The Specificity Challenge

[maegs]

The Specificity Challenge

Last time around, I had a couple goals that were a bit too vague, and had too much wiggle room. This time I want to be very specific about what I'm going to do and when, so that it actually happens.

Stats

Class - Ranger | Race - Dwarf | Level - 8 | Height - 5'3" | Weight - 147lb

Waist - 30 3/4" | Belly - 33 3/4" | Hips - 38" | Thigh - 21 3/4"

STR - 17.75 | DEX - 20 | STA - 17.5 | CON - 33.25 | WIS - 19 | CHA - 22

Squat - 150lb | Bench Press - 90lb | Deadlift - 195lb | Press - 55lb | Clean - 95lb | Pull up - 20lb assist | Dip - no assist

Last Challenge: The Less Challenge

Goal Tracking Spreadsheet

Goal 1: Make A Schedule

• Run 3x per week - Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. STA +2
  
• Lift 2x per week -Monday and Saturday. STR +2
  
• Follow this schedule. WIS +2
  

Goal 2: Go To Bed

• Go to bed by 11pm or 2 hours after I finish work, whichever is later. This will help me get up early to get to the gym or run before work on days I work late. CON +1
  
• Get 8 hours of sleep/night. CHA +2
  

Goal 3: Food Is Key

• No more buying food at work. Including drinks - they're full of sneaky calories and carbs. CON +1
  
• Track food with My Fitness Pal. Aim for at/under the calorie goal each day. CON +1
  
• Less than 100g of carbs/day, except rugby days. CON +1
  

Goal 4: Get Organized

• 45 minutes/day of productive time, focusing on continuing to organize and get rid of stuff. WIS +1
  
• Find somewhere to live for school. CHA +1
  
• Get everything ready for school - student ID, email, class schedule, etc. Finish the checklist that was sent out. WIS +1
  

[maegs]

Ok, so last night when I was figuring out my goals and whatnot, I totally didn't realize how late it was! I didn't actually post this until almost 11:30pm.  I also just realized that I didn't assign points yet. I'll have to figure that out today.

 

Monday:

Goal 1 - Didn't run or lift, but as it turns out, that's as per schedule.

Goal 2 - Didn't make it to bed by 11pm, but I did get 10 hours of sleep.

Goal 3 - Had a coffee at work but nothing else, didn't meet my calorie goal, and ate almost 200g of carbs.

Goal 4 - Didn't do any organizing, but I did talk to a friend in Toronto about where not to live, as well as posting in the Toronto thread here looking for advice. Downloaded and read over the checklist to see what I have to do/can do by the end of the challenge and what order I have to do things in.

[Heidi]

Good start!

I will text you at 11, since my phone is set to go off to remind *me* to go to bed too!

love & peace,

Heidi

[Jolltzzz]

I love the title of this thread.  You have a great plan here. 

[silly_steph34]

Wow! Your lifting stats are amazing!! I definitely dig the specificity look forward to the progresssss!

[maegs]

Good start! I will text you at 11, since my phone is set to go off to remind *me* to go to bed too! love & peace, Heidi

Thanks! I'm going to try & be showered, etc, by 10:30 so that at 11 I'm actually ready for bed!

 

I love the title of this thread.  You have a great plan here. 

Thanks

 

Wow! Your lifting stats are amazing!! I definitely dig the specificity look forward to the progresssss!

I always feel like a badass at the gym lol

[maegs]

Tuesday:

Goal 1 - Rugby practice! Lots of running there

Goal 2 - So didn't make it to bed at 11 - I was still eating after practice and unshowered (didn't get home till maybe 9:45?). Fell asleep on the couch for a bit, then put dishes away/put my rugby stuff away, then fell asleep on my bed for a bit, got up and showered, and slept from about 2:30-10:30.

Goal 3 - No work, so no buying food at work. Under my calorie goal, and under 200g of carbs (om nom bananas), which was fine b/c it was a rugby day.

Goal 4 - Did a little bit of work on the housing front, but nothing really substantial. No cleaning/organizing. I can make it up later in the week though if I do extra.

