A Resolution Is Just A Fancy Word for "Goal."

According to USA.gov, the ten most popular New Year's Resolutions are as follows:

• Drink Less Alcohol
• Eat Healthy Food
• Get a Better Education
• Get a Better Job
• Get Fit
• Lose Weight
• Manage Debt
• Manage Stress
• Quit Smoking
• Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
• Save Money
• Take a Trip
• Volunteer to Help Others

More than half of them are health-related, which tells you that: (1) People know they're in piss-poor shape, and (2) they know something has to be done about it. But the problem, it seems, is that folks aren't sure how to achieve their goals. According to University of Minnesota psychology professor Marti Hope Gonzalez, research indicates that 80 percent of those who make New Year's Resolutions fail to keep them past February -- only to start over again the following January.

Ten years ago, a study published in American Psychologist termed this cycle of futility the "False Hope Syndrome" -- a phenomenon "particularly common among those who resolve to lose weight" due to “unrealistic goals and a misunderstanding of [their] own behavior.”

So what's the answer? How can we set goals and actually achieve them?

My thoughts:

Be reasonable. All goals -- not just resolutions -- should be S.M.A.R.T: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Simply saying that you want to "get healthier" isn't going to give you any metrics by which you can track progress or hold yourself accountable. Instead, set milestones and deadlines to check up on your incremental progress. And don't go crazy with unattainable resolutions -- otherwise, you'll rob yourself of the satisfaction you'll feel when you hit your goals.

Focus on behaviors and actions, not results. A resolution like “I wanna drop 30 pounds” or "I wanna deadlift 3 times my bodyweight" offers you no path to success. Instead, make a checklist of concrete, doable actions that’ll put you in the right direction -- like "I'm cutting sugar from my diet for the next 21 days" or "I'm signing my ass up for a 100-burpee challenge."

Do some research. So what if Gwyneth Paltrow eats nothing but twigs and does hundreds of reps of 3-pound lifts? And who cares if Rich Froning subsists on a diet of chocolate milk, protein shakes, and peanut butter and jelly? Blindly copying others won't transform you into a skinny movie star or the Fittest Man on the Planet. Before you set a goal, consider whether it's something that's actually likely to do you (or others) some good.

Tell people about your goals. It's all too easy to let yourself off the hook. If no one knows about your goals, no one'll get on your butt about sticking to them. But if you're serious about your resolutions, yell it from the mountaintops. (Or, more realistically, Facebook.) You don't have to be annoying about it, but make sure your support system of friends and family are aware that you're marching towards a goal so they can: (1) help you; (2) understand why you're not eating bread all of a sudden; (3) kick your ass if you try to give up. Plus, I've found that one of the greatest motivators is peer pressure (a.k.a. public shaming.)

Make it fun. If it's not enjoyable, it's not sustainable. Want to know why people don't stick to super-restrictive diets? Because they feel deprived. And why don't folks keep going to the globo-gym after January? Because endlessly climbing a StairMaster in slow motion is mind-numbing. So devise ways to keep things fun and interesting -- whether it's by using a kick-ass iPhone app to track your weight loss progress or by joining a running group.

Lastly, don't save your resolutions for January. Who says you can only set personal goals once per annum? Keep setting short- and long-term goals for yourself throughout the year, and work to methodically check 'em off the list.

Go to it, people.

Priorities

I'm back. Thanks, everyone, for your kind notes, comments, and emails.

The past week has been surreal, but we're doing our best to keep things normal for our kids, and to settle back into a routine. Still, there are moments when I catch myself enjoying a giggle with the boys or exchanging jibes with M, and it suddenly hits me that my cousin isn't able to enjoy these simple pleasures anymore. I'm now keenly aware of how lucky I am to be able to hug my kids, and how I've taken it for granted that I'll always be able to do so.

