Obstacles, Obstacles, Obstacles – My Quest for Greatness

There are several things I’m going to need to learn to deal with if I’m ever going to seriously put on some mass. Some of my issues have been lingering for quite some time and some are out of my control. I find that like most of us I struggle with motivation, finding time to eat, finding time to train, and staying healthy.

If I’m ever going to get to 185lbs I’m going to have to take serious look at how I can correct these problems as soon as possible.

I’ve come up with some simple sure fire ways to overcome some of my obstacles, maybe you guys will find these helpful too.

My Motivation Issues

Often times when I struggle with motivation I head back to one of my most popular posts on this subject. (Click here to read) I find often times I need to re-evaluate my priorities. My biggest issue is the fact that I keep putting work ahead of my own goals.

I need to learn to be a little bit more “selfish” and focus on doing what is best for me even if this means pissing a few friends and clients off.

Another issue that puts a damper on my motivation levels are my current injuries. Every time I feel that I make progress I feel like I’m held back by my shoulder, back, or elbow. I’m going to have to train a lot smarter if I plan on continuing at the pace I’ve set

Finding Time to Eat

Funny enough this used to never be a program but ever since school picked up and work got busier I find it hard to get in my normal feeding patterns. I’m simply going to start scheduling when I eat. This is probably going to be the most effect way to force myself to eat somthing. During the gaps when I’m not personal Training or at School I’ll set designated times where I’ll ignore everything that is happening around me and focus on eating and eating alone.

Additionally I’m going to really simplfy what I eat each day. I need some form of routine each day so I know what I’m eating at what time.  I’m thinking of having the same Breakfast, Midmorning Snack, Afternoon Snack, and Pre Bedtime Meal each day to help elimanate some of the thinking that goes into my meals. This will effectively save me time which could be used to stuff my face.

Finding Time to Train and Staying Healthy

These two issues are hand in hand because my health affects how well I train. As of right now I have 3 major injuries that have plagued me for the past year. I have an inflamed sciatic nerve that is aggravated with hip flexion. This has caused me to give up Squatting, deadlifting and most exercises that involved flexion of the hip. I have an impinged shoulder that seems to be getting worst and worst each day and tendonitis in my right elbow.

In order to be able to workout now I usually spend about half an hour warming up my joints and another half an hour spending extra time to stretch and ice post workout. So instead of needing an hour to workout I now need 2. Each day I strategically plan my workouts so that I have enough time to avoid causing worst damage to my current injuries but it’s hard. For this problem I’m simply going to have to stay diligent and try my best to work things out.

As for staying healthy I have taken extreme precaution to ensure that I get back on track. I now do rehabilitative exercises on my off days to assist in my recovery. This takes anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half to do which is more time spend in the gym. I don’t mind this but I don’t know how long I can keep up this pace.

These are just some of the issues I’m currently dealing with; do you guys have any suggestions? Would you like to share some of your issues? Just let me know by posting below.