Arm Bars or Side Mount. This particularly effective when it’s something you currently SUCK at. The point is, if you “drill down” into a specific area or two, you can likely become nearly expert at it in a relatively short time period. It’s just a matter of focusing your efforts. When you focus on a technique or skill or two like this for a time period you’ll actually make much faster progress than if you try to train “everything” for the same period.

7) Choose a Long-Term Focus Area – This one is different from what I was talking about above. You need to also decide on your LONG TERM training focus. This is your MAJOR area of focus and is probably going to be the area you’re most passionate about, the best at and the most committed to improving over a lifetime. Especially when into “everything” like I am and lot of others are, you have to decide what you’re going to become OUTSTANDING at. For example, if you’re a Martial Artist and you’re into Kettlebells and CrossFit, you might decide that Martial Arts are your lifetime focus area where you commit to becoming world class over the course of your lifetime, kettlebells are something you excel at and CrossFit is something you enjoy the benefits of because it improves your other training and makes your Martial Arts better. I talked about this topic in detail in my post “You’re Only as Strong as Your Foundation.” The point is, you simply CAN’T be awesome at everything you do and you need to choose where to focus your limited resources. I think it’s also really important to take Seth Godin’s advice and choose an area that you can actually become THE BEST IN THE WORLD AT. Read his incredible book “The Dip” for more on this and check out this tiny little post by Seth called “Make the World Smaller.”

8 ) Do Technique Work – This goes along with 3, 6 and 7 and has a lot to do with the blog post I mentioned in 4, “CrossFit Workouts and Becoming More Efficient.” It blows me away when I see people training movements like the Powerlifts or Olympic Lifts and they have ZERO understanding of the technique fine points. Do you REALLY think – because your “trainer” or “coach” showed you how to do a movement for 10 quick minutes as part of a warm up before the WOD – you actually “HAVE” that movement and don’t need to practice and refine it? Some athletes spend AN ENTIRE LIFETIME perfecting movements like the Front Squat, Deadlift, Clean and Clean and Jerk. A freakin’ lifetime! There is ALWAYS room for improvement. If you don’t believe me, check out this short little article by Coach Glassman called “Fundamentals, Virtuosity and Mastery.”

9) Create Hard Deadlines – This is a great one to put positive pressure on yourself to really deliver over the short or medium term. This can be anything you want. Enter a local CrossFit competition, commit to a 30 0r 60 day Paleo Challenge at your box, enter a Powerlifting competition or whatever. I just recently did this when Jason Lambert from the UFC was coming to teach a seminar at Modern Self-Defense Center last month. I committed to eating 100% clean and being in the best possible shape I could be in for the seminar – and I organized my training for the 5 weeks leading up to the seminar accordingly. When you have a hard deadline to be in shape and feeling good, you make different decisions and you bring a greater intensity to your training.

Me with Jason Lambert in May of 2011

10) Learn to Quiet Your Mind – This might be one you weren’t expecting. I’ve been working with the concepts in Eckhart Tolle’s incredible book, “The Power of Now,” for over a year – and they CONSTANTLY take on new meaning for me and lead me to deeper and deeper understandings of myself, my spiritual side and so many other things. If your mind is constantly “chattering away” and you’re not in control – or at least conscious – of  your behavioral patterns, motivations and, particularly, the places where you screw yourself up, you’re going to have a really hard time making progress. Beyond that, I think TRUE HEALTH happens on EVERY level – Physical, Emotional and Spiritual. There’s a lot more to being healthy – things like having a life you love and being able to function in your work, your friendships and intimate relationships. Health isn’t just about having abs and  a good Fran time…

That’s if for now. Below is a little bonus for you if you feel like picking up a new book or two this week.

ttys

Adam

Three Books (That Have Nothing To Do With Training) That Will Improve Your Training…

1. “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle
2. Some good fiction like “The Dresden Files” series by Jim Butcher – I first received the advice of reading fiction at night to wind down from Tim Ferris in “The Four Hour Work Week.” I am a HUGE fan of light fiction reading at night to reduce stress and improve sleep!
3. “Full Catastrophe Living” by Jon Kabat-Zin