[Weekend Warrior]

Have to agree with Steph; nice stats! Sounds like you're off to a good start and your goals look solid! Best of luck getting to bed on time tmw (I can totally relate to this as I write this post at 2am... lol) Have you thought about creating a reward or punishment system? It might help, like buy a book if you make it to bed 5 nights in a row or create like a "swear jar" but pay a friend 1$ if you skip a curfew? 

 

Best of luck! Keep the posts coming

[maegs]

You had me at "buy a book"

[maegs]

Wednesday:

Goal 1 - Didn't follow my schedule! An unexpected dinner & movie with my best friend meant no gym. But I did go for a run afterwards!

Goal 2 - I was in bed at 11:20pm (so close!), and got over 8 hours

Goal 3 - Didn't work, so didn't have food at work, but I did go over my calorie (135 over) & carb (192g) goals. I'm marking it as a miss, but I don't mind since I haven't seen this friend for a while and I had some delicious food and a good time

Goal 4 - 40 minutes of productive time, but no work on housing or getting ready for school

 

Thursday:

Goal 1 - Lifted instead of running because of changes the day before. I'm marking Wed/Thurs as a small x instead of a big X because I didn't exactly make my goal, but I didn't exactly miss it either

Goal 2 - In bed at 1:45am, 2 hours after I got off work, and got lots of sleep

Goal 3 - No food at work, except tea. 84g of carbs and 35 calories under

Goal 4 - 60 minutes of productivity, but no work on school or housing

 

Friday:

Goal 1 - Followed my schedule by doing nothing!

Goal 2 - I will be in bed shortly, since I want to get up early enough to work out before work! And I should also be in bed in time to get exactly 8 hours.

Goal 3 - No food at work tonight either. 40 calories under and 94g of carbs

Goal 4 - 70 minutes of productivity, but no work on school or housing

[maegs]

I'm changing up my first goal a bit. I'm losing weight off my heavy lift days, and I don't like it! I'm squatting once a week right now, and doing deadlifts/cleans/[heavy] press/[heavy] bench only once every other week. I'm going to switch to lifting heavy both workouts, but doing extra stuff at the end to work on specific things. So my new schedule will be lift Monday and Saturday, and run Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for at least 30 minutes. Unless I have to work I'll be at rugby Tuesday and Thursday, so Friday will be an easier run. This way, my week goes (Monday-Sunday) hard-hard-rest-hard-easy-hard-rest. 

[maegs]

Saturday:

Goal 1 - Lifted today as per schedule. Squats, bench, deadlift, pullups, dips. I've lost a bit off my squat, bench, and deadlift since the last time I did them. Squatted 145, benched 80, deadlifted 170. I probably could have DL'd more, but I had to go to work right after, and I've discovered that really pushing myself on deadlifts and then standing for 8 hours is a bad combination.

Goal 2 - I'm not in bed yet, as I'm having movie night with my parents. We're watching The Hobbit, which they haven't seen yet.

Goal 3 - Didn't have food at work, but I did go over my calorie goal by 461 calories and my carb goal by 80g. I was really hungry after work, but MFP doesn't count calories burned from strength training, so I'm probably closer to my calorie goal than it says I am

Goal 4 - No work on school or housing, 20 minutes of productivity.

[maegs]

Just got back from a run! It took me less time than I thought - I was out of the house for pretty much exactly 30 minutes, but only running for 26:45 (2.5 miles). Turns out I was much faster than I thought I'd be! Because I've been running late-ish after work, I've been running on a treadmill for the most part, and apparently I go over a minute/mile faster - 11:30-11:15ish on the treadmill compared to 10:15ish outside. Now that I'm going to bed earlier, I should be waking up earlier, ie. before it gets too hot out, so I'm going to make an effort to get up and run before the day warms up

[maegs]

Work was crazy today! I ended up working 9.5 hours instead of 8 because one of the closers called in and it was extremely busy. I got some food after work because I was starving, which put me over my carb goal. I'm home now but still hungry, so I'll be going over my calorie goal shortly! I didn't get anything productive done yet, but I'm going to do some laundry and maybe a few minutes in my room before goon to bed by 12:30 to meet my goal of being in bed 2 hours after work.