Naturally, I've been reassessing my priorities. Don't worry -- I'll continue to obsessively blog bore you to death about health, fitness and nutrition. But I also recognize that there are more important things in this life. Hopefully, you do, too, and will forgive me for spending a little less time blogging and a little more time on other pursuits.

Anyway, I know you didn't visit this site for a dose of pathos. It'll take time for our family to grieve and find closure, but that'll happen behind the scenes. Going forward, I'll do my best to keep future posts focused on happier business. Stay tuned!

Guest Post: An Achievable Goal or a Mid-life Crisis?

Believe it or not, this is the very first guest post I've ever featured on Fitbomb -- and it's a good one.

The author of this piece is Tim Huntley of My Athletic Life, one of my favorite fitness blogs to hit the scene in quite some time. It's chock-full of rich, informative articles, interviews, and even recipes. The meaty content on My Athletic Life speaks to dedicated athletes, trainers, coaches, and weekend warriors alike. If you haven't yet checked out Tim's site, do yourself a favor and head on over there after you read his post.

* * *

“If you can fill the unforgiving minute, with sixty seconds' worth of distance run, yours is the earth and everything that's in it.” - Rudyard Kipling

For the first 43 years of my life, I was a fairly sedentary person, with the possible exception of my time in college.  And I’m sure that I never had a goal related to fitness or athleticism until this past year.  As a kid, I grew up playing baseball, but I can’t say that it contributed much to my confidence as an athlete. It’s probably a poor reflection on me, but I have focused on things that I have an aptitude for and ignored activities that are challenging.

At the start of 2011, I did some soul searching and self-reflection.  My wife and I have twin 8 year old boys, and I definitely wanted to keep up with them for a long time.  And combined with my Dad’s “mild heart attack” the previous year, I needed to modify how I was living my life.  My diet was pretty good (Weston A. Price and Paleo) but it quickly became apparent that in spite of my self-doubts, I would need to invest in my own physical fitness.

Right or wrong, my approach was to come up with a very specific fitness goal, one that would require a substantial investment of effort over an extended period of time.

Beginning in early 2011, I made a list of 6-8 ideas – things like 100 pushups, 20 pull-ups, bench press my bodyweight 10 times, etc.  After seeking advice, I began to whittle down my list to a single goal so that I could focus my training.  Surprisingly, the one goal that I couldn’t seem to let go of, the one that seemed to light a spark was:

• Run a 400 meter dash in under sixty seconds before I turn 46 (January 2013)

I say “surprisingly” because at that moment, the following were all true:

• I hated to run long distances, but I was willing to sprint.
• My best time for the 400m was 1 minute 45 seconds – and after running it, I fell over in a heap.
• I didn’t personally know a single person my age that could run 400m in less than 60 seconds.

Go ahead, pass judgment.  I certainly did.

Friday's Workout: Overreaching

After practicing strict and kipping pull-ups in class this morning, we were treated to "Air Force WOD":

• 20 Thrusters (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 Push Jerks (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 Overhead Squats (95lbs / 65lbs)
• 20 Front Squats (95lbs / 65lbs)
• Plus: Start with 4 burpees -- and every minute thereafter, on the minute, drop whatever you're doing and bust out 4 burpees.

When we did this back in November, I'd used a 95-pound weight for all the movements EXCEPT the overhead squats. It was the first time we'd encountered overhead squats in a workout, so when we got to them, we stripped the weights off and squatted with the bar. Afterwards, we loaded the plates back on to finish up our front squats. It took a whopping 15:27 for me to finish.

But that was eight months ago. After eyeing the whiteboard for awhile, I decided to try to go RXed. Ninety-five pounds is just Fran weight for the thrusters, right? And I can easily sumo deadlift high pull, push-jerk and front squat 95 pounds. Yeah, the overhead squats'll be challenging, but I got this, I told myself. I got this.

I REALLY need to stop listening to myself.

More after the jump...

