New goals and direction for the next few months

I know I haven't posted in a while. Sorry about that.

I've come to the realization that I'm pretty happy with my health and body fat levels, so I'm not really trying to lose weight right now. I've been doing my own program for a little over a month and I'm continuing to get stronger, which is really my focus right now. At the Powerlifting cert I mentioned in the last post I hit a personal record of 445 lbs. on the deadlift, and did a 355 lb. box squat (having box squatted a grand total of maybe 3 times in my life). Two days ago I power snatched 175 lbs. which matches my squat snatch PR. I recently power cleaned 235 lbs., which matches my squat clean from my weightlifting meet back in March (just in case you aren't aware, most people trained in the Olympic lifts can squat clean/snatch more than they can power clean/snatch, so it means I'm getting stronger).  I've hit 11 dead-hang chin-ups (and did 6 with 25 lbs. added weight), front squatted 230 for 8 reps, and am increasing my bench press every week (just did 225 for 8 reps). I've got incredible momentum right now, so I'm going to take at least the rest of the year to work on continuing to get stronger and more explosive.

That's not to say I'm not watching what I eat. I've been doing daily fasts until about noon or 1:00, eating low carb until my workout, and then eating a higher carb dinner with tons of protein. My bodyweight has increased to about 210, but I'm still on my fourth belt loop while the legs of my pants are feeling tighter, which tells me I'm gaining size but not fat. I can still perform muscle-ups, and as long as I can continue to increase my chin-ups/pull-ups (and not my pants size) I'm not really going to worry about raw bodyweight.

I figure I'll keep going in this vein until I stall out, then maybe cycle into a 4-6 week cutting cycle before next summer. I definitely wouldn't mind being more muscular come summertime. I'm also considering trying a powerlifting meet or two next year just to get a feel for that sport. My goals right now?

• Front squat 300 lbs. by 12/1/11 (current PR 290)
• Back squat 400 lbs. by 3/1/12 (current PR 355)
• Deadlift 500 lbs. by 3/1/12 (current PR 445)
• Bench press 300 lbs. by 3/1/12 (current PR 265, almost a year ago)
• Clean & jerk 250 lbs. by 1/1/12 (current PR 245)
• Power snatch 185 by 1/1/12 (current PR 175)

I think these are all very doable, especially the front squat and clean & jerk. If I can hit those numbers for the back squat, bench, and deadlift in a powerlifting meet I would total a pretty respectable 1200, only 79 pounds short of a Class I ranking (third highest classification in raw powerlifting, check this chart for details) in the 220 lb. weight class, and 9 pounds shy in the 198 lb. weight class if I decided to cut weight (which is probably doable).

I'm also staying on top of my conditioning workouts, doing sprints (rowing and running) and shorter Crossfit-style circuits twice a week each. I don't want to be one of those dudes who is crazy strong but gets winded walking up a flight of stairs. My goals are always to be as strong as possible while maintaining a very high level of overall fitness.

It's been 4 years since I started this blog. When I started the only goal was to lose weight and get healthy. I had no idea how far my journey into physical fitness would take me. So here's to another year of continued improvement and health!