I’m on another emotional and spiritual growth spurt. I HATE these! I mean, I love them, but I hate them too. It’s great to grow and evolve – constant growth and evolution is really a foundational principle of my life. But, sometimes it would just be nice to coast for a while and enjoy the progress I’ve made. It seems every time I feel like I’m at a place where I can rest a little and enjoy the fruits of my labor, God or the Universe or whoever decides I need to grow. Again. Oh well…

Besides my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, CrossFit and Westside Powerlifting training, I’ve been doing a lot of yoga and meditation. I’ve also been reading some good books like “Emotional Alchemy” by Tara Bennett-Goleman and using some self-hypnosis stuff by Hypnotica like “The Attractor Factor.” All this yoga and “New Agey” stuff tends to stir stuff up and make you think about stuff differently…

It Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Does…

Yesterday, I had a pretty startling realization: The meaning I give to certain aspects of my training – and probably certain aspects of my LIFE – aren’t really accurate. Something I’ve been working with over the last few weeks is slowing down my thoughts and watching them – using “Mindfulness” in other words – and trying to identify what my internal dialog is. You know, the stuff you say to yourself when you probably don’t even realize you’re saying anything…

What I realized when I slowed down my thoughts and heard what I was telling myself is this: I have the erroneous belief that my “lack” of performance in certain areas – whether it’s getting pounded by one of my friends at Modern Self-Defense Center on the mat in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or having Bryce from CrossFit Religion FINISH Fran when I’m still working on the 15 part – means more than it really does. I caught myself thinking I was lacking something fundamental in ME and THAT was why I wasn’t as good at rolling in BJJ or as fast in a classic CrossFit workout as I “should” be.

But, what it REALLY means is I just need to put in more time. More time, more learning, more repetitions, more dedication and MORE WORK. That’s it. It just means I haven’t done everything I need to to get there yet. It’s just about time and focused and intelligent training. That’s it…

The Limits Are WAY Beyond Where You Think They Are…

I spent several years deeply immersed in the – for lack of a better term – “self-help” community. I traveled from Connecticut to Boston every week or two, had several mentors who were more experienced than me and I mentored a few younger guys who had less experience than me. A thinking technique I learned during those years was called “Reframing.” Reframing is a way of changing your perspective or the “frame of reference” you’re using to look at something.

I’ve been following the CrossFit Regionals on Facebook this weekend and, in particular, my friends from CrossFit Relentless who were competing. I just found out today that the CrossFit Relentless team finished 6th overall for the Regionals!

And I didn’t even know that my friend Brenda was on the CF Relentless team until I saw these pics of her…

Sure, they’re great pics. But here’s Brenda just about a year ago in a post on the CrossFit Relentless Blog…

If THESE pics don’t make you want to go out RIGHT NOW and train I don’t know what will! I’m more inspired to train and make great progress today – because of Brenda’s example – than I have been in a long, LONG time!

So, here’s the Reframe: Next time you’re thinking that you have to be a natural athlete or younger or have started training sooner – or that you have to be anyone other than WHO YOU ARE at this moment to make the progress you want – think about the above example and all the other success stories like Brenda’s. There’s no secret. It’s about HARD work, good coaches, sacrifice and dedication. That’s about it. I remember a time when Brenda couldn’t do a Pull Up! A few years later she’s competing at the Regionals!

So, the next time you’re down on yourself about your “lack of talent” for CrossFit or whatever sport you’re into and you’re thinking the big performers in the sport have something you don’t, just ask yourself this: “Do I know of anyone who started off without the best foundation and without the best performance and made MASSIVE progress over the course of a few years?” And now, you can say that you do…

So, get to work on your goals and MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN in the weeks and months ahead! I’m going to!

ttys

Adam

I finally realized today that it DOES get better. If you put in the time and you put in the work it really does. I’ve always had FAITH that it got better, but today I could actually SEE that it DOES.

Every so often, my mom and I end up near this donut place in Niantic, CT. Mom has a “thing” for bakeries and that stuff, so she always stops and gets herself something. When we were there about 2 months ago, I was pretty stressed and miserable and I got about 6 of those glazed chocolate donuts I love. I ate them ALL at one sitting and had some of mom’s stuff as well. Needless to say I felt like complete SHIT the next day and even the day after…

Yesterday we were in Niantic again. Mom wanted to stop. Even though I wasn’t getting anything, I went in with her – this is after nearly 2 months of 100% clean eating. And you know what? I didn’t even want anything! Yeah, it all looked good, but my stomach started hurting and feeling sick just thinking about eating that stuff. There was NO WAY I was going to mess up my nice long stretch of eating clean with a bunch of crap and then feel like shit today. No damn way!