Double Your Pleasure

Remember way back when I set a personal goal of ripping out 5 consecutive double-unders without resorting to inserting single-unders between each rep? No? Dang, people -- it was just a few hours ago. Pay attention.

After the dishes were done and the kids were put to bed, I decided to squeeze in some practice. While M did Christine in the garage again (this time, she finished in 14:05 as RXed), I grabbed my Buddy Lee rope and trotted into the backyard.

It took me a while to get going, but once I learned to slow my pace and control my leg kick, whaddaya know? I actually started putting some double-unders together. First, it was two, then three, but each time I felt like I was about to take off, I was interrupted by a clumsy trip-up and/or a nasty whiplash on my arms. But then: A breakthrough.

I ran to the garage (where M was rowing up a storm) and proudly announced: "EIGHT! EIGHT IN A ROW!"

Bug-eyed and out-of-breath, I nonetheless hurried back for more. No go -- after two or three in a row, I got tangled in the rope again. But now, I knew I could do this. I tried again. And again. And again. Then: "FOURTEEN!" I was in the double-digits. I wanted to scream.

More stumbling and tripping followed, but after a few more minutes of sweaty effort... "TWENTY-ONE!"

Holy crap. After months and months of being miserably stuck at the double-under / single-under / double-under plateau, I was finally -- FINALLY! -- getting somewhere.

It was about this time that my six-year-old came tearing out into the living room, freaked out by the sounds of a whipping rope, trotting footsteps and high-pitched squeals of excitement emanating from outside his bedroom window. But I couldn't stop now. I relocated to the driveway and kept practicing.

So it was in the orange glow of the streetlamp that I wrapped up the evening session with twenty-four (YES: TWENTY-FOUR!) double-unders in a row -- with not a solitary single-under among 'em. I was so giddy that I didn't even care that the lady down the street with the dog was staring at me, trying to figure out why I was jumping rope in my pajama bottoms. (By the way, I'm starting to think that my flannel PJ pants are imbuing me with magical goal-busting abilities. Don't be surprised if I show up at the gym with 'em.)

I know, I know: You're thinking "CALM DOWN ALREADY. So you can jump rope. BIG FRIGGIN' DEAL." Well, it is to me. Tonight, I'm as satisfied as this smug, half-naked pig over here:

Monday's Workout: The Jerk Store

Strength Skill:

• Jerks (2 sets of 5, 3 sets of 3)

It's been awhile since our last encounter with jerks at the gym (as part of a strength skill workout, anyway). The movement felt good and smooth today, but I'm sure it's gonna look like crap once I start going heavier. My goal for this 3-week strength cycle is to jerk above my bodyweight (without putting myself in traction with crappy technique).

Metcon:

We did the CrossFit Games Open Workout 11.1 today -- a ten-minute AMRAP of:

• 30 double-unders
• 15 power snatches (75/55)

As a reminder, here's what it's supposed to look like:

 My double-unders did not look like this. At all. Why? 'Cause I'm still so rhythmically-challenged that I have to do a single-under between each double-under. This means, of course, that with every round, I have to jump 60 times instead of 30. In a workout like today's, this is a recipe for: (1) exhaustion, (2) frustration, and (3) a crap score. Today, despite feeling pretty decent about heaving the barbell overhead, I eked out only 3 rounds + 31 reps for a score of 166 (as RXed).

The worst part? My inability to string together my double-unders is all in my head. (I think. I hope.)

I NEED MY FRAKKING DOUBLE-UNDERS. But I'm sufficiently self-aware to know that I'm not going to put in the practice necessary to push past this mental block until/unless I set a deadline for myself. So here's it is: I'm giving myself two weeks to crank out at least 5 consecutive double-unders with zero single-unders in-between. If I can't pull this off, the penalty is 100 burpees and everlasting shame.

[UPDATED: Got 'em!]

Strict(ly Ugly)

While the kids ate breakfast this morning, I ducked into the garage to sneak in some much-needed work on my muscle-up progressions.

