I hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday Season.  I don't know about you but I like to take some time during the end of the year to look back over the past 12 months and make some plans for the upcoming year.  A lot of people really get into the whole New Years thing with all the douchebag pageantry of ball dropping etc.  I have to say I am not really into all that.  Anyone who has the actual misfortune of being there gets to stand around outside in the cold in a big confetti mess.  After all is said and done you are left with a hangover and a bunch of garbage to clean up.  A bad start to the year IMO.  Watching it in a heated home makes only slightly more sense.   In my line of work I find the New Years season to be rather busy picking up the pieces in the form of trips to the OR to treat drunken (read avoidable) misadventures.  Some of them are tragic. 

As I said though, I do like to use this time to plan and reflect.  A recent blog post about "courage corners" on caestus blog got me thinking a bit more about where I want to take things this year.  Apparently a courage corner is a European   (possibly Russian) term for a place where one trains.  Many of these are found in private homes, garages, basements, etc.  I am really happy with my setup however I feel that I am currently under utilizing the resources I have at my disposal.  I'll post some pics of the slightly rennovated "courage corner" here soon.  Last year was pretty much all kettlebell sport style training.  It went well and I did what I set out to do.  Going forward though I am not going to have the kind of time I did in the past.  Both work and family schedules seem to be getting more and more demanding and although I still have ample free time it does not always lend itself to other demands as it is not always available when I want it.  Hence training time is not in jeopardy but being available for events like competitions is.  For instance I plan on competing in the AKC/IKFF meet at the Arnold this year but I am scheduled to be on call that weekend and so far my attempts to get this switched have failed.  I am pretty sure I can work this out but that is the only event I am planning on for this year.  It may change, of course.  I really like the virtual meets like the IGX one where we did long cycle and snatches.  Those are nice because everyone can do them and no travel is involved.  As my wife has pointed out to me multiple times..."Why do you need to go anywhere to lift these things?  You have too many of them downstairs. Lift them there."  I see her point but there are a lot of great folks in the sport who I like to hang out with from time to time so I do still hope to make it to some of these deals. 

So where do I go from here?  First I plan to continue with kettlebells as a mainstay in my training, particularly with long cycle as I feel it is not only a great challenge but also surprisingly beneficial as far as keeping the muscles loose and keeping back pain away.  I want to focus more on grip strength with a goal to close the COC 2.5 by the end of the year.  I would like to get a set of 60 reps long cycle with the 32s and 100 with the 24s.  For one arm long cycle I want to get 100 reps in 10 min w/o setting the bell down.  I also want to get up to 50 bodyweight pistols per side.  I also want to strictly press the 48kg bell.  (I can do this easily now with the 40 kg for a couple reps but the 48 is a no go).  For actual training I plan of getting back into the sandbag, safety bar squats.  I will continue the indoor rowing, heavy bag and running as well.  I plan to add in more juggling and towel swings just because they are great for anaerobic capacity and fun.   The main change though will be adding back squats pressing and  the emphasis on grip work.   Three days a week will be mainly kettlebell sport stuff and the other two or three will be more conventional like grip, presses and squats.  This will be done in phases as I knock down the goals.  Grip work can be done concurrent with anything so it does not pose a conflict.  Up though the Arnold I will emphasize heavily the long cycle and hopefully bang out the 24 and 32kg goals by March.  After that I will go after the one arm long cycle goal with the 40 kg bell.  Maybe a little IGX virtual meet will provide extra motivation.  After that we will nail the pressing goal and training will be supplemented by heavy jerks and presses.  After that we will go deeper into the pistols.  As I train now I am doing all of this stuff but at low levels.  I'll just move stuff onto the front burner when it is time for a goal.

This approach might seem a little schizophrenic at first glance but if you think about it, it is not.  My overarching principle is training for fitness (strength, endurance, health), with out getting hurt (joint mobility, flexibility).  Given that, there is a lot of room for fun.  Here I pick some challenging goals which fit under this umbrella and I line them up and knock them down.  If I come up short on one I'll either come back to it later or approach it from a different angle.  Before anyone drops the "C word" (Crossfit, that is) please consider the differences.   I have set up tangible goals that are meaningful to me which will be addressed in a rational, systematic manner.  Training for them will provide fitness in a way that keeps me excited about training.  I am not knocking cultfit, or rather crossfit, this just isn't that. 

For anyone out there who wants to get with a program and stick with it I cannot emphasize enough the importance to approaching things in this manner.   All you need are tangible yet challenging goals with a loose timetable and map of how to get there. 

In other news I am working on a really big and odd project which will hopefully be unveiled soon.  It has taken me to some strange places so far and I still need a few more components.  Here are some pics.  Happy New Year!