[maegs]

Went for a workout today:

 

Elliptical for 10 minutes, did .79 miles and finished the Zombies, Run! mission I didn't quite finish yesterday

Squats - worked up to 150lb for 2 sets of 5, had to go to 145lb for the last set

Press - worked up to 55lb for 3 sets of 5

Cleans - got up to 90lb for 3 sets of 3, did the last 2 sets of 3 with 85lb

Pull-ups - 1 set of 5, 1 set of 4, both with 20lb assist

Dips - 3 sets of 5, no assist

Internal Shoulder Rotation - 3 sets of 10 with 20lb on each side

External Shoulder Rotation - 3 sets of 5  with 20lb on each side

Plank - 60sx2. I was going to do 3, but my arms were having none of it

Stretch for 10ish minutes

 

Also weighed and measured myself this morning:

Weight - 143lb

Waist - 29 1/2"

Belly - 33 1/4"

Hips - 38"

Thigh - 21 3/4"

[maegs]

Monday:

Goal 1 - lifted, as per schedule

Goal 2 - only slept for 6:40, but got to bed exactly 2 hours after finishing work

Goal 3 - no food at work, under my calorie and carb goals

Goal 4 - 35 minutes of productive time, including some time spent getting school stuff sorted

[maegs]

Tuesday:

Goal 1 - rugby practice! Lots of cardio

Goal 2 - Didn't get to bed by 11. I was still eating dinner! 11 seems to early on rugby nights. I usually stay for a bit after practice, and get home between 9:30 and 10. So by the time I've showered and ate and whatnot it's always past 11. :/

Goal 3 - No work, no carb goal, but 244 calories over. The amount of sushi I had at lunch may have had something to do with it...

Goal 4 - Went into Toronto to get my student card and whatnot set up, then met up with a friend for lunch. Got in almost 3 hours of productive time!

 

Wednesday:

Goal 1 - This one was easy, it was a rest day!

Goal 2 - I have an hour til I have to be in bed. Will definitely sleep enough as I'm not setting an alarm

Goal 3 - No food at work, 228 calories under, and at 96g of carbs.

Goal 4 - Spent 2.5 hours looking at apartment listings online and at the university's roommate finder.

[The Borg Queen]

You and I have a really similar workout schedule (I run 3 x a week and lift 2 x a week, too!). Also, it's 11:47 pm, and I'm still awake... so we have that in common, too.

[maegs]

Haha! Getting to bed early is so hard for me! On the days I don't work late, I usually want to do things that aren't sleeping, or after rugby practice I've found I'm usually still showering and cooking dinner by then, since I don't get home til 9:30 or 10.

 

Thursday:

Goal 1 - Rugby practice!

Goal 2 - Went to bed really late, but got enough sleep

Goal 3 - No food at work and under my goals

Goal 4 - 180 minutes

 

Friday:

Goal 1 - Forgot that I was supposed to run before I went to work. Afterwards my mom vetoed me running outside. Will do it today or tomorrow.

Goal 2 - Went to bed about an hour late, got just under 7 hours of sleep because I had things to get done this morning. These things are related.

Goal 3 - No food at work, under my calorie goal, but 75g of carbs over.

Goal 4 - 90 minutes. I now have a short list of apartments that I want to set up viewings for!

[maegs]

Just had one of those workouts where I felt like a beast in the gym and then had trouble climbing into my truck because my legs gave up. More details when I'm not on my phone!

[maegs]

I've been fighting a bit with my internet (parents' computer works, but mine and the wifi seem to be having an argument), so here's the last couple of days:

 

Saturday:

Goal 1 - Lifted, as per schedule

Goal 2 - Got to bed 2 hours after work, but had to get up early on Sunday after only 6 hour 40 minutes of sleep. We were going out early for brunch for Father's Day, but just as we arrived at the restaurant I got a call saying my shift was canceled. So I took a nap after we got home!

Goal 3 - I didn't buy any food at work, but did have some leftover smoothie, putting me over my calorie and carb goals.

