As the clock ticks down the final minutes of 2009 I’m sure many of you will think about the last year in retrospect. You may have ask yourself:
“How did this year fly by so fast?"
“Who am I going to kiss at 12:00?”
“Why didn’t I accomplish my last years resolution of ___________? "
“Why am I 10 lbs heavier this year than last?"
“Why is my bench max still more than my deadlift?”
"Why didn't I talk to that hot girl at the company Christmas party?"
Then this retrospective view may turn into self improvement and annual ritual of making resolutions. Many people do this and it is fine if it works for you. People swear to themselves that:
“This is the year that (insert life changes you want to make)!”
Everyone wants to transform their lives and better themselves. People want to lose weight, get a better job, make more money, etc. Over this next week millions of people will evaluate their lives and what they want their resolutions to be. They will make their resolutions (many already have) and sadly many will fail.
Now, let me let you in on a little secret. I do not like New Years resolutions nor do I make them. Instead I set goals. The goals are short term and some long term but all are for the next year. I evaluate my life and break it down to different categories.
For me personally it is:
1. Business
2. Financial
3. Training
4. Relationship
5. Education
Once I establish these headings I then come up with my goals for each heading. Some may have only a couple goals and some may have 8 or more. I write these goals down (actually type them in a Word document). When writing something of this nature down it makes it more “concrete” and you are more likely to remember them and work towards them.
After I write my goals out I decide my plan of action. Goals just don’t obtain themselves. They all take steps, some big and some small, but you have to take some action. Figure out what steps it will take to reach your destination. You wouldn't get in your car and start driving to a destination without planning your route first. If you did you would get lost and never make it. So what makes you think you can reach a goal without proper planning first? Put all you have into these endeavors, stay positive and look at them often (everyday). You may be surprised when you realize how many of these things will happen if you put your mind to it.
And when the last days approach of 2010 look at them one last time. You will be very happy to see most, if not all have been reached.
Good luck! Have a safe and Happy New Year!
Got any goals you want to share? Any tips? Thoughts? Questions? Let me know in the comments below!
And don't drink too much and be "That Guy" tonight! (see below)
I've been keeping a training journal over at WannaBeBig.com. I figued I'd post a link up on here for anyone who wants to see what is going on with my training. Click here to check it out. If you have any questions feel free to post them on there or in the comments below!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
I just wanted to wish a Merry Christmas to all the readers of my blog, to my clients and to my friends and family! Thanks for all the support in 2009. Looking forward to big things in 2010. Hope you have a safe and fun holiday season!
I just got in from the competition in St. Louis yesterday. I weighed in at 198.6 and competed in the Open 200 class. The competition went great.
Max Log I opened at 260. Next attempt was good for 280. My 3rd attempt I hit a 20 pound PR for 300 pounds. I tied for 1st on this event.
The second event was Famers hold. I held them for 56 seconds or so. Don't remember the exact time. I finished 1st on this event.
The third event was 18 inch deadlift. I opened at 600 pounds and it flew up. I jumped to 700 pounds and pulled it also (for a 100 pound PR!). My 3rd attmept was a miss for 750 pounds. I took 4th on this event.
The fourth event was Incline log with 220 pounds. The incline was a lot higher than I had been training so it felt a little different. I hit 15 reps on this event. I took 2nd place. The first place guy hit 17 reps.
The fifth event was stones. We had to load 200, 220, 240, 260, 300 onto a 52 inch platform. I loaded the first 4 stones in about 16 seconds. I missed the 300 stone load barely, twice. I took 2nd place on this event.
Overall I tied for 1st place. In the instance of a tie they look back at your finishes. I had 1 event win and 1 event win-tie. The guy I tied for the overall with had 2 event wins and 1 event win-tie. Since he had more event wins than me he took the overall.
I was very happy to with 2nd place out of a very competitive class of 6 competitors.
I also won some cash for my 300 log clean and press. It was tied for the best max log of the day.
Well tomorrow it's finally here, my next strongman competition. Once I finish this blog we are on the road to weigh in. Then just relaxation (and some eating) until tomorrow morning. I'm feeling really fresh, recovered and ready to pick up some heavy shit. Since I am short on time I am going to throw up a pretty funny video below for your entertainment. Enjoy!
“Life has a top 2 or 3 percent. Most of you are not in it. Cause you gotta want to step it up and do what other people don’t wanna do. And that goes with everything: business, life and sports”
Monday I celebrated my 25th birthday. Yes, I am pretty damn old. In light of this I decided to post 25 random things related to training, strength, lifestyle, nutrition and some plain randomness.
Enjoy!
1. Find your passion. Find something you are passionate about it and pursue it. I am passionate about anything training/nutrition related as well as helping people. I put everything I have into my career and my own training and then some. It is so easy to do because I am passionate about it. Listen to no critics and pursue your passion with all you have, you will succeed.
2. Find new music. Seek it out. Use Pandora, YouTube, or any other sources. You can’t listen to the same shit all the time. I like my Pantera but only when I am fixing to lift heavy shit. I don’t want to be in the mindset Pantera puts me in 24/7. Find some good, new music. Favorite band I discovered this year? Dispatch:
3. I have been asked to write some articles for WannaBeBig.com. I have 3 waiting to be published and I believe the first one will be up this coming Monday. It is titled:
“Functional Badassity: The Sandbag”
The other two:
“Make That Lower Body Grow”
&
“Training Tips to Unleash Your Upper Arm Potential”
Check them out!