Building Momentum…

At the end of April 1011, I decided to do the entire month of May 100% clean and nearly all Paleo. I DID IT. And what did I want to do when I got to the end of May? KEEP GOING! I committed to doing the ENTIRE SUMMER 100% clean. And I’m doing it. It’s EASY too.

I have enough momentum built up that it’s easier to keep going along the track I’m on than to change gears and eat garbage. I have a good training schedule forming up and a bad day of eating will throw it off. Why would I do that? It would be stupid…

The momentum thing is becoming huge for me. The more momentum I build, the easier it is to build more.

It’s Really Just Physics…

I studied chemistry and engineering in college. In physics, when you get into 2-Dimensional motion, you learn that, for something to reverse direction, it has to slow down to the point that its speed and acceleration are ZERO in the original direction BEFORE it can start moving in the opposite direction. I think this is what trips people up in training and in life. If you’re heading in the WRONG direction and not getting where you want to go, you have to put in work just to slow and eventually stop your movement in the WRONG direction and then completely STOP before you start moving in the direction you want to go.

I think a lot of people give up too early because they “don’t see results.” Really, they ARE getting results it’s just that the early results are a slowing of movement in the wrong direction. You have to put in a ton of work to slow your movement toward where you DON’T want to go, THEN come to a complete stop and ONLY AFTER YOU STOP COMPLETELY do you start slowly moving in the direction you want to go in.

Of course, once you get headed in THE RIGHT direction, it’s just as hard to reverse direction as it was when you were headed in the wrong direction. It gets EASIER to stay on track and KEEP going in the right direction. You just have to hang in when it feels like you’re not getting results and keep making positive change and taking positive action.

BTW, when the Buddhists talk about “burning up negative Karma” or “Karmic debt” this is essentially what they mean. The negative stuff keeps coming even after you change your behavior to more positive and appropriate behavior because your “momentum” is still heading in that other direction…

But, You Have to Know What You Want…

Here was one of the keys for me: I had to get CRYSTAL CLEAR on what I wanted. And I mean CRYSTAL CLEAR. I’ve been doing a TON of work on my goals and my vision for my health, training and life lately and it’s paying off. It’s paying off because I weigh ALL my decisions against that vision when I’m making them. That’s why it was easy to pass on the donuts. “Will eating those donuts get me closer to what I REALLY want?” Of course, the answer is NO! Decision made, problem solved…

Here’s What I Want…

I want to achieve the best health and performance of my life. I want to compete in Jiu Jitsu and possibly Mixed Martial Arts and CrossFit. How bad do I want that? How about I ditched my entire old life and changed virtually EVERYTHING to build a life where I had the time and opportunity to train every day and obsess about my diet and rest.

Last week, when I was training with my friends at Modern Self-Defense Center, I realized that I was THERE. As in, I’ve gotten to the point where I can train as often as I need to and WHEN I need to. My life supports my goals and my training and my efforts. Yeah, there’s still a metric crapload of work to do, but I have the time and the energy and the OPPORTUNITY to do that work. Even just a year ago I didn’t…

Speaking of a Year Ago…

It still messes with my head when I think that, at this time a year ago, THIS BLOG DIDN’T EXIST. I was still trying to figure out what I was going to do and how I was going to do it. And my book “The Paleo Dieter’s Missing Link” was just a bunch of ideas in my head and a bunch of notes in MS Word. I had NONE of this a year ago. Strong is the New Skinny on Facebook didn’t exist until September 1, 2010. I wrote the original “Is Strong the New Skinny?” blog post just a few weeks before that. As of today, there are 19,084 friends following SINS on Facebook and the blog post that started the whole thing has been read 14,344 times.

That all happened in less than ONE YEAR. LESS THAN ONE FREAKIN’ YEAR.

