An Agile Approach to Fitness Goals
At times, we hit walls when it comes to our fitness and nutrition goals. If you are only competing with yourself, then it might be worth treating yourself, as you would a person you were coaching. At the turn of this year, I made a commitment to at least a twelve-week gaining phase, eating in a calorie surplus. Eight weeks in and I am so sick of food that I am in danger of sabotaging my long-term love of improving my body composition. I have decided to lean on some powerful insights from a project management methodology that was originally intended for software development.
The Agile Approach.
I briefly glossed over the agile methodology in college, as I studied Business Information Systems. Little did I know that I would eventually work for and become great friends with one of its originators. Traditionally, software development followed strict linear progression, which didn’t take into account, deviations in the plan, timeline, or the people involved in bringing the project to completion. Unsurprisingly project budgets and timelines frequently missed the mark. Software is developed by people, and people are not robots. Thus, the Agile Methodology was developed with the following four key values:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
Working software over comprehensive documentation.
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
Responding to change over following a plan.
One might ask what this has to do with fitness? My mind is drawing many parallels.
1. Individuals and Interactions over strict timelines to reach a Certain Fitness Goal
As discussed in greater detail in my post on Somatotypes everyone will respond differently to a given training and nutrition protocol. Being an ectomorph, my reality is that muscle gain is slow and comes as a result of eating in a way that would make most gain bodyfat rather quickly. At the beginning of this year, I wanted to go from 77KG to 83KG before stripping some fat for the Summer. I am now at 80KG and struggling to stomach food. I am rarely hungry before 2 pm, and if I could live off coffee, at this point, I would. That doesn’t sound too healthy to me.
If I do cardio, I am burning yet more calories, which would need to be replaced through more eating. Thus, I have intentionally been quite sedentary outside of the weight room, even though my body’s natural instinct is to get moving. There is nothing quite like the mental clarity I get after an hour-long bike ride in nature. I don’t want to deprive myself of that any longer as the weather begins to get better, but there is no way I could stomach any more calories to remain in a surplus. So I have opted to adjust my timeline.
My new goal is to drop to maintenance calories at approx. 3600, but then add some cardio sessions throughout the week. I am starting the summer cut very early, but going into a very shallow deficit to protect my hard-earned gains. Knowing my body, this will most likely result in fat-loss until I am fairly lean, by which time I will no longer lose any more weight at that calorie range. Meaning I could achieve both a cut and maintenance with this one calorie range. This Summer I am planning to emigrate, so why complicate my life, when I can maintain my v-taper with relative ease.
By September 2021, I’ll no doubt be more than ready for an extended gaining phase lasting six months, followed by another two months in a deficit, prior to my 30th birthday. It has been my goal to be in the best shape of my life by then; a lean 80KG. My current weight, but with visible abs under normal daylight. It is very doable so long as I don’t throw in the towel due to burning out.
2. Working Progress over Comprehensive Tracking
When I first began tracking calories and macronutrients, I would aim to hit my daily targets to the number. This was useful when I was learning the ropes of flexible dieting, as with any new skill. Once the initial 2-3 months of tracking are out of the way, estimating calories in food should be second nature. In hitting my average of 3,600 calories per day, I will aim for 3500 Monday - Friday, and 4,000 at the weekends. But it will be very loose tracking.
MyFitnessPal has a Quick Add function that allows you to punch in calories without manually adding the food item. While it is beneficial to track macros, every now and then, I think this makes for a much more sustainable approach if you have invested the time to learn how many grams of protein, fiber, etc are in foods that you frequently eat. I’m in this for the longterm, so I would much prefer consistency with relative ease, over perfection at the cost of enjoying the rest of my life. I will make much better progress in the long run.
3. Collaborating with one’s self Instead of Negotiating Deprivation
Somewhat addressed in the previous paragraph, but I have other plates spinning in my life. I have a busy career, want to coach others, own a clothing company, and am planning an escape to another country. I know that I would enjoy these new chapters much more if I were coasting through a self-initiated maintenance phase. Pushing for progression requires high levels of will-power, but overall will-power is a finite resource, not something specific to just fitness and training. A certain level of self-awareness allows one to be happy with their lot in a specific area of life, so that other areas may flourish.
4. Responding to change over following a plan
When I set about my previous goals, I didn’t think I’d be eyeing up leaving Ireland so soon. It looked more like 2022, but things have fallen into place in a way that makes sense to do it sooner rather than later. Any further muscle growth can wait.
Much like technology, fitness should improve the human experience, not become the focus of it. Be open to change, and you can live a fit life and a full life.