2012 Goals - Dream Big, Appreciate the Little Things

Every December I get thinking about my goals and plans for the coming year.  It’s also a particularly special time for me because I have a birthday in early January.  Oh thanks, you’re so sweet! You don’t have to get my anything… But if you really want to I have an Amazon Wishlist under my name (Roxy Richardson) :D

Anyways, every year I make a goals list and tack it to my fridge so I can see it everyday.  The point of the goals list is not to beat myself up if I fall short of a goal.  The point is to keep me motivated and focused through the year. My aim is to align my actions everyday with my goals. Some goals are big some are small but they are all important.

I often find at the end of the year that I have hit a few of my goals, but not all of them.  What’s more interesting to me is that sometimes I change and what was important to me at the beginning of last year is not as important to me at the end.  My priorities have shifted and I’m okay with that. I think about it deeply, make sure I’m not having a case of sour grapes, which most of the time I am not and I simply greet my new shift of perspective warmly and move forward.

This year I hit only 2 of 9 – but the ones I nailed were big ones.  #1 I opened a new gym and made it financially successful within a year. #2 I had 1 more professional Muay Thai fight before I retired.  I came up a little short on my read one book a month goal.  I think I read about 6 books last year. I didn’t get to take up ceramic again like I wanted to and I definitely didn’t manage to save $ and travel to 3 new places. I also didn’t hit my physical goals of a new clean and jerk PR or a new 1 mile sprint time or breaking 300 on my fight gone bad score. But when I look back on 2011 I don’t see all the ways I failed I only see all the accomplishments I made and the new ways I have grown.

My 2011 goal list was ambitious to say the least. My new business took up the majority of my time and energy. I was surprised I kept up with my relationship, my social life, my continuing education and even managed to be a professional athlete. It was a crazy year and the single thing that I realized is I don’t want my life to be that crazy anymore.

I still love Muay Thai and I still love lifting and I still love adrenalin pumping workouts and putting in hard work into my gym and other projects.  But I don’t want to spend 15-20 hours working out a week anymore and I certainly don’t care what my fight gone bad score is.  I will always workout, but with more of an emphasis on health and longevity rather than proving how insanely bad-ass I am. In short - I’ve grown up, and more importantly I’m saving my adrenal glands. I’m okay with leaving the intense workloads to the younger athletes and letting them carry the “bad-ass” torch. Hopefully I can help them learn though my mistakes and maybe later when they are turning 34 they will be able to continue their careers as professional athletes more financially stable and with more fuel in the tank should they desire to do so. Today I am content to simply focus on running my business, helping people, being healthy and having new adventures. 

My goal list this year may appear less ambitious than last’s, but many of the goals will take effort and disciple for me to make happen. Besides I like my list and when I think about my goals, I smile at the potential outcomes… and that’s really what it’s all about!

So without further ado, here are my 2012 goals:

• Take a 15 minute walk outside in the sun each day without my cell phone or iPod
• Read one book a month
• Get two new fitness certifications (one will be the RKC in February) 
• Save $ and travel to at least three new places
• Keep BF below 10% (I run lean so this is not as crazy as it sounds) last I got measured with the BF Truck I was 9.6% and this was post Muay Thai fight, after 3 weeks of indulgence and less than optimal food choices… hey I’m only human.
  
• Keep a modest workout routine: At least 2 strength sessions, 1 sprint or met-con session and 1 Muay Thai session a week
• Increase Function 5 Fitness’ class membership by 30%
• Take up ceramics again I’ve been doing this on and off since I was a kid and I love it!
• Spent at least 1 hour a week on creative writing.  A little known fact about me is that I have been a writer since high school. Besides Muay Thai it’s my biggest passion. I plan to write a book in the future but for 2012 my goal is to start a writing routine again.  That’s how these things work.  Take small steps and those steps lead to bigger goals!
• Write 1 blog and 1 fitness & health article a month – this type of writing is easier for me, I think of it as exercise for the harder creative stuff. Keeps my gears oiled.
• Hold monthly staff meetings to educate staff and cultivate excellent trainers
• Have one date night per week with bf… where I actually get dressed up fancy and do my make up lol
• Go on at least 1 new or different outing/activity per month
• Write my 98 year old grandmother once a month because she prefers letters to phone calls.
• Get 8 hours of sleep most nights. I’ve been good about this lately, but I always want to remind myself of this.  It’s sooooo important!

I encourage you all to make your 2012 goals list. Dream big, take steps to get there everyday and enjoy the ride  :)

15 December 2011 ·

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• goals

Getting back on Track - 2011 Goals

If you are like most people you let yourself go a little bit over the Holidays. Between trying (or not trying) to choose healthy options while traveling, those mini quiches at your friend’s cocktail party, and the extra bubbly in your nightlife the healthy train is bound to get derailed momentarily.

Even as a fitness and health professional I’m no exception. I tried my best to be good. I stuck to gluten free (except a couple Blue Moon brews one night) and I got in a few workouts here and there, but after a couple weeks of extra nibbles and nightly debauchery followed by general daytime sloth this A-type girl is ready to detox and get back to work.

This is not to say that a couple weeks of maintenance workouts, Nor Cal margaritas, sleeping 9 hours a night, fine dining and searching out the best ice cream in town is without merit. It’s weeks like these that make me realize how much I value my healthy lifestyle. Because after a couple weeks of this I’m left feeling not quite like myself: Groggy, with a mild headache and a generally lackluster disposition. I come to fully appreciate all that I do for my body and I start seriously craving green veggies, sprints and back squats. Although I do admit the extra sleep is probably doing me a world of good.