That gives me one hell of a perspective. And it makes me think about what I can accomplish THIS year…

What can YOU accomplish in a year?

ttys

Adam

Today’s question is a great one from Jennifer! Here it is:

“Adam,

I have a question for you. I have been following Paleo for about a year pretty closely. I have been pretty frustrated lately and maybe your book will help me figure things out. I read/see peoples transformations and they seem to drop tons of weight/inches in 30-60 days. I started out doing pretty good but it seems like the more I get strict with Paleo the less I lose! I don’t have a lot left to lose so maybe its just it, but want to. Just wondering if they are the norm when it comes to Paleo or am I? Are those that are featured on blogs etc extreme cases? Or is that what should happen and I am doing something wrong?

I have watched some of your videos where you answer questions. In the one about fat burn pills, you talked about working out in the morning on an empty stomach and maybe with coffee. I was doing that when I saw the the biggest drop in inches. The past couple months I have been working out in the evening and then eating dinner after – 7:30ish. I know this is not good and have gone back to the 6am class. Your video reinforced something I knew and got me back to that early class. Its not as convenient but I was thinking that may have been part of my issue. Thanks for the video! It was just what I needed!

Blessings,

Jennifer”

Thanks for the GREAT question, Jennifer!

Here’s a link to a video I did in answer to another question where I talk more about taking a long-term heath focus as opposed to focusing just on scale weight and inches:

http://practicalpaleolithic.com/paleolithic-diet-blog/health-fitness-paleo-and-crossfit-a-long-term-view

ttys

Adam

IMPORTANT! Adam Farrah is not a doctor or medical professional. This information is based on my own opinion and is not meant to be medical advice or to treat, diagnose, cure or prescribe in any way.

This question came from Donald by email and is about the results one could expect from 12 weeks on a Paleo Diet and CrossFit program. Here’s Donald’s question:

“Hi Adam,

Thank you for the free downloads I got from you.

I have been doing Body for life recently, well I did it a few years ago, lost weight, then stopped(crazy but I did) and put it all back on again PLUS extra.
Had a moment when I stepped on the scale and it said “error”. Stupid thing only goes to 330 pounds, yeah right stupid thing. Man that made me wake up real quick. So anyway in about 6 months I have dropped about 25kg or 50 something pounds.
I have been enjoying BFL because it is structured and I don’t have to think too much. Just do.
I have also started looking at crossfit, A LOT. Obviously at 125kg pull ups and burpees are not my favorite or even possible, but you got to start somewhere right?
I have SINS on FB that’s where I found your stuff.
So I went to a nutrition seminar at the local crossfit, obviously all paleo. And as I am new to this is am trying to find what/where how etc. Breads are my weakness, hell anything from a bakery. So I am keen to get into the Paleo style of eating.

The 1st 12 week challenge on BFL I lost a lot quicklym,, then I had very slow results for 8 weeks, and the last challenge finished last Saturday I only lost 6kg in 12 weeks, and I was busting my ass in the gym, but I suspect not doing well in the kitchen. I say I suspect because most of the time I actually thought I was doing well, I didn’t pid out on freedays, I don’t drink booze at all so no liquid carbs, it just gets demotinvational when you really try hard for 12 weeks and have a poor result. Lets be honest at 130 kg I should of lost more than 2% fat, and that what my measurements add up to, so that why I’m thinking crossfit and paleo, change things up completely.

Ok so now I’m going to ask how long is a piece of string, so I wont hold you to your answer, I’m just asking for an “guesstimation” based on your experience.

If I started doing paleo style eating(note I didn’t say diet) and sign up at crossfit and do a WOD 5 days a week what sort of weight loss would be fair to expect in 12 weeks.

I’m 6 foot tall, have  arresting heart rate of about 65, run 2 miles in about 20 min.

I know I’m asking you a hard question, I just need to dial a number in my head and be happy when I get it\, because I’m really bummed at what I achieved in the last BFL challenge.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks
Donald”

Thanks again for the question, Donald!

Here is the link to the “What is Fitness?” article from CrossFit Journal:

http://journal.crossfit.com/2002/10/what-is-fitness-by-greg-glassm.tpl

ttys

Adam

IMPORTANT! Adam Farrah is not a doctor or medical professional. This information is based on my own opinion and is not meant to be medical advice or to treat, diagnose, cure or prescribe in any way.

