I wrote some goals down in early January of this year. Here is what I wanted to get done and how I did:

Personal fitness:

• 400lb sumo deadlift by the end of the year. Completed in November.
  • Started the year never lifting more than 300lbs off the floor.
• 7% body fat by birthday (May) at a weight of 180+. Hit 6% body fat by March. 
  • Started 2016 at around 12-14% body fat and 190lbs.
• 55 second 400m sprint by my birthday. Ran a 53 sec 400m in May.
  • My 400m PR was 51 seconds, 4 years ago, weighing 10lb less. I was stoked about this!
• 3×10 bench press at 185lb/60 sec rest by end of year. Still haven’t tried this yet….I don’t know if I am ready to actually do this.
  • I had never done more than 6 reps of 185lb before this year.
• 3×10 back squat at 275lb/60 sec rest by end of year. Completed in October.
  • I had never squatted this weight for more than 5 reps before this year.
• 200lb hang clean to front squat by end of year. Completed in October. 
  • My PR at this time a year ago was 185lb. I am happy with the 15lb PR.
• Weigh 190lbs by birthday of 2017 with body fat % no higher than 10%. I am currently at 185lb and 10%ish. I don’t think this is actually possible for me and my genetics and current lifestyle. I would have to make more life sacrifices that I don’t really want to make and even at that time it still might not be possible, but I am going to keep grinding away until May and see what happens because why not?

Business:

• Continue guiding clients to their goals. I have some pretty awesome testimonials again this year!
• Save $x for a potential studio upgrade in the next few years. Hopefully!
• One blog post every week all year. Done!
• Finish an ebook on “Lifestyle Change.” Not even close, I didn’t start it.
• One “Run it By Ryan” video on Facebook each week until end of year. I stopped doing this for some reason. No excuse.
• Average 30 one-on-one sessions per by end of year. Not quite there yet. I  am around 27 on average for the year.
• Complete Precision Nutrition Level 1 Coaching certification. Completed in July.

Overall, I am happy with 2016 for my personal fitness and the growth of my business. I didn’t accomplish all my goals but sometimes you need to set goals that might be a bit out of reach, otherwise how do you get better?

2016 is over. It is time to move forward, don’t live in the past. Talking and reminiscing about the past is great, but do you live in the past? Just something to think about if you are wondering why you are struggling to advance and achieve new goals. What you did 4 years ago might not (probably won’t) affect your current goals.

Here are my goals (as of now) for 2017:

Personal Fitness:

• Weigh 190lbs by birthday with bf% around 10%. Again, this might not be possible but I have to try. OK I don’t “have” to try. I know I am healthy how I am, but what is wrong with wanting to achieve something that is difficult to achieve?
• Complete the CrossFit workout “Murph” under 60 minutes by end of 2017. This might be the hardest thing I have ever attempted.
  • “Murph” looks like this: 1 mile run/100 pullups/200 pushups/300 squats/1 mile run….all wearing a 30lb weighted vest. Wish me luck.
• 10 reps of bench press at 205lb by my birthday.
• 10 reps of bench at 225lb by end of 2017. Yea probably not happening, but why not have tough goals.
• Run 1-2 times (1-3) miles per week starting after my birthday.
  • This is a progress and not an outcome goal which is what I usually set for myself. I did this because I haven’t run much the past 1-2 years and I think I will need to hold myself accountable to these runs. I kind of want to start running again, but I know it will suck at first.
• 10 reps of back squat at 315lb by birthday. I think I can do this after the progress I have made with my lower body lifting this past year. I am currently at 6 reps at 315lb.

Nahla doing yoga like she does everyday. I need to start doing yoga…maybe in 2017….maybe….

Business:

• Continue to guide clients to goals.
• Average 25-30 sessions per week all year.
  • I realized that I feel best and work best at this amount of sessions per week. More than 30 sessions per week is just too much for me at this point if I want the quality of service not to suffer.
• Build online training base of clients to 10 by end of 2017. I am currently at 4 online clients.
• Complete “healthy” recipe book/ebook by June. 50+ healthy meals, snacks, smoothies etc for FREE.
• Complete “HIIT” workout ebook by June. 50+ workouts that my clients and myself do for FREE.
• Begin work with caterer for a meal prep service. I am being conservative on this because this is a very long term plan.
• Put away another $x for the future of my business.

I adjusted some goals mid year in 2016 and will probably be doing the same thing again in 2017.

Here are my thoughts on goals for YOU:

1. Be self aware about what motivates you. Are you motivated by progress goals such as: “getting to the gym 3 times per week” or “meal prepping every Sunday.” Or are you motivated by outcome goals such as “running a 5k in under 25 minutes” or “deadlifting 200lbs.” Maybe you are motivated by both. But, setting goals just because you were told it was “good” doesn’t mean much. Set goals if you truly want to go after them. Set goals if they motivate YOU and only YOU.
2. Set deadlines. If goal setting motivates you make sure to put a deadline on all goals to keep yourself accountable to a timeline otherwise procrastination is a powerful thing. Longterm goals motivate me, but maybe you are more of short term thinker. Setting 4 week, or 6 week or 12 weeks might work better for you!
3. Have a REALISTIC plan to achieve your goals. Saying you are going to lose 40lbs but don’t know why and how protein will help you, isn’t a good start. Before you set a goal make sure you have  a plan to at least get you on the right track toward achieving your goal.
4. Don’t just set goals because it is January. I don’t get the “It’s January so I am going to change my life now” thought. Its a cop out. Start changing your life when you feel the timing is right…this could be August or even Decemeber. Crazy I know! I like to set goals at the beginning of the year because it is good way to measure progress for my business. My personal fitness goals are constantly changing though.
5. Changing your goals is OK. Sometimes life gets in the way or you just change your mind and that is most definitely OK. But, at the same time don’t just quit your goals because you are feeling lazy; I mean you can do what you want, but just my opinion. Have a legitimate reason to change your goals. I am not perfect about this by any means.
6. You need to measure your progress. Goals are a great way to measure your progress over a period of time. If you set a goal and don’t reach it by your deadline, then you have some data on what you could have done better. If you never set a goal how can you ever measure your progress and get better?

Have a successful 2017!