2011 Goals

The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.

Denis Watley

I'm going to use this post to list and track my goals for 2011. The list is ambitious, possibly just beyond reach, just like every list of goals should be. I had lots of fun looking back at my life goals from time to time and contemplating which of them I could attempt this year.

A journey of a thousand miles...

General goals

• Launch at least one "product" (most likely a website) of my own, outside of work.
• Write at least one short story.
• Learn at least two new programming languages/technologies. Likely candidates: Scala, Python, HTML5.
• Visit at least 5 new places. Likely candidates: Thailand, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Ano Nuevo, Sequoia National Park
• Get better at remembering birthdays and getting gifts.
• Pick up a new sport.

Fitness goals

Strength/Power

• Squat: 455lbs (current: 405lbs)
• Deadlift: 500lbs (current: 495lbs)
• OH Press: 225lbs (current: 205lbs)
• Crossfit Total: 1180lbs (current: 1055lbs)
• OH Squat: 255lbs (current: 245lbs)
• Snatch: 225lbs (current: 203lbs)
• Clean: 315lbs (current: 288lbs)
• Jerk: 275lbs (current: 258lbs)

Gymnastics

• Consecutive ring muscle-ups: 10 (current: 4)
• Consecutive full ROM HSPU: 10 (current: 2)
• Consecutive pistols (per leg): 15 (current: 10)
• L-sit: 1:00 (current: 0:20)

Speed/Endurance

• Run 40 yards: 4.5 seconds (current: ?)
• Run 100m: 12.0 seconds (current: ?)
• Run 400m: 1:00 (current: 1:10, track)
• Run 800m: 2:30 (current: 2:50, track)
• Row 500m: 1:25 (current: 1:29)
• Run 1600m: 5:45 (current: 5:53, treadmill)
• Run 5000m: 21:00 (current: 22:38, track)
• Run 10000m: 50:00 (current: 51:43, track)
• Row 2000m: 7:00 (current: 7:17)

CF WoD

• Fran: 2:30 (current: 3:20)
• Cindy: 30 rounds (current: 28)
• Mary: 14 rounds (current: 10)
• Angie: 14:00 (current: 16:08)
• Filthy Fifty: 20:00 (current: 23:20)
• Helen: 8:00 (current: 9:01)
• Murph: 30:00 (current: 32:29)
• Eva: 42:00 (current: 49:32)
• Grace: 2:00 (current: 2:47)
• Isabelle: 6:00 (current: ?)
• Fight Gone Bad: 400 (current: 364)
• King Kong: complete it (current: ?)

It's going to be a very busy year. I can't wait.

The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.

Ralph Waldo Emereson

My life goals

This is your life. And it's ending one minute at a time.

I was watching Fight Club the other day for probably the 30th time and one particular scene really stuck with me. On a rainy night, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is recklessly driving a car with the Narrator (Ed Norton) in the passenger seat and a few members of Project Mayhem in the back. As he steers the car into oncoming traffic and accelerates, Tyler asks:

What would you wish you'd done before you died?

Tyler: Guys, what would you wish you'd done before you died?
Ricky: Paint a self-portrait.
Mechanic: Build a house.
Tyler: [to Narrator] And you?
Narrator: I don't know. Turn the wheel now, come on!
Tyler: You have to know the answer to this question! If you died right now, how would you feel about your life?
Narrator: I don't know, I wouldn't feel anything good about my life, is that what you want to hear me say? Fine. Come on!
Tyler: Not good enough.

It occurred to me that, faced with the same question, I couldn't instantly come up with an answer. And that's sad. Although I painstakingly worked out my fitness goals, I somehow had not done the same for any of my other goals. I routinely shake my head at people who head to the gym with no clear purpose defined, but to a large extent, I've gone about my whole life that way. I figured it was time for a change.

What would you wish you'd done before you died?

1. Visit every continent.
2. Sky dive.
3. Write a book.
4. Deadlift 500lbs.
5. Run a 5 minute mile.
6. Clean and Jerk 315lbs.
7. Run 400m in 55 seconds.
8. Do a planche push-up.
9. Dunk a basketball.
10. Do a backflip.
11. Become a recognizable name in the software/CS field.
12. Go into outer space and look down at the curvature of planet earth from above.
13. Survive for one month like a caveman: that is, live alone in a forest with no modern technologies or comforts.

So, that's it for now. Some of these goals I may accomplish within a year or two; others, perhaps never at all. It doesn't matter, so long as I try.