This answer is in response to Cara’s question below:

“Hi Adam, enjoyed the videos this morning! I’ve been following a Louie Simmons strict shoulder strength program that I have been doing in the a.m. It is so hard to listen to your body and not overtrain…. Do you think it is possible to come up with a healthy balance of crossfit and strength programs like this?”

Thanks again for the question, Cara!

Here is the blog post I mention in the video as well as an overview of the MILO article:

You’re Only as Strong as Your Foundation

Blog Post About the MILO Article

ttys

Adam

IMPORTANT! Adam Farrah is not a doctor or medical professional. This information is based on my own opinion and is not meant to be medical advice or to treat, diagnose, cure or prescribe in any way.

It’s funny how you can use a principle in other parts of your life and then COMPLETELY ignore it in an area where it can make a BIG difference. I guess that’s the folly of being human at times – a classic case of missing the forest for the trees. A lot of you know I’m a HUGE fan of Seth Godin. I think Seth is one of – if not THE – greatest mind of our time. Something he says over and over again is that you have to choose ONE THING that you’re going to be the best in the world at and then do that. As he puts it, you need to be a “meaningful specific” and not a “wandering generality.”

I’ve worked on making this blog a “meaningful specific.” I write on a small handful of topics and in a particular style. I’m working at being the best in the world at being ME and writing the particular type of stuff that I write. I’ve also given up or passed on a lot of other opportunities. I know I can’t do everything and I don’t even try anymore. I’ve passed on jobs and other opportunities because I don’t want to spread my energy too thin – and become a mediocre blogger while I’m being mediocre at all the other stuff I do. You have to choose your “one thing.”

The place I wasn’t applying this philosophy, as silly as it seems now, is in my training. I have a serious case of “Training ADD” and am into pretty much everything – weightlifting, running, kettlebells, martial arts, yoga… In fact, what initially attracted me to CrossFit back in 2008 was how interdisciplinary it was. Finally, I could train all the diverse stuff I wanted to and just call it “CrossFit.”

Then I Became a Wandering Generality…

What happened though, is I found it really hard to make progress. A large part of this, I suspect, was that I really didn’t have a solid idea of what “progress” was. Not too long ago I wrote about setting smaller goals and getting my days right. I guess that’s what got me thinking about needing a core, foundational training mode to build on. It was hard because I love EVERYTHING. Running and yoga are probably the only two physical things I do that I’m not terribly concerned about being world class at. Everything else I obsess about and want to make better. But, trying to be better at everything pretty much guarantees you’ll be good at nothing…

Westside Barbell and Louie Simmons…

Last summer I was lucky enough to meet Louie Simmons and some of the Westside guys at CrossFit Relentless in West Hartford, CT. My friend Merle McKenzie managed to get Louie out for a Power Lifting cert in CT. And that seminar ROCKED! I blogged about Louie Simmons and the Westside Barbell seminar here. I left that seminar totally inspired and totally psyched. In fact, it was at that seminar, on Sunday, that I made the firm decision to drop A LOT of things from my life and make some drastic changes so I could pursue my training and writing passions. I seriously considered asking Louie if I could go back to Ohio with them and train with them indefinitely. I think the only reason I didn’t is because I suspected he’d have said yes and I’d have been figuring out how to up and move to Ohio! I can hear it now: “Hi, mom, I’m in Ohio. Do you mind taking care of the dog, the snake and all the cats forever?”

The Westside system had a lot that I liked and Louie was awesome. At the time, though, it was ANOTHER collection of techniques and methods that I was adding to my already overflowing bunch of knowledge and information. So, I had some great advice from arguably THE BEST mind in powerlifting, but I wasn’t able to act on it because it was competing with 20 other methodologies and training modes. I WAS smart enough to buy both of Louie’s books at the seminar and have him autograph my copy of “The Westside Barbell Book of Methods.” This was fortuitous, because I had that book and my seminar notes to refer back to when I finally pulled my head out of my ass almost a year later…

And, The Wisdom Of Dan John…

I’ve also been reading Dan John’s excellent book “Never Let Go.” There’s so much GREAT stuff in that book. One little gem of advice from Dan was this:

“When things go wrong, simplify.”

