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The first round of Maxine’s Challenge for 2019 is now over. We now have a couple of weeks off before round 2 begins, so over the past few days, I’ve been thinking of my plan for the next 12 weeks and setting a few goals.

Most of those goals are about increasing weights in the gym, and working seriously on increasing my maximum weight for one repetition of bench press and deadlift.

During this round, I’m also going to work on a extra cardio goals. My usual cardio goals refer to increasing the distance of walking, cycling and swimming. The plan is to add in a shorter goal for rowing, indoor cycling and an extra walking goal. Before the challenge starts I will do a fitness test of how far I can row, cycle and walk in five minutes This distance will hopefully have increased by by the end of the round and show that my cardio fitness has increased.

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I’m usually fairly good at sticking to the plan. Until things go awry that is. So when I get unexpectedly busy, I tend to get overwhelmed and the plan goes out the window for that time period, until I can get myself back track.

The biggest challenge for the next 12 weeks, will be to not let that happen. The above mantra is perfect for me for round 2. It will be on the wall of my gym and on the fridge so that I can easily refresh my memory when I need to.

My blogger friend Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond has come up with the idea of #microsteppinginMay . Microstepping is a brilliant idea and so simple. It just means not to focus on the big goal that you would like to achieve as sometimes that can be overwhelming and lead to failure. Instead, focus on the small goals that will lead to achieving that big goal – microsteps.

I’ve joined Sue with #microsteppinginmay as it’s come at a perfect time for me, as I set my goals. The big goal I’d like to achieve is that by the end of round two of Maxine’s I will be able to say that I followed the plan completely, without deviating. I’ve participated in Maxine’s Challenge a few times and now, but never done that. I’ve usually followed the program mostly, but made changes, some big and some small. And at times, fallen of the program totally. I’ve usually had good results at the end of each round. But I just know I could have amazing results if I’m true to the program.

My microsteps for the next 12 weeks will be:

• Book workouts into my diary
• Put goals and mantra on whiteboard in gym
• Journal every day – workouts, nutrition and thoughts
• Record nutrition and exercise plan in journal
• Every night check exercise and nutrition plans for next day
• Pre-prepare meals every week.
• Pack lunch and snacks for work, the night before
• Lay out exercise gear the night before, ready for an early start in the gym
• Try one new recipe each week
• Watch videos on Maxine’s website every week
• Contribute to the Maxine’s forum
• Use Instagram to record my experiences

I’ve purchased a cute, pretty journal which I will be using to record my goals and the microsteps that will help me reach those goals. Every night I’ll be writing in the journal about my experiences of the day. This will be really great to look back on at the end of the challenge.

If I follow the plan and the microsteps that I’ve set, I have no doubt that I will reach my bigger goals. Having that success, I plan to set a huge goal that I’d like to reach in round three. But more of that later. 

I’d love to hear of your experiences of setting goals. I enjoy reading your comments , so do join in the conversation. I promise to reply to all comments.

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