When I introduced Project 55, I listed eight umbrella goal categories. The first on the list was Health & Fitness.
Let me be honest: I am in the worst shape of my life, not at, but close. This has been a two-plus-decade issue, during which I gave into comfort and led a lazy lifestyle because I felt like I had reached the pinnacle. What I learned is that I was nowhere close to that.
As mentioned in the introductory article, I have been planning this for a few months. I looked within, spoke to people I trusted, and contemplated the "whys" that led me to where I was. Then, I asked myself what I wanted for the rest of my life. And then, I set some goals.
For this first year, the most important thing I have to get under control is my diet. Not only do I need to adjust, control, and monitor what I am eating, I have to consider why I am eating. Food serves us two main things: Nutrition and pleasure.
I want to focus on the pleasure part. We humans like to eat. For us, eating is a communal activity where we spend time with our families and our friends. It goes back to our earliest days. It's tribal, a part of our genetics, our ancestry. The problem is that our country has an overabundance of cheap, low-quality food that is killing us from within. We also fight how we were raised, with life instructions: "Clean your plate" and "Don't waste food." Combine these with the sedentary, zoned-out lifestyle that promotes automated eating; it's no wonder the obesity rate in the United States is nearly 45% in my age group.
The day before starting this program, I decided to have a physical, the first one since leaving the military. While I will have to wait for the blood work, the initial results were mixed, as expected. In a one-hour visit, my doctor and I discussed my overall health.
When it comes to food itself, my primary goal in "Year One: Overcoming Obstacles and Tearing Down the Damage" is to reinvent the food I eat and the reasoning behind it. Let me show you how this looks:
I will first reduce, then eventually eliminate, processed food unless there is no alternative and that alternative is necessary for health (i.e., legitimate health or survival situation.)
I will begin to grow and make as much of my food as possible. I will plant and grow a garden, make my jerky, snacks, and trail mixes, bake my own bread, and harvest as much protein as possible.
I will incorporate intermittent fasting into my life as much as possible, along with proper hydration, to maximize their health benefits.
I will eat with purpose for the betterment of my life. I will work toward utilizing alternatives to prevent myself from getting into mindless eating situations. I plan to allow myself time to adjust to this to prevent myself from becoming frustrated and quitting.
Food is only half of the health equation. I also need to make changes to benefit my overall health. So, I looked at several different programs, including ones I actively participate in, and set some fitness goals:
I set a target weight. It's not a precise number but a range with a high and low end. I set it based on where I felt I would feel the most comfortable.
When my bloodwork returns, I'll analyze the results and work to bring any out-of-range numbers back into range.
I developed a long-term fitness program with short-, mid-, and long-term goals.
To live the healthiest lifestyle possible and maintain the fitness levels I want, I broke my fitness goals into two main categories, with specific goals for Year One (with one goal overlapping with Year Two).
I call the first category of inward goals "Outdoorsman." These goals will help me achieve the healthy lifestyle and fitness levels I want to achieve and boost other important areas in my life, such as my online outdoor magazine, Backcountry Bard. They are as follows:
Join an accountability group. I have done this with my friends in The Strenuous Life program.
Install and set up the appropriate tracking apps. I chose to continue with Strava and AllTrails.
I will resume my GORUCK Tribe-'n-Training workouts.
For 2025, between rucking and hiking, I intend to hit 2,025 miles, which is about 5.55 miles per day. That equates to about 12,000 steps daily, which I have set as my daily target.
The other goal category is outward in that these will help me help others. I call them my "Protector" goals. This category came from watching this video, where I put myself in the man's shoes and asked, "Could I have saved that child?" The answer at this time is "No." I asked myself, "Could I defend my family in this situation?" The truth is I'm not confident enough to say I could. I finally asked myself how to react to a disaster like Hurricane Helene. Not well at all.
There are development programs, such as the Warrior Poet Society and Sheepdog Response. But before I take courses, I need to get suitable with my physical fitness, regain comfort and control of my body, and be confident in my abilities. I looked around, and I found the 75th Ranger Regiment Fitness Test. From that, I came up with these goals:
Run a 5K in under 30 minutes.
Run 100 yards without stopping.
Climb a rope a minimum of 20' up.
Scale an 8' fence.
Firemen can carry a 250lb person at least 1/4th of a mile.
Some weightlifting goals fall under this umbrella. These are what I dub the "Functional Five" with goals (Year One/Year Three):
Bench Press: 225 pounds (1/5)
Squat: 450 pounds (1/5)
Deadlift: 450 pounds (1/5)
Overhead Press: 125 pounds Year One/225 pounds Year Three
Pull-ups: (10 near goal weight range/100 at goal weight range for Murph Challenge)
These are my goals. Project 55 they are what I want to achieve, but it depends on me putting in the work to achieve it. Do I want Outdoorsman and Protector health and fitness, or am I satisfied living as I have for over twenty years? These articles will tell you. Next up, my Family goals.
Comentários