Again, something I “know” but not something I was applying to training. I’m sure at one point I would have argued: “But, I’m training EVERYTHING. See, that’s simple…” Maybe my training wasn’t going “wrong,” but it really wasn’t going right either. After reading that section in Dan John’s book I started thinking: “What if I took ONE basic training mode and trained it for a few YEARS?” Yeah, YEARS. Scary thought, right? It sounds so… Permanent…

What do you have to NOT do so you can do something else?

Here again, the basic principle that I KNOW works is this:

You MUST decide what you want to be great at and then drop the things that will keep you from excelling at it. Yes, you can have other “peripheral” interests, but I believe you have to have FOCUS that guides you and allows you to evaluate the other modes you work with.

In my particular case, CrossFit, Kettlbells, yoga, Jiu Jitsu, etc. can add to my Powerlifting training – Louie and the Westside guys are BIG on GPP (General Physical Preparedness). But without a firm hierarchy of importance, it’s too easy to chase after the “ADD Goal Du Jour.”

Choose Your Foundation Wisely…

So, here’s why I chose Powerlifting and Westside specifically as my training. If you follow along with my reasoning, you just might be able to figure out a good foundational training mode for YOURSELF too. If you’ve been stuck spinning your wheels in your training for a while, this might really help you break out of the rut…

Here’s why I think Westside is a great method for me to base my training on:

• I have HUGE respect for Louie and the achievements of the Westside guys
• Westside is about barbells and heavy basic movements – Deadlift, Bench and Squat – and their conjugates (box squats, dumbell bench, etc.). I really enjoy these movements and my home gym is pretty much designed to train them…
• There’s enough variation in Westside that my “Training ADD” can be accommodated and indulged WHILE firmly sticking to the program
• Westside trains specific movements, in specific styles, on specific days. This bit of scheduling and accountability is actually working out VERY WELL for me so far
• Westside uses fun toys! I’ve already got a drag sled that I love, I’m impatiently waiting for my weighted vest to get here and I’m getting some chains soon. I really like the toys…
• Training heavy seems to suit me. Big weight is something that I’ve always enjoyed, suits my body well and – I think – is something I can continue to maintain and progress in as I get older
• All my peripheral stuff will enhance the Westside training – kettlebells, yoga, CrossFit, running, etc…
• This type of training will likely support the hormonal changes I want to make in my metabolism. Incidentally, when I talked to Robb Wolf last year in a phone consult, he recommended a drastic decrease in CrossFit-style Met Con training and an increase in heavy barbell work. He even mentioned Westside Methods specifically.

What about CrossFit?

With CrossFit, the goal is to increase fitness by becoming GOOD at just about everything. If you’re really good at everything they do in CrossFit, you’ll be GREAT at CrossFit. As Coach Glassman has said, CrossFitters specialize in NOT specializing. If this suits YOUR personality and YOUR goals that’s great! DO THAT! For me, I was going in too many different directions because I wanted to be GREAT at just about everything in CrossFit. That’s not the point of CrossFit though…

So, yeah, CrossFit ROCKS. For many, it might even be a good foundation for training. For me, specializing in not specializing wasn’t… well.. specialized enough…

BTW, there was a GREAT article by Tom Seryak in Crossfit Journal about incorporating Westside Methods into a CrossFit program not too long ago. I highly recommend reading it if that’s your goal.

Are you Horizontal or Vertical?

There’s a business concept that applies in a lot of other places. The concept is Horizontal vs. Vertical. I’m a Vertical person – I thrive when I specialize, focus and pursue the infinite little nuances in a body of knowledge or area of skill. This is a “depth of knowledge” thing. I’ve always been that way. My mind and personality thrive when they focus on just a few things…

Other people are Horizontal types. They like to know a little bit about a lot of things. These are the people who can go to a mountain once or twice a year in the winter, rent some skis, spend the weekend skiing and go home. And they consider the weekend a “success” because they got away, had some fun and spent some time outside being active. Next weekend these same people might do something different. This kind of stuff makes me NUTS personally – I want to be GREAT at something or there’s no point in doing it…

What’s your DIET foundation?

It’s the same thing with diet and nutrition. In my book “The Paleo Dieter’s Missing Link,” I worked hard to connect Paleo and it’s foundational principles to other diets and nutritional philosophies. Paleo is my nutritional foundation and I use principles and techniques from other disciplines to make Paleo work FOR ME and reach my specific goals.

