The past year has brought a number of changes to Live Fit Blog, and for me personally, so its worth taking the time to conduct a fitness review, so see how I’ve managed over the course of the year.
The year started with my writing a series of fitness-related goals, which immediately took a back seat, as our family coped with my youngest’s first seizure, and a subsequent diagnosis of epilepsy. We have been blessed, though, in that he has remained he has remained seizure-free since February of this year. We can only hope that he remains so, as there are no guarantees.
This life-changing event brought all other concerns to a screeching halt, as life’s priorities took precedence, and how best to handle this new concern became paramount. Shortly thereafter, professional demands captured my time, which left precious little time to enjoy fitness-related activities. So, although I’ve started the the last few years with a list of personal fitness goals, the year turned out to be an exercise (no pun intended) in futility. Although individual goals fell by the wayside, I stayed true to the intent of staying fit and living healthy. This, of course, is the nature of life, as it easily derails even the best of intentions. But, I think I can still this year wasn’t a complete bust, inasmuch as my fitness review is concerned.
2010 Fitness Review
To recap my list of goals for a healthy 2010, they were as follows:
1. Learn as much about seizures and their cause. Share what I can through my writing.
While I certainly haven’t learned as much as I can about this subject, I did learn a great deal. Most importantly, from a personal perspective, my wife and I were able to find a doctor that provided a diagnosis, and successfully treated our son. This event demonstrated to me that, when it comes to finding a good doctor, one of the most important things is to find a doctor you trust. This also proved to me that it is encumbent upon parents to serve as advocates for their children, in all walks of life. Otherwise they can be easily overlooked.
2. Perform 12 unassisted pull-ups, wide-gripped.
Simply put; it didn’t happen. I did climb as high as 9 at one point, but this is definitely an area I’ll continue to focus on in 2011.
3. Complete a sprint distance triathlon
High intensity cardiovascular exercise took a backseat to strength training and low intensity cardio in 2010. There are a myriad of reasons for this, not least of which were personal demands and my travel schedule. However, I didn’t abandon multi-sport training completely. I’ve made made it a point to elevate my heart rate when weight lifting, and continue to swim twice each month at the local gym. More interestingly, I’ve taken the time to explore places I travel a bit on foot, as business travel has dragged me around the globe. This has given me the opportunity to engage in activities like my Ventana Canyon Trail Hike, and more recently, a run in Parramatta Park in Australia.
4. Complete a 5K in under 25 minutes
Again, this did not happen. High intensity cardio fell by the wayside in 2011. Not only have other concerns crowded this activity out; particularly in recent months, but I’ve had certain muscle imbalances to surface, as evidenced by my need to regularly perform a quadratus lumborum stretch, and psoas stretch to reduce lower back tightness.
5. Complete 100 Push Ups
I finished the 100 push up challenge. Woo hoo!
6. Reduce Body Fat to 16% at 183 lbs.
This did not happen. As of December 28, 2010, I weighed in at 188-lbs and 18.3% body fat. By contrast, I ended 2009 at 16.8% body fat and 183-lbs. Since I’ve had less time for high intensity cardio, I’ve tried to be more cautious about eating over the last 10-months, as evidenced by the guidelines for what to eat after a workout. Business travel forced me to focus more on the link between nutrition and body composition, as dining out while on business is one of the pitfalls of being a business traveler, I believe.
Overall, I’d say my fitness review for 2010 is pretty positive. We gained a handle on my son’s health condition, and have a plan in place. Work has been busy, but “in this economy” that’s a good thing. And readership has grown nicely here at Live Fit Blog, so thanks to you, the readers, for your contribution and participation. Hopefully, you’ll take a few minutes to review the status of your objectives for 2010, and start the process of goal-setting in 2011.