And whaddaya know? I managed to crank out my first couple of dead-hang muscle-ups since last July! Of course, I had to record 'em for posterity's sake:

Yes, they're fugly as all get-out. But if you've ever seen me engage in any sort of physical activity, you already know that flailing legs, flapping arms and throaty grunts are my signature style.

w00t!

It's Always Good to Have Goals

Fitness goals are awesome, provided they're S.M.A.R.T. ones. And since starting CrossFit, I'm all about "functional fitness" -- the ability to take on real-life physical challenges. One real-life challenge I'm having? Getting kicked in my gonads. (No, I'm not a professional stuntperson. Typically, my groin gets whacked only when I'm wrestling around with my kids, but it's always a good idea to "strengthen and protect the male genital organs so there is less chance they are injured or incapacitated in battle," right?)

And that's why my next fitness goal is to master the art of "Steel Crotch Kung Fu."

Who's with me?

(Source: Orange News)

False Hope Syndrome

Made any New Year’s Resolutions? Sorry to burst your bubble, but they’re probably going to fail.

As many as 90 percent of attempts at change fail, yet New Year’s resolvers are undeterred. In a 2002 report in the journal American Psychologist, University of Toronto researcher Janet Polivy and a colleague came up with a name for this “cycle of failure and renewed effort: the False Hope Syndrome.

The False Hope Syndrome is “particularly common among those who resolve to lose weight” due to dieters’ “unrealistic goals and a misunderstanding of [their] own behavior.”

So what’s the secret to setting and achieving goals?

Focus on behaviors, not results. Goals should be S.M.A.R.T: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. A vague and overreaching resolution like “I wanna drop 30 pounds” is none of the above. Instead, make a checklist of actions that’ll put you in the right direction.

Here, for example, are some of M’s health-related resolutions for 2011:

• Complete the Whole30 program (which is no different from the CrossFit Love Paleo Challenge) in January;
• Complete the Hundred Push-ups program (using an iPhone app to track her progress);
• Lift progressively heavier things at least three times per week; and
• Start a workout journal to log her strength development.

Like many of us, M’s looking to improve her strength, body composition, and overall health. But rather than just resolving to “lose X percent body fat” or “eat zero desserts in 2011,” her resolutions are specific, reasonable, and action-oriented -- and she can track her progress along the way with her workout log.

Then again, given that my one resolution this year is to "just keep on keepin' on," it's clear that I'm not following any of the advice above about setting S.M.A.R.T. goals. (It's 'cause I'm D.U.M.B.)

Tweet Your Goals

I've mentioned this before, but a great way to keep yourself accountable to your goals is to tell everyone about them. That's the reason I started this blog (waaay back in August '09); fear of public humiliation was (is) a huge motivating source, as well as the encouragement and support that I've received online. But blogging can take a lot of time and effort. For those of you who have fitness or weight loss goals but little time to devote to maintaining a full-blown blog, give Twitter a shot. Tweeting about his weight loss goals worked for Drew Magary of Deadspin, and now Brian Stelter of the New York Times is doing it with a lot of success, having lost almost 75 pounds in six months on a "Twitter Diet":

I started this Twitter feed at 270 pounds. I think I maxed out between 275 and 280. But now I’m at 220. I’d like to be under 200. -- 8:47 a.m., June 28.

Finally, I felt comfortable publishing my starting weight. “I’m embarrassed by it,” I added that day. “But now I feel comfortable, because I know I’m never going back.”

Today, I’m under the 200-pound mark, and by Sept. 3 I’ll have lost 75 pounds. I’m already thinking ahead to the fall, when I’ll have to learn how to maintain my new size. I have ordered a specially made scale that posts its results onto Twitter every week. It will confess -- or brag -- for me automatically.

In case you're interested, I think this is the scale he's talking about.

(Source: NYT, Engadget)