How to Achieve Huge Goals and Keep Your Momentum

Have you ever tried to lift 1,000 pounds? What about 1,250?

Yeah, me neither, at least, not all at once. But I did I lift 1,250 pounds shared between the “Big 3” lifts: Bench Press, Squat, and Deadlift. My gym calls that the 1,250-pound club and they have one for 1,000 and 1,500 as well.

How did this all start and why is it relevant to this blog?

Well, one day I was just going through the motions of my workout. I was mostly on autopilot, listening to music, and doing the same lifts at the same weight as I did countless weeks before. I looked up to see the lifting club scoreboard and started wondering if I could get up there.

Reviewing the numbers of the guys who had achieved it made it seem daunting, that is until I noticed a buddy’s name on the 1,000-pound column. “Hey, if he did it, I can do it too” was the very first thing that went through my competitive mind, so at that very moment, I set the goal to get in the 1,000-pound club.

Breaking Down a Huge Goal

Now, this was a huge goal, so I went online to research some programs that might help me achieve this goal, and I found PH3 (which was free at the time). Using this program, I decided I would get in the 1,000-pound club by the end of the year. I don’t recall when this was, but it was pretty early in the year, maybe March or April.
To succeed, I knew I had to break this up into several smaller goals and fortunately, the PH3 program is designed for three, 9-week phases. My goals looked like this:

Workout 5 days a week. No More. No Less.

Consume 120-140 grams a protein every day.

Get 7-8 hours of sleep each night.

Don’t drink alcohol on lifting nights.

That was it! By making sure that I hit these goals, tracking my lifts in BodySpace, following the program, and utilizing extreme focus, I managed to achieve my goal on Christmas Eve in 2015.

2015 ?!?

“Why are you writing about this now?”

Here’s why: After I hit that goal, I lost sight of where to go next. I thought the 1,250-pound club would be impossible because 1,000 pounds took everything I had (or so I thought). So, I decided to take a couple weeks off to rest up. Then, I went on to waste an entire year in the gym in 2016. I didn’t have a goal, and I was back on autopilot.

In early 2017 I decided that enough was enough and I wanted to get into the 1,250-pound club. I hit it even harder than I did in 2015 and I managed to get into the 1,250-pound club in about 90 days. Seriously, it took less time than the 1,000-pound club.

So, What’s the Point?

These are the points I’m trying to make:

We have to focus on our goals every day because when we lose sight of them, we lose momentum.

We also have to have our goals mapped out so that when we achieve one, we have the next one ready to go. I call these Domino Goals.

We have to believe our goals are possible.

I lost an entire year because I didn’t think 1,250 pounds would be possible. Therefore, I didn’t have a new goal lined up, and I had nothing new to shoot for in the gym.

So, what goals are you putting off because maybe you feel they are impossible or that you’ll start “later”? Are you on autopilot in specific areas of your life? Do you have a few goals written down that you’re actively focusing on right now?
If not, I recommend reading a couple of my recent posts (below) and getting started on your goals today, because today is a good as any day to start improving your life and achieving your goals.