4. Go to conferences, travel and learn. Whether you’re in the fitness industry, music industry, etc. you can benefit from learning from others about it. Whatever you are passionate about (see #1) travel and learn! This past year I went to the NSCA Sports Specific Conference, Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training, NSCA KY State Clinic at University of Louisville and Murray State University strength and conditioning facility. I learned a ton that I could immediately apply to my own training and to my clients training.
5. I get emails and questions from up and coming trainers quite a bit about how to get new clients. What advertising to use? What marketing ideas to use? Etc. If you get clients the results they want you will never have shortage of clients. Results speak for themselves. You will have walking billboards for your business. You will have a problem fitting all the clients in that want to train with you. Getting results gets clients and retains them.
6. I really don’t have a problem with CrossFit. I know it's not the best form of training for most, unless you want to be mediocre at a lot of things. It has it’s place for conditioning purposes but that’s about all in my opinion. Anyway, if you want to piss a crossfitter off this worked for me:
“CrossFit? No thanks, I am an athlete. Not trying to be the best at exercise”
7. Compete in something. I don’t care if it is strength or physique sport, a race or a recreation sports league. Find something you enjoy, train for it and compete. You will be surprised at how much fun the whole process is. You will see what it feels like to set a goal, deadline and obtain it. Use the carryover in all aspects of life (business, relationships, etc.)
Me Riding the Raft Like A Bull
8. Try something new. For my bachelor party I gave my best man a list of ideas for things to do. I didn’t want to the typical stripper bachelor party. I wanted to do something fun, adventurous and that I hadn’t done before. They picked white water rafting and it was a blast! Want to sky dive? Bungee jump? Hike a long distance? Ski? Go out and try it!
9. Drink a Spike at least once in your life. If you don’t like it then don’t drink it again. I find this is the best pre-workout drink available. I also owe some of my college GPA to Spike and it’s “focus” effects. I’m serious.
10. Push the prowler. The first time I pushed a prowler was when I visited IFAST. Talk about a killer conditioning workout! Once I got back home we got one for the gym and it is great. Our clients fear the prowler so much we now call it the “Push and Play”. Sounds nicer, still evil.
11. My freshman year of football I had my pinky cut off playing football. It got smashed between two helmets and some how ended up on the grass. Luckily they found it and I had it reattached. It doesn’t look much different now, but if you look closely you can tell.
12. Life is busy for most, and no one wants to hear about how busy you are because well, they are too! Even with a busy life it is very important to still make time to enjoy your friends and family. Visit your grandparents; go out with your friends, etc. Make the time!
13. I drink coffee every morning.
14. The last 2 books I read are: “Raising the Bar” –by Dave Tate and I am finishing up “Never Let Go” –by Dan John. Both I highly recommend!
Jamaician Sunset from our Trip 15. Travel. I spent my honeymoon in Jamaica and the beach is amazing. The people and culture are very interesting. Travel to new places.
16. I have gained 15 pounds in the past 8 weeks thanks to this shake recipe. I drank 1 each morning and 1 before bed. I’ll be honest, it isn’t all muscle. I am training for a strongman competition and want to weigh in at the top of the class. The extra weight makes my joints feel better and gives me better leverage for events.
17. Spend less each month than you make and you will not have money troubles. It really is pretty much that simple. Also, try and save up 3 months worth of what you make for an emergency fund.
18. Recovery is important. You have to have off days, weeks, deloads, etc. You can’t go all out day after day, week after week. Supercompensation is real. Use it.
19. This year I have met Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, Tony Gentilcore, Coach Adam Feit, Coach Joe Kenn, along with some other great coaches and trainers. I appreciate all they have taught me and hope to pass it on by teaching others what I know.
20. I have been training for over 10 years consistently. My training goals have changed over the years but I am still hitting PRs, gaining muscle and loving it. Remember the iron game isn’t a race; it is a life long journey!
21. Surround yourself with like minded people whether it is business, training, etc. If you want to be strong hang out with those stronger than you. If you want to run a successful business, hang out with those who run a successful business. You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Think about who you spend the most time with…Do you want to be the average of them? If so, keep doing what you are doing. If not, maybe you should rethink things.
22. Train people and get results before you come out with a freaking product. Training your mom and girlfriend doesn’t count. Spend your time in the trenches learning and getting people results. After years of this you may be ready to come out with a product. You also may not. However if you haven’t put your time in and you're just a fraud you will expose yourself with time.
23. The “Lonely Island Boys” put out some funny shit. (Adult Content)
24. I don’t think excessive protein is needed for most people. 1g per pound is sufficient for most.
25. Don’t by into the supplement hype. The basics: protein, creatine and fish oil is enough for most. Pre workout drinks (Spike) and post workout drinks are a nice addition if it's in your budget. Spend the rest on food, a foam roller and books on training. You can’t go wrong with this method.
There you have it, 25 in 25. Any questions on them? Any comments? Anything to add? Post a comment and let me know!
Chase Karnes graduated from Murray State University with a degree in Exercise Science. He is a NSCA certified personal trainer and strength coach located in Western Kentucky. He is currently studying for his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certification (CSCS). His philosophy is simple: He believes that whether you’re an elite athlete, soccer mom, or family doctor you should have access to the most recent developments in exercise, health and nutrition science. Through Argonauts Fitness, Chase has worked in the exercise and nutrition arena for half a decade. He has hands-on experience working with strength and physique athletes along with athletic and general populations. Chase is also a competitive athlete himself competing in NPC Bodybuilding, Powerlifting (1330 Raw Total), and NAS Strongman competitions. He has worked or consulted with clients from over 6 states. Chase can be contacted for personal and group training, program design, nutrition consultation and speaking engagements.
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