Because it’s only human to strive to improve, right? Just because I have decided against a powerlifting competition this year it doesn’t mean that I am not still training meaningfully.

But mindful of being balanced and not going into ‘all or nothing’ territory where I am setting myself up to fail, I sat down with my coach Chris Allen this week to discuss the question that I had written at the top of my piece of paper, ‘Have we got the right mix of things in the right doses?’

To which the question obviously was, the right dose for what? What are my goals now, apart from to continue to enjoy my training and feel good?

My conclusion was pretty simple (and yet massive) in that I would like to be, feel, and look, as fit, strong and athletic as my context and life allows me to be.

Why these qualities?

Fit: because much as I tried to ignore it when only strength training, for me the fitter I am the better I feel, and the general energy I have seems to multiply.

Strong: because being strong feels amazing and badass. I genuinely love lifting/weight training and we all know now that strength also = health and longevity, and to my mind muscle also looks good.

Athleticism: my interpretation of this is being able to bend, flex, jump, twist and move in various ways and to not be wrapped in cotton wool. For instance, I currently lack any feeling of having ‘springs’, and these I really want.

I am also interested to see how much of these three I can keep going or improve at the same time. Because why not be ambitious for ourselves? If I fail, I fail, what matters is the trying.

What would the training mix look like? Can I get enough variety of learning new skills to keep it interesting whilst ensuring the foundations aren’t lost in the noise?

Chris (the Alchemist of this story) helped me set down some measurable outcomes* which I can aim for. The Big Idea (his, not mine, but I get it) is that in the process of doing these, I would get nearer to my main goal….

So, they are (in no particular order):

1. Overhead squat: mobility and stability, leads on to being able to do other things in the future. No idea if I can do this, totally new to me.
   
2. A Dragon flag: core strength, takes practice, feels cool (if you can do it!). Difficulty level – very tricky for me.
   
3. 5k run, eventually 29 minutes and getting closer to 25 minutes: fitness, mental endurance. This will be Hard.
   
4. Squat 110kg: strength, and also because this has always been my nemesis lift, 110 is my previous pb. I think it’s going to be high bar. This will also be Hard.
   
5. 1 new thing each week: – such as new sports/classes engaging body and brain, and keeping on learning and moving in different ways. Happy for this, it’s mostly just logistics to find a thing and fit it in.
   
6. Waist measurement: out of all possible aesthetic ‘goals’, having a waist size that is healthy, and in proportion to the rest of me, is the most important and to me makes the biggest impact on how I feel, in and out of clothes. Here we are hoping for this to not be a hyper-focus but a natural consequence of steps 1 to 5.

Can I keep all of these things going at the same time? Well the following is what a really athletic person’s week of training might look like:

This would be Perfection and may not be possible to do ever for me, let alone always, but it’ll be fun to give it a go. And Chris is going to be creating the programme – one of the great things about having a coach is that we can adjust and he now knows me well enough to get the dosages right….

Chris’s ingredients to a perfect week for anyone with similar goals to me:

• 3x activities that are zone 2 – 1 bike, 1 jog, 1 conditioning
• 4x 400m intervals on the treadmill
• Max heart rate – max effort sprints on the assault bike 20 secs on/40 off
• 3 strength days
• Jumping/Sprinting twice a week
• Mobility/soft tissue work

For context, I haven’t run more than for a bus in forever and I will probably miss the frequency of benching…..so my next post on this will be a little summary of where I am at at the beginning of this fun challenge! Off we go….

My Perfect Training Week:

Day	Activity
Mon	Max heart rate + upper strength
Tues	(PT) Plyometric 1 + Overhead squat + Back squat + Bike 40mins
Weds	Jog
Thurs	(PT) Plyometric 2 + Squat + Deadlift
Fri	Conditioning workout + core
Sat	Do something different (physically) or 400m intervals
Sun	Rest/Soft tissue work

*Note on measurable goals. These are not a rod to beat me with. I am learning from my REBT that these are preferences, not beliefs. If I don’t get an x inch waist, or manage to do a new thing every week these are not going to cause me mental anguish. What they are are fun focusses for me to keep me interested, and engaged, whilst also getting me to the main goal above.