By: Jonathan Massey
“If you want to improve something, you need to measure it and measure it objectively.”
The number of times I’ve heard Coach Wolforth say that exact phrase is probably in the thousands. So when my friend, Kevin, asked if I wanted to do a ten-week body composition competition, I knew that if I was going to have a chance at winning this thing, I was going to have to heed Coach Wolforth’s advice. It was going to be my edge.
Objective measurement played an absolute crucial role in my ability to go from 202 pounds to 182 pounds this summer. I would spend ten to twenty minutes every Sunday afternoon planning out each one of my meals for the following week. The planning had to be creative; not only to stay around the six hundred calories I wanted to eat per meal, but also to be different enough each meal so that I never felt like I was eating the same thing over and over again.
Then I took my objective measurement one step further. After each meal I would then log my meal into an app called “Lose It”. Some of you might think of this as redundant as the main purpose of this app is to track calories. And to be perfectly honest, for the first ten days it probably was. But then I took a closer look at what the app tracked. I found that not only did it track calories, but that it also tracked what percentage of my calories came from each of the macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats). After about a half hour of studying this new feature, I found that if my fat intake got over fifteen percent that the amount of weight lost the next day was significantly reduced. If my fat intake got over twenty percent, I would gain weight no matter how far under my necessary caloric intake I managed to be. Am I advocating a low fat diet for everybody? Absolutely not. My roommate went from 225 pounds to 190 pounds by cutting carbs and increasing his fat intake. What I am saying is that this app allowed me to figure out that I do not process fats very well and need to stay away from them.
Whatever is keeping you from playing at the next level, whether it is command, velocity, arm healthy and durability, or secondary stuff, you need to find a way to objectively measure it.
Regardless of whether I win or don’t win this competition, I know that it has pushed me to make some lifestyle changes that I otherwise would not have. So I would just like to say thanks to Kevin, Josh, and Don as you all have made this an incredibility tough competition. You all made me push myself further than I thought I could. Lastly I want to thank Lee Fiocchi, you’ve written me some awesome programs not only these last few months, but ever since you began writing my programs. You always seem to find a way to push me outside of my comfort zone, but at the same time make the workouts enjoyable.
I’m not sure what my next competition will be, but I’m looking forward to it already!
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