New month, new goals! But first, let’s review April’s goal: I kept with my March goal of “do more cardio.” Did I succeed? Eh. I did do a lot more walking since the weather improved greatly over the past month; I’ll give myself credit for that. But I’m going to make this goal more specific for the month of May in an effort to really make it a reality. This month, I plan to do interval training at least once a week. Of course I still plan to do cardio more than once a week, but I think by focusing my goal, I’ll be able to work towards it in a more tangible way. What are your May goals (fitness or otherwise)?
I have another goal, but I don’t know that it can be achieved in May… this might be a peremptory June goal. I really want to be able to do squats using the big boy squat rack at the gym! I tried using the squat rack a few weeks ago, but I’m just not strong enough yet to do them with the best form. To this end, I’m working on strengthening my lower back and hips right now, and focusing on perfecting my squat form during my leg workouts.
Speaking of leg workouts… today was leg day again. I did barbell deadlifts for the first time in years! And it was probably the first time I’ve ever done them correctly. Again, I was really focused on form more than anything. I started with a 50 pound barbell thinking I could move up in weight if I needed to. Guys, 50 pounds was killing me! Looks like I have some more work to do. I texted my friend Troy about this since he has been my go-to weight lifting consultant. He responded with some lovely words of encouragement…
Thanks, friend! Besides getting killed by deadlifts, this workout felt good. I can feel my body adapting and getting stronger. I’m looking forward to some more progress this month!
P.S. This week I’m doing 2Fit2Quit’s weekly challenge. Basically, you do 50 reps of 5 basic exercise moves sometime–anytime– this week. You can do them all at once, you can do one move per day, or you can break one move up across an entire day. It doesn’t matter! The point is to get it done. So far I’ve completed crunches (Sunday) and push-ups (today). I’m going to have to catch up in the next day or two! It’s not too late to start if you’re interested, just sayin’…
Of Possible Interest:
Make May Amazing (The Fitnessista)
Tweeting Fitness Goals May Help You Lose Weight (wired.co.uk)
How To Deadlift (Schwarzenegger.com)