So, there it is…

I forget where I first heard this, but it makes a lot of sense (I’m sure I’m paraphrasing): Find the people who are the best in the world at what you want to be the best at and do what they freakin’ tell you!

Sounds sensible to me. Why reinvent the wheel right? With all that said, I’m going to settle in for a LONG stretch of training with the Westside methods and organize my other training around it.

And, if YOU have Training ADD and aren’t getting the results you want, you might try deciding on a foundational training mode and philosophy and giving it a good, long and honest try.

ttys

Adam

I’ve been thinking a lot about my body and health goals lately. I’ve also been reading Dan John’s excellent book, “Don’t Let Go.” I’m not sure how it all came together for me, but I started thinking about smaller goals. If you’ve read any kind of self-help/goal setting stuff – like the Anthony Robbins program “Time of Your Life” that I talk about in this post on creating a fitness vision – you’ve probably heard some talk about translating your big goals into smaller ones. I’ve heard that type of thing A LOT, but it never really clicked for me. Finally, it clicked…

Some of you know that I recently committed to doing yoga EVERY day. I talked about that in my blog post “If It’s Not Working, Try Something Different…” I’m doing pretty well with that protocol, although I might shift the yoga to post workout on my workout days. Anyway, I sat down last night (Sunday) and started thinking about my goals for the week. I guess that’s when I first had the thought that I needed to MAKE SURE that I did yoga every day. With that one thought, a lot became clear – because I was thinking about an individual goal at the day level. I now had ONE thing that I could check up on at any time and KNOW if I was doing what I should be doing to reach my ultimate goals. “Did I do yoga today or not?” That’s it. Small and simple goal. Simple yes or no answer. Pass or fail.

Thinking About Goals on a Daily Level…

Then I started thinking about my other goals in the same way – on a daily level. So, from the big, massive, global goals, I finally – FINALLY – got to the daily behaviors. Now it’s REALLY simple to get things done and focus on what I need to:

• Did I eat completely Paleo today?
• Did I eat enough?
• Did I do yoga?
• Did I do a workout or practice some skills that are on my list?

In a few weeks I’ll add: “Did I do Jiu Jitsu/MMA today?” (On Tuesdays and Saturdays.)

The Problem with BIG Goals…

Big goals are great for “setting the sail” and heading in the right direction. The problem with the big goals is that they can create a situation where you “live in the future” and don’t enjoy or fully engage in the present moment. The NOW. I talked about how this works in my post: “How Happy Are YOU?”

The big goals are great to get you motivated and get you focused on the future and where you want to go. But EVERYTHING happens in the present. This is where the disconnect was for me. I’m here now and my BIG goals are way “over there” in the future. There was no connection between the two. And I’ve been doing the major goal setting stuff for YEARS and not truly seeing this. I FINALLY saw it!

Here’s the Connection Between Today and the Future…

The connection between today and the future is this: Your days HAVE TO add up to the big goals you have for the future. You have to do NOW what will lead you to your future goals. And when you do those things, you have to love them and enjoy them and be thankful to be blessed enough that you can focus on “luxuries” like training, resting, eating or whatever.

You need to ask yourself – every day or even a few times a day: “What do I need to do NOW to have the things I want in the future?” And, to this I MUST add: “Am I enjoying the process of striving for my ultimate goals?”

If you can check in at the end of the day and say that you accomplished all (or most) of your small daily tasks, behaviors and goals, THEN you can be reasonably sure that you’re headed toward the big future goals. As Stuart McRobert has said over and over again: “Get the days and weeks right and the months and years will take care of themselves.”

That’s pretty much it. Simple and profound. I heard this stuff HUNDREDS of times from MANY different gurus, authors and speakers. But I never saw the connection. I now see the connection.

Set big goals. Do the little things everyday that will move you toward them. Enjoy doing these little things as you do them and live in these moments.

