The Overview

Here's an overview of the next six months, starting January 1, 2010 and ending June 30, 2010. Keep in mind that these goals are geared toward myself specificially, but they should be easy to follow and adapt if you want. I set my sights extremely high on purpose: first, something I really need to work for, and second, I need to prove something to myself. As a trainer, I am constantly bombarded with announcements from other trainers that say they've had people lose 15-20 pounds in one month using the meat & veggies only plan. I need to prove to myself that that is real. If I can do it with myself, then I can implement it with clients.

I plan to weigh in once a week, do a bodyfat measurement with Accumeasure calipers, and every two weeks, measure inches in the right arm, around the belly button, around the hips at the widest point, and the right thigh.

Also, I will be planning my meals in advance. The compliance % changes with each month, and will be dependent upon results. Compliance means that if I'm eating 5 meals per day, 7 days/week, I have a certain percentage of meals I can skip/flub up on/use to let my hair down. 100% compliance means just that: it's intense, and only happens for one month. 90% compliance means I get three meals per week; 80% compliance means I get 7 meals per week. There's one full rest week in the middle, which is practice for maintenance plus a reward week. I haven't really thought about my weekly/monthly rewards yet, which means I'll need to put them in later.

The Big Picture: 6 months, January 1-June 30, 2010

Month One: January 1-January 31
Hardcore, Intense, Exhilarating
Reduce fat by 15 pounds minimum, 1 mm decrease (BF%) every 5 days
Workouts: Metabolic Circuit 5x/week; Fun/Active 3x/week
Diet: Meat, Eggs, Veggies with plenty of fruit, yogurt, and oatmeal
Compliance: 100%
End Goal: Size 10, 150 pounds by Jan. 31

Month Two: February 1-28
Intense and Exhilarating
Reduce fat by 10 pounds minimum, 1 mm decrease (BF%) every 7 days
Workouts: Metabolic Circuit plus depletion circuit 5x/week; Fun/Active 3x/week
Diet: Meat, Eggs, Veggies, Fruit, add in more whole grains after workouts only
Compliance: 90%
End Goal: Size 8, 140 pounds by February 28

Month Three: March 1-30
Start Tweaking
Reduce fat by 5 pounds minimum, 1 mm decrease every 7 days
Workouts: Metabolic Circuit plus depletion 6x/week; Fun/Active 2x/week; High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 1x/week
Diet: Meat, Eggs, Veggies, Fruit, Whole Grains (some cereals) after workouts only
Compliance: 80-90%
End Goal: Size 6-8, 135 pounds by March 30

Active Rest: April 1-6
Rest week, Fun/Active workouts only
Diet: Work on intuitive eating, but relaxed

Month Four: April 7-30
Tweaking and Fitness Increases
135 pounds and 20% or less BF%
Workouts: Metabolic Circuit plus depletion 6x/week; Fun/Active or Endurance 3x/week; HIIT 1x/week
Diet: Meat, Eggs, Veggies, Fruit, Whole Grains
Compliance: 80%-90%
End Goal: Size 6, Seeing abs and muscle definition by April 30

Month Five: May 1-31
The Final Stretch
135 pounds and 17% bodyfat, ready for bikini and model shoot ;)
Workout: Metabolic Circuit plus HIIT 6x/week; Steady State/Endurance 2x/week; Outside and Play 1x/week
Diet: Meat, Eggs, Veggies, Fruit
Compliance: 90%
End Goal: 17% bodyfat by May 30

Month Six: June 1-30
Maintenance Man: At Goal, Now to Keep It
Workout: Metabolic Circuit 5x/week, Outside and Play 2x/week
Diet: Intuitive eating, enjoy seasonal fruits and veggies

I'll post January's workouts either today or tomorrow. They'll require a bit of floor space and a kettlebell. If you didn't notice, every month is a Metabolic Circuit. I do have a gym membership that I should use, so I may get to the gym and actually lift weights, but I'll likely just follow the plan. It's these metabolic circuits that are causing my bootcamp clients to lose 1 mm of bodyfat per week (or more, some have pulled off 5 mm in one week!), which is why I'm using them. My clients also are given a superset-style weight workout and HIIT workout each month that they're asked to do outside of class, so I'll also include that in the workouts even though my plan doesn't call for them.

See what I mean when I said I was keeping it simple? It'll be hard and intense, but not confusing. I'm leaving carb/protein ratios in the dust behind me. That's probably the smart thing to do.

I'll probably end up using a lot of protein powder, smoothies, etc. I might even plan for a nutrition bar or two. It's cold outside, and that means I'll rely a lot on warm/hot foods during the colder months.

If you said you were with me on this thing, let me see you commit on your blog!