GOALS for May 2014

So I am currently enjoying my time off from lifting. Eating a lot of shitty food, having some beers, not stressing too much. But in the midst of all the fun, can't help but think about getting back to training, and goals for next year. My goals this year definitely helped keep me motivated and give me direction in my training, and although I didn't nail all of them, I was very happy to hit the press and deadlift PR's with ease, and squat and bench are right there. SO, I've been doing some thinking and planning about what goals I should set for next year this time. So here we go:

Where I am at right now:

Weight: 225
Bodyfat: 20% ish
Arms: 16.25 inches
Squat: 390
Bench: 235
Deadlift: 455
Press: 195

Here is what I am thinking for next year, before the end of may:

Weight: 242
Bodyfat: 12%
Arms: 18.5 inches
Squat: 495
Bench: 305
Deadlift: 565
Press: 225
Total: 1365

Some big goals. But hey, you have to think big to get big. While these goals will not be easy to reach, I think they are ALL attainable. I made similar gains this past year, and hopefully my programming will be smarter and my gains better this time around. Here is my thinking:

Weight and Bodyfat:

I am carrying a lot more fat now than I want. I did a very good job putting on a lot of muscle this semester, but I also put on a lot of fat - I would say about half and half, maybe 15lbs of muscle and 15 of fat. Over the summer, I plan to trim as much of that fat as I can, maybe even put on a few lbs of muscle. So ideally, I would LIKE to be 210 ish with about 10-12% bodyfat. So, over the course of the school year, that means I have to gain about 30 lbs, say 25 ish of muscle and 5-10 of fat. The plan will basically be to carb backload HARD, getting as much whole food in as I can, while still keeping the rest down while I lift and leaving cardio in at least on wednesdays. Hopefully that way I can force myself to gain weight fast and efficiently, while keeping fat loss lower this time around. If I can get to 242 ish with 12% before my free all-you-can-eat food goes away, I think I will be able to maintain that weight while improving composition for the rest of my days.

Arms:

This is the least important goal I suppose. But my bench has been such crap for so long, and I feel certain that if I can get my arms a full 2 inches larger, there is no chance in hell my bench won't improve. Plus, aesthetically my arms have always been a weak point. I would love to just have some huge ass arms, to show myself that I can do it and to look great.

Squat:

495 is a big goal. Over a hundred pounds. However, I think that is totally doable in a year. I will have to train hard and train very smart, but I think I can do it. And, despite missing my goal of a 4-plate squat this year, I think I am RIGHT there, and will hit 405 before I know it... and I'm not going to shoot for a 475 or 485 squat when 5 plates is right there. This will be my redemption.

Bench:

305 is a big deal - 70 lbs on my bench, when I only managed to put 30 lbs on it this past year. However, I actually think my bench is closer to 245, despite my failure at the meet. Plus, while my bench training has improved, I still haven't found a method of training that REALLY works. So I am going to hold out hope that with slight tweaks to my programming, I will find the right combination of volume, intensity, technique, that will yield the best results. That, combined with some serious upper body growth from the arm and back work I'm putting in, should result in some gains like I have never seen. I would LOVE to shoot for 315, and would have if I hit the 255... but I think breaking 300 is a big enough goal.

Deadlift:

Originally I was thinking 545 would be the best goal to make - the next plate increment - but deadlifting has just been going great. My technique is on point, and I'm loving the lift more than I ever have. I BARELY failed 475, so even though my PR is 455 I wouldn't necessarily consider 565 adding 110 lbs, more like 100. I just think I should set my sights higher than 545, so 565 it is.

Press:

One of my better lifts, but I have been hitting some plateau's on this lately. I think 225 is just the next logical goal, however. Maybe it's a little low, or maybe it's going to be a lot tougher than I think to get that 2 plate press. However, I put like 50 lbs on my press this past year, plus I'm adding in all this extra arm and back work, I feel like 30 lbs is a reasonable goal.

So there we go! If I can manage that, I will hit a 1365 total, a full 300 lbs more than what I hit this time around. It is going to take a lot of work, but I am gonna try and take full advantage of this last year of free gym, free food, and a lot of time to dedicate to lifting. I made great gains this year, and if I can be smarter I can make even better gains this time around. Lets keep at it, and crush some shit.