One of the problems I often face with big goals is that the finish line seems so far away. This plays right into my biggest weakness – procrastination! I simply love putting off today what I can do tomorrow. To counter this tendency I have created training cycles.

I have broken my training down into four cycles and each cycle has very specific goals attached to them. By referring back to these goals often I should have better motivation and accountability to have “small wins”. With enough “small wins” the battle should be won.

Refer back to these goals often and measure success!

PHASE 1 – Basic Fitness
Starts Date: 03/02/2025 End Date: 05/10/2025 Duration: 10 Weeks
Goals:
Weight – 215LBS
Run – 20 Minutes Non-Stop

The motivation behind this phase is to build a base level of fitness on which I can build off. The base level includes getting closer to a functional weight, building the strength in the legs, knees and hips to sustain a running pace for a moderate amount of time and to build more muscular strength.

Monday\Wednesday\Friday
I am currently in the second week of a twelve week power build program. I would like to finish this and see if I can get new pr’s in my four main lifts. Lifting heavy should also increase my muscle mass aiding in weight loss and of course additional strength has never hurt anyone in an athletic endeavor.

Tuesday\Thursday\Saturday
To reach the 20 minute non stop running I will incorporate a run\walk strategy slowly increasing the running and decreasing the walking each week. Saturday will be my Long Run day (if you can call it that).

Diet: My diet must be on better than it has been, and I must be in a deficit in order for me to lose an average of 3 pounds per week. I have tried calorie counting and macro counting in the past and after about three weeks the whole thing just blows up. I have decided to make a change that I hope will be sustainable for the whole duration of my training.

I will be using the Harvard Healthy Plate method of portion control. Separating my plate into three sections – Protein, Carbs, Veggies and Fruit. Making sure that I leave space between each section. The guideline I will use for quantity of food intake will be by feel – 75% full.

My hopes is this method will be sustainable through out training and continue into a healthy lifestyle while still meeting the weight loss goals. This must be monitored regularly.

PHASE 2 – Training Prep
Starts Date: 05/10/2025 End Date: 07/12/2025 Duration: 9 Weeks
Goals:
Weight – 195LBS
Run – 1 Hour Non-Stop

Monday\Tuesday\Thursday\Friday
I love Brian Alsruhe’s training philosophy and I will continue to follow his strength programming through out my training. I will incorporate his RPM Program during this phase to increase cardio, burn fat and maintain much needed muscle to reach the weight goal for this phase.

Tuesday\Thursday\Saturday
To reach the 1 hour non stop running I will continue to incorporate a run\walk strategy slowly increasing the running and decreasing the walking each week. Saturday will be my Long Run day (if you can call it that).

PHASE 3 – Base Training
Starts Date: 07/13/2025 End Date: 10/04/2025 Duration: 12 Weeks
Goals:
Weight – 180LBS
Run – TBD

PHASE 4 – Finishing
Starts Date: 10/05/2025 End Date: 11/15/2025 Duration: 6 Weeks
Goals:
Weight – 175LBS
Run – TBD