Goal 4 - 90 minutes of productivity trying to arrange apartment viewings.

 

Sunday:

Goal 1 - Going for a run in a bit to make up for Friday!

Goal 2 - Definitely planning on being in bed on time and catching up on sleep.

Goal 3 - It looks like I'll be at around 130-140g of carbs today, but under my calorie goal.

Goal 4 - Haven't really done much today besides lots of reading, and my nap, but I'm over my time goal for the week.

 

Saturday's Workout (format is sets x reps/weight):

• Elliptical 5 minutes
• Squats:
  • 2x5/45
  • 1x5/60
  • 1x3/90
  • 1x2/120
  • 3x5/150
• Bench
  • 2x5/45
  • 1x5/45
  • 1x3/60
  • 1x2/80
  • 3x5/85
• Deadlift
  • 2x5/80
  • 1x3/120
  • 1x2/170
  • 1x5/180
• Pullup
  • 2x5/20lb assist
• Dip
  • 3x5 unassisted
• Internal Shoulder Rotation
  • 6x10/20 (3 sets on each side)
• External Shoulder Rotation
  • 6x5/20 (3 sets on each side)
• Plank
  • 60sx3
• Stretch
  • 10 minutes

[maegs]

Beginning stats:

Weight - 147lb | Waist - 30 3/4" | Belly - 33 3/4" | Hips - 38" | Thigh - 21 3/4"

Current stats: Weight - 140lb | Waist - 28 3/4" | Belly - 32 1/4" | Hips - 37 1/2" | Thigh - 21 1/4" Whoohoo!

[Heidi]

Whoa!

Check out the truckload of awesome that is Maegs!

love & peace,

Heidi

[maegs]

Thanks! I'm pretty pumped

[maegs]

Monday:

Goal 1 - Didn't lift, because I woke up with a really stiff neck. It stiffened up while I was running on Sunday night, and still felt pretty bad on Monday. By the time I finished work my shoulders had joined in too. I've had a stiff/sore neck on and off for a bit, so I've got an appointment with my GP (who used to be a physiotherapist before becoming a GP) next Monday.

Goal 2 - Got into bed on time, but only slept for 7:40
Goal 3 - No food at work, and under my calorie and carb goals!

Goal 4 - Sent out some inquiries about apartments, got in almost 2 hours of productive time

 

Tuesday:

Goal 1 - Rugby! My neck was feeling a lot better, and felt better Wednesday too, despite doing things like crashing through tackle bags and practicing rucking against two people.

Goal 2 - Didn't get to bed until really late, but I did get enough sleep
Goal 3 - Didn't work, and was under my calorie goal. Didn't track carbs

Goal 4 - No productive time at all, I spent most of the day out with a friend instead

 

Wednesday:

Goal 1 - Lifted to make up for missing Monday. 

Goal 2 - Got to bed on time and got just enough sleep before the construction crew down the street turned the jackhammers on...
Goal 3 - No food at work, but I was over my calorie goal, and probably my carb goal. What put me over was going out after work with my coworkers and having a cider. I couldn't find the nutritional information online, just the calorie count, but I'm assuming it has more than zero carbs.

Goal 4 - 75 minutes of productive time, including calling about an apartment and calling someone I'd like to talk to about the Masters program I'm going into in September

 

Wednesday's Workout:

• Elliptical 5 mins
• Power Cleans
  • 2x5/45
  • 1x5/50
  • 1x3/65
  • 1x2/80
  • 5x3/90
• Press
  • 2x5/25
  • 1x5/30
  • 1x3/30 (no 17.5 dumbbells )
  • 1x2/45
  • 3x5/55
• Squat
  • 2x5/45
  • 1x5/60
  • 1x3/90
  • 1x2/120
  • 3x5/150
• Pull up
  • 2x5 @ 20lb assist
• Dips
  • 3x5
• Internal Shoulder Rotation
  • 6x10/20 (3 sets each side)
• External Shoulder Rotation
  • 6x5/20 (3 sets each side)
• Plank
  • 60sx2
• Stretch 10 minutes