Season's Musings, Life, Odds and Ends

Well readers, it's August now and summer is about halfway through, even though in just a couple of measly weeks the school age children and college age young adults will be readying themselves for their classes once more. It's time for the rest of us to prepare to slow down in school zones and adjust to driving with buses on the road again. It seems that before I left high school, I would try and savor the month of August because I knew school would start at the beginning of September. 
Now that I'm a working adult, I enjoy summer because of the nice weather and increased daylight hours. I may not get two and a half to three months of vacation any more, but it's better to be a responsible adult and make money. What do you enjoy most about summer?

Yesterday I experienced firsthand the importance of sufficient water-intake. I was on my way to doing 100 lunges and I got an intense headache. After I finished my set of 100, I thought back on my hydration over the past 24 hours and realized that I had probably not put enough water down my gullet during that period of time. It was made worse by the fact that I had a cup of coffee before leaving for work yesterday morning. Every day, I have to drink a lot of water because 1. It's stinkin' hot during the summertime and 2. I do a lot of intense exercises throughout the day. Drinking enough water is extremely important to attain and maintain optimum health. I usually do well in drinking enough water, but it just goes to show that even fitness-minded people get busy and forget to drink enough of the precious liquid that is essential for life on this planet. Another thing to consider is if you take medications or supplements that have a tendency to dehydrate you, increased water intake will be necessary. How many glasses/ounces/gallons of water do you drink a day?

Hydrate!!!

This morning as I was getting ready for work, I thought I would develop a S.M.A.R.T. fitness goal: To be able to do 1,000 push-ups a year from now, on August 7th, 2014. It seems like a lofty goal, but if I keep up with my benchmarks, it should be a snap. Let's go through the S.M.A.R.T. steps, shall we?


Specific: To be able to do 1,000 consecutive push-ups
Measurable: To be able to do 1,000 push-ups by increasing my max set by at least 17.5 push-ups each week.
Attainable: Based on my performance in recent months, I believe this goal is attainable.
Relevant: My overall goal to be physically fit and physically able to sustain a high level of performance will be aided in my achievement of being able to do 1,000 push-ups.
Time-bound: I have a year in order to accomplish the feat of doing 1,000 consecutive push-ups.

What do you think about this goal? Will you do it with me? What are some S.M.A.R.T. goals that you have?

 Me doing push-ups in the break room at work

In addition to developing S.M.A.R.T. goals, I also find it wise to list a few obstacles I might encounter along the way so 1. I won't be surprised when I meet adversity in this endeavor and 2. I will be prepared ahead of time to surmount the obstacles quickly. Here are some obstacles I may encounter along the way to accomplishing my goal of being able to do 1,000 consecutive push-ups in a year from now:

1. Getting sick: My first aim is sickness prevention in this regard, but if I do become sick, I will make sure I drink plenty of water and rest. I can adjust my goals slightly if I need to. Isagenix is my effective immune support and nutrition system.
2. Becoming injured: I will take care of any injury I may sustain during this time period and will attempt to work around the injury if possible, in a way that won't further aggravate it.
3. Exhaustion: Scale back activity for a couple of days and go to bed early before hitting the workouts hard again.

   

   Me resting many moons ago. I used to wear glasses back in the day.

Can you think of any other obstacles I may encounter on my journey to being able to do 1,000 push-ups a year from now?

Here is my advice for you today:

1.  Savor the remaining summer months and remember to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine. Try to barbecue as much as you can before the rain or cold makes that activity unpleasant.
2. Make sure you drink plenty of water on a daily basis to maintain optimum health.
3. Develop a S.M.A.R.T goal that will improve your life and mood. 

I hope all of you have a wonderful day and rest of your week.