Happy Monday.  In case your dragging today, I’ve included a motivational image; look at those guys getting after it with bars loaded with barbwire.  If you’re still thinking your gym sucks because they don’t have a glute ham raise get over it, or maybe you just need to watch this video.  No excuses.

In my last post outlining my goals for 2011 I forgot one thing: to increase my use of social media.  I don’t know why I said increase, I don’t really use it at all, but that’s about to change.  I’ve gotten myself a Twitter account now and need to update the Facebook account which I haven’t really touched in a couple of years.  I’ve been one of those stubborn types who criticizes social media and wishes for the days of no cell phones and books that had actual, tangible pages.  Well, I don’t think I can hold out any longer, after listening to a recent podcast and hearing Michael Boyle say this about social media:

“What you realize is that the influence is being wielded by the people who are using the internet, whether you like it or you don’t like it…You’ve got to be on Facebook, you’ve got to have a blog, you’ve got to be on Twitter.  If you’re not doing this stuff then you’re falling behind…if you don’t embrace the current marketing with in that business, then you’re probably doomed to fail.”

Doomed to fail!  We don’t want that, so social media here we come, from now on every time I bench press, go to the bathroom, or write a new blog post, all of my “friends” will know!  Not quite, but Boyle is right it’s time to step up my internet presence, I’m falling behind.

This might seem ironic, as I’ve had a blog for some time, but I’ve never gone out of my way to tell others to read it.  And I always thought having a bunch of “friends” I don’t know on Facebook was kind of weird, but if the guys who don’t train people are getting all the praise simply because of their web presence, well we can’t have that then.

In other random news, I’ve finished Dan John’s new book Mass Made Simple.  I will write a review once I do the program.  It will probably be a little bit until my body can handle the squatting load in the program.  Bodyweight for 50 reps!

Also, Eric Cressey put out a nice blog post last week entitled 5 Reasons Direct Rotator Cuff Work is Necessary in a Strength Training Program.  Check it out, and remember to program your traditional cuff work like cable external rotations after all of your upper body lifts, to further prevent impingement.

Pittsburgh - City of Bridges

Professional

• N’at is Pittsburghese for “and so forth”.  I moved back to Pittsburgh for the next several months to work as an intern with the strength and conditioning program at California University of Pennsylvania.  So, my first goal for 2011 is to be a kick-ass intern and learn as much as I can about coaching in the university setting.

• My other professional goals are to attend three seminars, gain one certification, visit three new coaches, therapists, and/or trainers, and complete another semester of school work.

Personal

• Help my Mother lower her cholesterol.  This has already been much more challenging than I thought, talk about an emotional eater!

• Monitor my eating for 12 weeks, I’m three weeks into this one, the goal is to follow Shelby Starnes Lean Gain Principles for three months.  This is the most structured eating I have ever followed.  So far so good though.  The goal with the diet is to gain weight but limit body fat accumulation.  Last year I did pretty good in the weight gain department, but gained a little bit more body fat than I wanted.  The goal is to weigh 200lbs by the end of the year with minimal body fat accumulation, currently I weigh 190.  The low-carb days in the program seem to be having a pretty dramatic impact on me, so I confident this is possible.  By the way the goal I set for myself is only three months, I plan on doing more, but this way it doesn’t look so intimidating. 

• Get organized/simplified.  I’m currently working on the habit changes in the book Zen To Done or ZTD by Leo Babauta.  So far so good, I definitely prefer this approach to GTD (Getting Things Done by David Allen), which is a great book/system, but never really helped me get much done.  This book is great because Leo knows exactly why GTD doesn’t work for many – they become obsessed with lists, systems, and software, but don’t get things done.

Athletic

• Pick up the skateboard again or kickboxing, I don’t really have this one figured out yet, but I plan on bringing one of these things back into my life.

• Get my leg issues all sorted out, I’ve been battling some chronic pain in my hamstring for over a year now, the goal is to get this back to 100%.

• The goal after that is to follow Dan John’s new program Mass Made Simple.  I just ordered the book, and I’m anxiously awaiting it’s arrival.  This book should serve as good motivation to get my leg “fixed”.

• After that I will focus my training on either an olympic weightlifting meet or a power lifting meet for the rest of the year, I would like to compete in 2012.

So, there you have it.  Did you make goals for 2011?  Possibly the beginning of your year was hectic like mine, no worries make them now.  If you don’t know what to focus on, I would highly suggest working with a nutritionist or dietician and tracking your food for awhile.  It’s quite the learning experience.  I’m currently using Fitday to track everything and keep a journal, it’s an awesome product and it’s free.