All right guys, the end of the year is finally here and I’d like to take the last couple weeks to talk about goal progress. This week will cover what our 2022 Fitness Recap: what goals did I accomplish? What goals did I fail to achieve? How can I be better next year?
Let’s get into it.
Goals For 2022
I had pretty lofty ambitions for this year with a laser focus on fitness. Here’s a quick recap of what I set out to do from the start.
Successfully Complete 75 Hard
75 Hard is a program that I reviewed in detail on this blog. I went in with a focus on losing the extra weight I’d put on by “bulking” and getting to a physique that I’d always told myself wasn’t “in the cards”, genetically speaking.
The program was a challenge, but it was more enjoyable than I’d expected. I loved working out twice a day and seeing the fat just melt away. I did, however, lose more weight than I thought I would – I started at around 162 lbs and got down to 147 lbs. I was leeeeeeean, and looking back I was far too small.
Goal: Accomplished ✅
Bulk Up To 165 lbs Following 75 Hard
After completing 75 Hard, I saw how lean I could get working out the way I always had. Now I wanted to see how far I could push myself to gain weight. It was time to start on a very calculated bulking diet.
From the outset, I knew I wanted to build a process that would help me gain favorable weight as quickly as possible. I documented the initial process in my 4-month update post, so if you want more information on the macros and workout plan you can find more detail there.
By and large, I had to make adjustments along the way to learn how to do this properly. I started with around 2,800 calories, which helped me grow from 147 lbs to around 155 lbs with fairly minimal fat accumulation, but I hit a plateau and adjusted my macros. Every couple of weeks I also increased the calories, finally settling on the following:
- 3,100 calories per day
- 55% Carbs
- 30% Protein
- 25% Fats
On October 4 I finally got to 165 lbs, 18 lbs up from where I was when I finished 75 Hard. It was time to do a short-term cut to see how much muscle I’d actually gained.
Goal: Accomplished ✅
Lean Out To See Actual Muscle Gain After Hitting 165 lbs
The short-term cut was an experiment, for sure. I’ve never done this process in such a calculated, goal-oriented way before – I didn’t know what would work and what wouldn’t. It’s been a learning experience for sure. So how did it go?
Well, I reduced my calories from 3,100 to 2,100 (a 33% reduction) and started on a plan that was similar to 75 Hard, with 30 minutes of a 3mph walk at a slight incline each day, 5 days per week. My macros also shifted.
- 40% Carbs
- 40% Protein
- 20% Fat
The weight came off way too fast and I was concerned that I was losing muscle, which is definitely not the goal. I reduced the light cardio to 2-3 days per week to slow down that weight loss.
So how did I do?
Goal: Somewhat Accomplished 🤷♂️
Not as well as I’d hoped. As of today, 12/18, I’ve lost 10 lbs. I’m not nearly as lean as I wanted to be after the cut, but I have learned a lot. This left me with a net gain of around 8 lbs of muscle, which I’m very happy with. I’ve got changes planned for the next cycle with a less aggressive timeline, more cardio, and a more optimal macro breakdown. Ready to get to it.
Run 10 Miles at a Sub-10 Minute Per Mile Pace
This one was off to a good start. I was running 5 miles in around 45 minutes until COVID hit, and…guys. It rocked me. I wasn’t able to do real workouts for around a month and never got back to running, despite my efforts. My respiratory capacity was hit really hard, and I’m finding myself unable to reasonably push to the distance and intensity I had previously.
Now, I’m not over here making excuses. I changed my goals after realizing that running needed to take a back seat, which is why I didn’t make any more progress on this goal. I focused on a different experiment, which was medium-intensity incline walking to lose body fat. It worked, and I’m still shocked at how sweaty I get after just 30 minutes.
Goal: Not Accomplished 👎
So where does this leave me looking toward 2023? Well, I intend to get back to running, just at a much more reasonable pace and distance. Long-distance running doesn’t match up with my goal for 2023, which we’ll cover next.
What’s In Store For 2023?
2023 will be a year focused on physical weight gains. Doing a bulk/cut cycle was really informative and helped me understand how my body reacts to the changes. I plan on pushing for serious growth – I’d like to revise my bulking and cutting processes to hit 175-180 lbs in 2023.
I’ll be focused a bit more on healthy fats in my diet, giving them a little more weight than carbs. I’ll also stay consistent with light cardio 3-4 times per week to make sure I’m making the most of the gains I do see. I’ll jump back to 3,100 calories to start and adjust as needed.
The reason for this: I’d like to get as big as possible, then cut to be as lean as possible and in show-ready shape, for a local natural bodybuilding show in November. It will be the first (and almost certainly the last) time I do it, but I want to challenge myself to get in that peak condition. I’ve always been on the lean, slender side – I want to see how big I can really get.
Conclusion
2022 has been one hell of a year.
- I got in the best shape of my life (at 34 years old, no less) through newfound discipline and exercise intensity.
- I became stronger than I’ve ever been, pushing most of my lifts to personal records following strict warmup routines to prevent injury.
- I grew to the largest I’ve ever been (while still looking halfway decent) at 165.5 lbs.
- I ran further and faster than I ever have, and that was after not running for years following a torn meniscus injury.
I’m thrilled that I’ve been able to accomplish things at 35, with injuries that worked against me, that I always told myself I just wasn’t cut out for. My hope is that documenting my journey will be motivating to at least one or two of you – it’s truly one of those “if I can do it, you can do it” situations.
After a full year of learning through trial and error, 2023 will be even better! Expect plenty of progress updates along the way 💪
