Summer 2021 Fitness Goals
Having goals can be very beneficial to staying motivated. I love changing my fitness goals, reevaluating, and continuously updating my fitness goals. Fitness and having a routine are so necessary to me as I THRIVE off of having a routine. I have been setting goals very slowly and strategically so that I can create habits. If I change all the things simultaneously, I will be less likely to stick to any of them. But setting one at a time and allowing that change to be a habit before adding something else most definitely increases my ability to make new habits.
In my last blog post about my Spring 2021 Fitness Goals, my biggest goals were to create fitness as a habit and focus on my nutrition. These were pretty general goals, and I feel like I have been good with my nutrition and fitness goals, so I decided to make updated fitness goals.
My new fitness goals are much more focused and structured since I set my last fitness goals. I created a workout program that focuses on creating a solid foundation and muscle endurance while maintaining the same nutrition goals and habits I've already created.
Read my post about How to Set Healthy Fitness Goals if you're unsure how to set your goals. If you're starting your fitness journey, check out my blog post about how to get started.
My current fitness goals are to create a solid foundation and build muscle endurance. I feel that is the best place to begin any fitness journey to create a base to build muscle mass and muscle strength. I know not everyone has goals that include building muscle endurance and that is okay. But my current goals are to begin again with the basics.
I began my fitness journey with yoga, then found circuit-style training which then inspired my strength training journey. For more about my fitness journey read my post about how I got started. I never really thought about how moving with intention and building muscle endurance, and I feel like that is a really important start. Stay tuned for my next blog post about why it’s important to build a solid foundation and muscle endurance.
Current Fitness Routine
All of my training will be low but challenging weights. I will adjust as needed, but for the most part, during the first six weeks, my weights will stay the same. My focus will be on form and increasing muscle endurance in the posterior chain muscles. (all of the back body muscles, back, shoulders, all the way down to the glutes, hamstrings, and calves) So I will have two leg days ( split between glute/hamstring focused and quad focused), two back/shoulder days, and one arm/chest workout day. The other two days I will do some kind of cardio and active recovery movements. During each workout, I will include a quick abs workout and yoga. Core strength is important and yoga helps me to wind down and stretch my body.
In my last fitness goals post, I talked about building cardiovascular endurance with running. I discovered that I really like going for a bike ride much more. Running is still nice, but I feel like I am building more muscle with a bike since I can adjust gears and increase the difficulty as needed. Even though I am not focusing on running, I do believe that finding a cardio activity that you love is wonderful to build cardiovascular endurance.
Mental Health
I have been struggling with anxiety and depression and being able to calm anxious thoughts. So I have been adding meditation and journaling to the end of every workout. Ideally, I’d rather start my day with mediation and journaling, but I don’t have the time since I work at 3 am and I really do not want to wake up any earlier. So since I have time after my workouts, adding that into my routine just makes sense for me. So far it has been helping me. On days that I don’t get a great meditation and journaling in, I feel much more anxious than I do when I have the focus during this time.
Fitness Plan
My current workout split will be for six weeks. Then the following six weeks I will keep the weight the same, but increase sets and reps to further building muscle endurance. After that, I will assess where I am and how I feel before beginning building muscle strength and muscle mass. By only changing my sets the focus will be on building muscle endurance.
Nutrition
Currently, I am being mindful about what I am eating, and how much I am eating. I want to fuel my body with the foods that give me the energy to thrive throughout the day. I don’t want to specifically say that I am cutting because I’m not tracking how much I am eating, but my goal is like a mini cut, but not the main goal. I have tracked my macros and calories in the past, so I have an idea of what I need to eat to be at a slight caloric deficit. So it’s easy for me to eat mindfully to achieve my fitness goals. When I begin to build muscle mass, I will increase my calories by a little bit and track much closer so that I can make sure I am eating what I need to to achieve my fitness goals.
“Do something today that your future self will thank you for”
If you are here and reading this, that means you have an interest in your health and fitness. That is so good; I am so excited for you! Taking care of your body is literally the best thing you can do for yourself in the present and the long term.
I find that quote so inspiring. Hard work will pay off in the future, but you also have to live in the moment, and I feel like taking care of yourself is doing both. You are doing good for yourself now as well as for your future self.
If you are interested in learning more about all things health and fitness, follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram @myactivelife_stacey. I am now offering nutrition and personal training online coaching programs. These six-week programs are designed to help you create lifelong healthy habits with nutrition and fitness. Click here to learn more!
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