Last day of the year check-in. 

As soon as I got up this morning I set the camera up and recorded myself measuring my body from a cold point, weighing myself and prancing around to see where I am. I will upload and hide the video until my goals have been hit, then I will release the video. I just feel insecure with the video at the moment and that straight up.

All measurements are from cold and first thing in the morning.

(View exactly 1 years ago here)

Today

Looking back at last years measurements, I am happy to say that small progress has been made. I have roughly the same measurements to last year (I measured after a workout last year, therefore warm) although my body fat is down quite significantly. I have lost roughly 1.7 stone of weight this year and 1.1 stone of body fat (Last year I may have been fully dressed when weighing myself). My body fat has also dropped by around 6%.

I am near my peak of bulking this year now and will be prepared to cut in March. I have my whole heart into what I am doing, but I also have children and I have to be a dad.

I am very pleased with how this year has gone for me and my fitness. I am so pleased that I started what I’m doing 3 and a half years ago and I am not just thinking about starting now. I always train to the best of my knowledge and are looking every where for more knowledge. I find that a lot of my motivation comes from me looking at my blog, it helps me to keep track of any progress. Without my blog/pics/measurements etc, I wouldn’t see the progress and feel disheartened.

It may take me a lifetime to get to where I want to be and if it does then so be it. Changes are very hard to see over a short period, but looking back over the full year, I am very pleased with myself. I know that will sound like I’m an idiot when I read this back, but it’s how I feel right now and it needs to be blogged.

Through the archives…

I have basic pictures and measurements going back from 2008. 31/12/2009 I weighted 12 stone 11 pounds. This was when I was on the fat loss route and hadn’t started lifting at all. I am back at that weight now with a significant positive change to my strength and body fat percentage. I have tons of pictures from the weeks when I first started. I thought that it would be quite simple to gain muscle and drop fat when I started. I had absolutely no idea what was going to be involved and how much I would have to really try to make a change.

I am pleased that I started when I did though,  as results are slowly showing year by year. I urge anyone to start making the change now though, as tomorrow is always an excuse to put it off. Do it right now!

If you are stuck then give me a shout and I may be able to help you.

What is my new year resolution?

This is one thing that I find completely useless to me. My new years resolution started 5 years ago when I first decided I was too obese and needed to lose the body fat. I have never waited for new year to do anything fitness wise. I have absolutely no intention of changing the way I eat or train until March.

I genuinely feel that there is nothing for me to give up. As time went by, I stopped drinking as I found the gym to give me the escape I needed. Everyday I gain more passion for what I want to achieve, leaving me to control my own fate rather than a date that others use as an excuse to start. I started my first weights in May 2010. I was speaking to my friend John on the camera and I just looked at his physique and wanted that. I had no weights, but I wanted to get involved with it, so I quickly made the weight below and started with that.

Once I finished talking to John, I made that weight and started lifting from quite literally half hour after the video chat. I have constantly tried to improve over time. I slowly got some weights together and slowly made little changes to my life to allow me to do my weights. Clearly I had no idea of what I needed to do lifting wise or nutrition wise, but I did the best to my knowledge at the time. I have NEVER stepped backwards and continued to follow my passion without having to force it upon myself.

I genuinely believe that if you want something that bad, you simply wont wait till a specific date to get it. If you can’t make the change at any given moment then you are not really wanting it. How many people are going to go on a diet tomorrow and then give up after a few weeks? What’s the point? If you want to make changes to yourself, do it right this very second. If you can’t, then you clearly don’t have enough passion to make the long term change.

If you had a bad 2013 due to whatever reason, you will also have a poor 2014 as you have had to wait to make that change. Just make the change at the time you think about it. Don’t use dates as an excuse, just get up and do it! (all this is fitness related by the way and hopefully a slight bit of motivation)

What now?

We will be joining a new gym Monday, which means new facilities and members to get used too. I’m hoping to continue my extra food intake until March, which is when I will add light cardio to my daily routine and try to drop the body fat. I should be in a much better position to reach my goals this year as I recently had a test run with cutting and I think it was quite a success for my first attempt and done on my own.

2014 will be the year that I have some kind of visible abs. It has been something that I strongly believe is impossible for me to achieve, as I have gone from a size 40″ waist. I hope to do the impossible though and prove to myself and everyone that follows me that anything is possible, if you want it. Watch this space! (when I blog things, I feel like it’s some kind of contract for myself)

I want to get stronger and more defined by this time next year. Mid year I may lose strength due to cutting, but we will see. By 2015, I will be bigger, stronger and have less body fat. It’s the same thing I have been working towards since I started.

Final Words

Have a great new year to all my readers. Be positive and make 2014 your year!

It’s me against myself…