Well … I wrote this and saved it as a draft but never published. Pobody’s nerfect, I suppose!

Done.

Concluded.

Executed.

Fulfilled.

In the past.

All over but the shouting.

Talking about Mount Crushmore, of course! After 12 weeks of scheduled workouts and detailed meal plans, the program (as designed) is over. Now, while I’m going to start talking about what I’ve learned and goals for the future, we’ll start with what everyone came here for — the numbers.

Weekly Weigh-In: 224.2 lbs (2.3 Pounds Gained)

Bi-Weekly Measurements

• Body Fat Percentage: 18.3% (Goal: 15%; 3.4% Lost)
• Skeletal Muscle Mass: 105.4 Pounds (6.6 Pounds Gained)
• Body Fat Mass: 41 Pounds (7.3 Pounds Lost)

I guess the main talking point here is how close to my goals I got. I wanted to lose 10 pounds and while I gained 2.3 overall, I was able to drop 7.3 pounds in negative weight (read: fat). Was it the goal? Nope. Is it okay? For sure — even better, actually!

The next goal was to drop my body fat by 5% and I got about halfway there — 3.4%. It’s not the goal but a 3.4% in body fat decrease is pretty awesome!

So … Why didn’t I hit my goals?

It’s a number of things. If you’ve trained with me or heard me rant before, you’ll know that I often harp on how important it is to be honest with yourself when it comes to your fitness and nutrition habits. If you have a program that’s designed to work then don’t follow it, you can’t be upset when the program doesn’t work.

Well, you can be upset, it just can’t be with the program.

The fact that I didn’t hit the goals was a combination of two things:

1. I don’t think my goal was short-sighted enough. It’s acceptable — and recommended — to constantly reevaluate your goals because they will change over time based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, determination, life distractions and just overall attainability. I did that when I quit my focus on the scale weight and focused more on the negative weight lost.
2. I didn’t follow everything how I should have. Honesty, remember? An occasional indulgence won’t hurt you — in fact, it’s recommended — but too much indulgence can lead to a caloric surplus that no amount of muscle building can negate. I have a tendency to stress eat and there were multiple stress pizzas and stress milkshakes, stress cookies and sodas and a number of other treats that I took on. I didn’t miss any workouts, but my sometimes poor eating habits were enough to throw a wrench in my plans.

But in the end, I’m extremely happy with how the program turned out!

If you want to try the program, I’ve detailed it in the links above under FREE WORKOUTS and FREE MEAL PLANS!

What’s next?

Just because Mount Crushmore is over doesn’t mean the content is! I plan to take the next week or two off from any detailed program while I iron out the next one. The goals will likely be similar, though!

I’ll wrap up by saying that I found an old list of goals recently. I achieved one over the weekend in that I learned how to cook with rhubarb! Another goal on my list, however, was “build and share five custom workouts on JTF Strong” and we’re now sitting at two! It’s about to be three!

Rhubarb pie FTW!

That’s more free content, you guys! You can’t beat the price, that’s for sure.

I’ll also be doing posts about meal prep, meal planning, goal setting and personal development, an arena I’ve only recently stepped into but with great results!

Anyway, say hey if you want anything from me. Until next time …

Ever onward, fellow Heathens.

-JTF