My 2010 Crossfit Goals

General
Top 20 finish in the Crossfit NorCal Sectional Qualifier (March 27/28).

Strength
Squat: 455lbs (current: 405lbs)
Deadlift: 500lbs (current: 495lbs)
OH Press: 225lbs (current: 205lbs)
Crossfit Total: 1180lbs (current: 1055lbs)
OH Squat: 255lbs (current: 245lbs)

Power
Snatch: 225lbs (current: 203lbs)
Clean: 315lbs (current: 288lbs)
Jerk: 275lbs (current: 258lbs)

Gymnastics
Consecutive ring muscle-ups: 10 (current: 4)
Consecutive full ROM HSPU: 10 (current: 2)
Consecutive pistols (per leg): 15 (current: 10)
L-sit: 1:00 (current: 0:20)

Speed
Run 40 yards: 4.5 seconds (current: ?)
Run 100m: 12.0 seconds (current: ?)
Run 400m: 1:00 (current: 1:10, track)
Run 800m: 2:30 (current: 2:50, track)
Row 500m: 1:30 (current: 1:29)

Stamina/Endurance
Run 1600m: 5:45 (current: 5:53, treadmill)
Run 5000m: 20:00 (current: 22:38, track)
Row 2000m: 7:20 (current: 7:17)

CF WoD
Fran: 2:30 (current: 3:20)
Cindy: 30 rounds (current: 28)
Mary: 15 rounds (current: 10)
Angie: 14:00 (current: 16:08)
Helen: 8:00 (current: 9:01)
Murph: 30 minutes (current: 32:29)
Eva: 42 minutes (current: 49:32)
Grace: 2:00 (current: 2:47)
Isabelle: 6:00 (current: ?)
Fight Gone Bad: 375 (current: 364)
King Kong: complete it (current: ?)

My 2009 Goals

I meant to post these a long time ago, but somehow never got around to it. Anyways, I figure better late the never. Here is the long list of goals I hope to accomplish in 2009 as I continue to do Crossfit. Some of these are a hell of a stretch, some should be easy, and others are total unknowns. All of them, though, are nice concrete numbers to aim for, which should provide some great motivation, accountability and something fun to look at in December.

"Current PR's" were updated on December 17

Exercise	Current PR's	2009 Goal
Squat	375lbs (done!)	365lbs
Deadlift	455lbs (done!)	455lbs
Bench Press	295lbs*	315lbs
OH Press	195lbs (done!)	195lbs
Squat Clean	275lbs (done!)	275lbs
Power Clean	265lbs (done!)	265lbs
Clean and Jerk	235lbs	255lbs
Split Jerk	235lbs	255lbs
Snatch	195lbs (done!)	185lbs
Power Snatch	175lbs (done!)	165lbs
OH Squat	205lbs (done!)	205lbs
Crossfit Total	1015lbs (done!)	1000lbs
Powerlifting Total	1115lbs*	1135lbs
Pull-ups (dead hang)	21 (done!)	20
Pull-ups (kipping)	40 (done!)	40
Pull-ups (weighted)	125lbs	150lbs
Push-ups	70*	100
Handstand push-ups	10	15
Sit-ups	100 (done!)	100
Air Squats	100 (done!)	100
Run 400m	1:06	0:55
Run 800m	2:46	2:30
Run 1600m	6:00	5:30
Run 5000m	22:22	20:00
Run 10000m	52:27	48:00
Run 15000m	01:27:15	01:15:00
Front lever hold	1 sec	10 sec
Back lever hold	10 sec	30 sec
Advanced tuck planche hold	0 sec	10 sec
Free standing handstand hold	8 sec	60 sec
Fran	4:30	4:00
Murph	32:29	30:00
Cindy	28 rounds (done!)	28 rounds
30 muscle-ups for time	4:09	4:00
Filthy Fifty	24:35	20:00
Nate	9+ rounds	12 rounds
Helen	9:33	9:00
Tabata Something Else	398	440
King Kong	Can't do it	Do it

* Indicates that I have not attempted a PR in the last year, so the numbers are estimates based on similar performances in training (e.g. 5RM, runs of similar distance, etc).


So, there you have it. I think I have my work cut out for me. I love the range of abilities represented by these goals: strength, power, endurance, stamina, balance, coordination, speed and so on. The "What is Fitness?" article says it best:

Our fitness, being “CrossFit”, comes through molding men and women that are equal parts gymnast, Olympic weightlifter, and multi-modal sprinter or “sprintathlete.”