So to start of this new year I’m re-installing my Healthy Rules For Grown Ups and adding some additional rules. Not only I am doing no sugar no alcohol on “school nights” but I’m also going grain-free. I’m already gluten free, but I’ve been a little slutty with the corn chips lately and I feel like it’s bogging me down. I was only having a little brown rice and quinoa before, but I always feel great when I cut out grains while in fight training, so I’m adding that rule into my program now. I’ve also been a bit adulterous with the ice cream and cheese (Hey who can turn down the seasonal flavor of McConnell’s eggnog ice cream or triple cream brie cheese and La Crema pino noir?… Mmmm) Yeah, I have weaknesses too. So yes I’m dropping the dairy too, unless it’s raw dairy or grass-fed whey (which I like to have in my smoothies sometimes) and I’ll allow myself the occasional goat cheese, which I seem to tolerate better. But yeah, much less dairy cause my sinuses will thank me. 

Every year I also make goals - some are fitness related some are not. Last year I made 6 out of 12 goals come true. The point of my goals is not to beat myself up if I don’t achieve them, the point is the have something to work towards and be happy when I get there. Many of my unachieved goals from the previous years make it back to the next years list. Sometimes I take off goals, and replace the because I have changed and so have my dreams and that’s okay too. 

Here are my 2010 year’s goals I made happen:

• Get Certified in Metabolic Typing and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition
• Expand my business to my very own space (actually happening this month)
• Take up ceramics again - so great to have a creative outlet
• 120 lb Clean and Jerk - I love this lift so much!
• Deadlift 225 lbs - Hit this one in November
• Take another fight against a top international opponent - I won in July against UK’s Sheree Halliday

Here are my 2011 goals:

• Run a successful, profitable gym - so excited to open up later this month
• Add another certification to my resume  - I already signed up for an Olympic Lifting certification in March :)
• Read one book a month - this was on here from last year. I really want to make time for this somehow, so important.
• Run a 6 minute mile - my previous time to beat is 6:30
• A 130 lb clean and Jerk
• Take another fight against a top international opponent - I have to get the gym running smoothly first, but hopefully this can happen by spring/summer
• A “Fight Gone Bad” score of 300 or more - this will be tough, my previous score was 278 I think… but I really want this, by far my favorite “met-con” CrossFit workout. 
• Spend 2 hours a week on writing (blogging, poetry, articles memoirs, fiction etc.) - this was on last years and I don’t feel I lived up to it so it’s on here again. I’m making Sundays my writing day from now on. 
• Save money and travel to at least 3 new places - I need to see more of the world, or even just more of California, there are so many places I have not been.

I like goals because they give me a direction to work towards.  I always write my goals and tack them up on the fridge so I can see them everyday. When I hit a goal I cross it off. Sometimes as I change I change my goals, but I make sure to honestly ask myself if the change is based in truth and not fear.

It wasn’t too long ago that I was a lost and troubled young twenty-something and I realize now that the only reason for my failures and my woes was that I lacked purpose in my life and I didn’t go after my goals on a daily basis. Dream big, but don’t forget that each single day is a opportunity to make things happen.  It’s the small steps that add up over the 365 days and make your small actions into big successes. Seeing your goal list everyday should remind you of this.

I urge all of you to make a promise to yourself to clean your slate and re-commit yourself to your health and fitness. No Guilt, No Excuses. Just write down your goals and enter 2011 with a heart full of passion, a head full of dreams and your pockets stocked with action and ambition. 

Go Get ‘Em!

Roxy

1 January 2011 ·

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Badass Status Benchmarks for Women

I encourage my clients to make goals. Goal setting is so important to progress, in the gym and in our lives. This week a student of mine hit her goal of 8 consecutive strict (chest to ground on your toes) push ups. I was of course super proud and told she was well on her way to “Badass” status. This got me thinking of what some of the athletic benchmarks for women I consider important.  Here’s my list. It’s a little random - but I hope it gives you an idea of goals to make - any goal is a good one, as long as it is challenging and realistic! A goal list should be a dynamic list. Always updating it when you achieve a new accomplishment:)

Lil’ Badass

1. 1 Strict Push up

2. 1 Strict Pull up

3. Tabata Thai Kick Score of 15 or more

4. A technically perfect air squat

5. Can do crosses and double unders with the jump rope

Badass

1. 10 Strict Push Ups

2. 5 Strict Pull ups

3. Can do 5x3min Thai Pad rounds w/ 30 sec breaks with out gassing

4. Body weight dead-lift

5. 5k in under 25 minutes

Superstar Badass

1. 20 Strict Push Ups

2. 10 Strict Pull ups

3. 50 Consecutive Double unders

4. Body weight squat (back or front squat)

5. 6 minute mile

6. 95lb Clean & Jerk

7. Is up to full sparring level in Muay Thai.

P.S. I only have 5 of 7 of the superstar badass ones… and when i make them all (6 min mile and 10 strict pull ups still left) I’ll make more goals!

Here’s a pic of me and some of my RoxyFit badasses ;)

19 May 2010 ·

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• roxyfit challenge
• goals
• fitness