It couldn’t be any simpler…

Here’s a passage from Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now” that sums it all up perfectly. In fact, this paragraph is highlighted and underlined and starred in my copy of the book. Apparently, it means something to me EVERY time I read it (I’m on time number 3 through “The Power of Now” at the moment…)

“If you set yourself a goal and work toward it, you are using clock time. You are aware of where you want to go, but you honor and give your fullest attention to the step you are taking at this moment. If you then become excessively focused on the goal, perhaps because you are seeking happiness, fulfillment, or a more complete sense of self in it, the Now is no longer honored.”

Set big goals, but enjoy the process, the small victories and the journey… Honor The Now…

ttys

Adam

I’ve realized this morning that I’m never going to be good enough. At least, not as long as I’m playing by the rules of society and our fucked up culture.

I really shouldn’t care. But I do. It’s not even that I play by the rules anymore, but a lot of people I know still do. I’m VERY clear about my goals and who I want to be and what I want my life to look like. VERY CLEAR. The “problem” is that that isn’t what most people want. Maybe it’s not truly what they want and it’s what our TV and internet culture told them they should want. Probably that. I’ve met VERY FEW people who have thought through every aspect of their lives and made decisions based on their own internal desires and standards.

How many books have YOU written?

I love how everyone tells me how much I need to relax and have fun and “let loose.” That’s all nice – and I KNOW I could do a little better in the “relaxing department.” (Particularly since, ONE DAY into my “no computer in the morning and yoga first thing in the morning” habit I’m writing this instead of doing yoga…) But I know what I want and where I want to be and who I want to be – and you don’t get there by relaxing. I also know that when the muse appears I need to write. She will likely be gone if I wait until later… Welcome to the wonderful world of being a wacky creative…

I talked about what it was like to drive my book “The Paleo Dieter’s Missing Link” to completion last week in the post: “My SINS Challenge Update – Late is a Lot Better than Never.” IT WAS HARD. So was getting a Chemistry degree 10 years ago. So is making good progress in weight training and martial arts – I know these two are hard because I’m currently making SHIT for progress. Nothing worth accomplishing is easy! NOTHING!

But, it’s a lot easier to find creative ways to distract yourself from what you really want or tell yourself you’re happy with the way things are. And, unless you are surrounded by exceptional people, most everyone in your life will be thrilled to tell you you’re much better served drinking with them or eating garbage with them than you are working on what matters TO YOU. Misery loves company…

There was a great quote in the book I just started reading, “The War of Art.” In it, Pressfield says:

“When we drug ourselves to blot out our soul’s call, we are being good Americans and exemplary consumers. We’re doing exactly what TV commercials and pop materialist culture have been brainwashing us to do since birth. Instead of applying self-knowledge, self-discipline, delayed gratification and hard work, we simply consume a product.”

I wasted some of the best training years of my life in my early 20s trying to “have it all.” I was out “being social” instead of studying or resting for my workout the next morning. I was letting others decided what was best for me instead of doing what I KNEW was right in spite of the fact that no one else was doing it and in spite of the fact that all my friends encouraged me to “let loose” and not be so “intense” all the time. And what was the final outcome of that period of my life? A train wreck. If I had it to live over again I wouldn’t even answer my phone when people called me to hang out. I’d train and rest and study and let the world go fuck itself. Maybe a few more pounds of muscle or a bigger deadlift or better health isn’t what our culture values. But, it’s what I valued then and it’s what I value now – and THAT’S what’s important.

But I can only live in The Now…

I can’t go back there, though. I can only live today and apply the lessons of yesterday to what I do now.

And here’s what I know today:

• I want to be a better writer and blogger
• I want to write the best fitness blog IN THE WORLD (Yeah, the world…)
• I want outstanding health, strength and fitness
• I want many, MANY people to buy, read and LOVE my new book

That’s just a start. I wrote out a bunch of other goals here: “My OWN SINS Challenge Goals.” None of these things happen by being balanced, they don’t happen by relaxing and they don’t happen by accident. They happen when you put in the hard, HARD work and break through your own – and society’s – resistance.

I’m done with it all. Nothing I want or do or accomplish will ever be good enough for anyone else anyway. I’m going to continue to focus on ME and what makes ME happy and what I value. If people like me and admire me for it, great. If it’s not good enough for someone else, I don’t care.

YOU shouldn’t care about anything but YOUR OWN standards either – as long as they’re TRULY YOURS. Think about THAT for a while…

ttys

Adam